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I really stamped my feet all 3 year old style about wanting a dog , and eventually my husband relented and we bought a puppy last September, he is a little King Charles Cavilier Spaniel called Fidget. He couldnt have had a more apt name!

Anyway the problem is, he is chewing my very small border bare in the back garden, it's only very small so any plant loss is very noticable.

My husband and I spent the weekend planting anything with prickles or larger stems, like goosberries, berberis and dogwood out there.

Do any of you have any suggestions as to how I could keep it looking nice without having to net it off. ?

Perhaps you could temporarily block it from your puppy?
When my dog was a pup she would do exactly the same (& worse!) but as she got older the chewing and digging stopped.

Maybe you could use a puppy pen (full of lots of interesting toys)in your garden for a little while. Just while he grows out of his teething stage.

Sprinkle/paint chilli or curry powder onto the plants, also works on pipes,stairs, furniture, puppies will work their teeth on anything.

I had the same problem with Lola digging outside at the edges. My fiancee hooked a motorbike battery to some wire with this one adapter thing a set it up around the perimeter (okay he set it up and THEN hooked it to the battery, lol)... but ONE zap and my doggy never did it again.

When Lola killed the chicken, we did the same thing to the pen using an old car battery. She knew what it was just by looking at it. Set it at nose height and zapzap... good as gold.

I'm having this issue too planted an apple tree early last year, got a puppy in september and he insists od chewing off the lower branches (which is most of them!) he's a spaniel x collie, do spaniels ever grow out of the digging stage?

Mine destroyed the sofa, the big one chewed 40 dvds and cases, my computer desk, my computer, my rug etc etc. We had to get a very low powered electric fence and as stated above they remember what it is after one shock and dont go near it again.
A friend used the chilli powder idea but the puppy got it in his eyes and almost died so I dont recon thats a good idea tbh.

I'm having this issue too planted an apple tree early last year, got a puppy in september and he insists od chewing off the lower branches (which is most of them!) he's a spaniel x collie, do spaniels ever grow out of the digging stage?
I'm having this issue too planted an apple tree early last year, got a puppy in september and he insists od chewing off the lower branches (which is most of them!) he's a spaniel x collie, do spaniels ever grow out of the digging stage?

Maybe its a Spaniel thing, Fidget is not too bad inside although the bottom edges of the sofas have come in for a bit of stick and he seems to love shoes, especially my slippers and my crocs .

I might give curry powder a go Anne A, thanks, I'll leave the chilli powder out just incase, I dont want any accidents, I only feel like I'd like to kill him, I dont actually..... I think

I havent got the heart to use an electric fence, and i'm not sure I could keep my son who is only just 3 away from it, he and the dog are partners in crime so where one goes the other follows.

I was cleaning the bathroom yesterday, and while i was stood in the bath with scrubbing brush and cleaner, the dog and the kid are on the landing painting the carpet and the dog with toothpaste!!!!!!!!!!!

Is definately a spaniel thing, I have a sprocker, cocker x springer, called Digger...am sure that tells you something love him to bits and wouldn't change him but man does he bounce and he never gets tiredanyway we are just coming out of the digging in the plants, I put onions in my garden, he HATES them and won't go near them oh and lemons.