A natural dog repellent can help protect your garden from your own or neighborhood dogs. Natural repellents are not only cheap and easy to use, but they won’t harm your garden plants. Here are some of the natural repellents that can discourage dogs from disturbing your garden.
Many dog owners and animal lovers express concern about using dog repellents, even if they wish to keep dogs away. Natural dog repellents don’t harm dogs. Dogs simply don’t like many strong smells; they find them unpleasant because their noses are so sensitive. Dogs recoil from strong smelling substances not because they are in pain, but because they don’t want to tolerate the odor.
Chili pepper is one of the most effective natural dog repellents. Chili pepper contains capsicum, which will irritate the dog’s skin, especially the soft, sensitive skin around his nose. This irritation will discourage the dog from entering the area or from returning to it. Just sprinkle some chili pepper powder around your garden to keep dogs out, or, if you like, scatter whole chili peppers.
Dogs dislike the smell of ammonia. Ammonia smells strong to us, so you can imagine how strong it must smell to a dog’s sensitive nose. Soak cotton balls in ammonia and place them around the perimeter of the area from which you’d like to repel dogs. Don’t pour ammonia directly on the ground; you don’t want to get it on your plants, as it could harm them.
Vinegar also has a very strong smell and dogs find it repellent. Soak cotton balls in vinegar and place them around your garden to repel dogs. Again, don’t get vinegar on your plants or pour vinegar into the soil, as it could harm your garden.
Rubbing alcohol also has a very strong smell. But don’t pour it onto the soil or get it on your plants, as it could harm them. Once again, soak cotton balls in rubbing alcohol and place them around your garden to keep dogs out.
Many dogs don’t like the smell of citrus fruits such as lemon and oranges. If vinegar, rubbing alcohol and ammonia are too strong for your tastes, cut up some citrus fruits and place them around your garden. If you can find citrus oil, put it on cotton balls and place them around your garden.
Some dogs may be allergic to some substances. If you own a dog and you’re trying to keep it out of your garden, test patch a small area first to make sure your dog won’t have an allergic reaction to the repellent substance you’re using. If your dog does have an allergic reaction, contact your vet right away; allergic reactions can sometimes be severe enough to require emergency treatment.
Not all repellents will repel all dogs, so you may need to experiment a little to find out what works best. Be careful with substances like ammonia and rubbing alcohol, as they could harm the dog if eaten.