Dog keeps digging up hops

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newguy

To err is human, to arrr is pirate
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I moved over the winter and I planted the rhizomes I dug up from the old house. Damn dog keeps digging them up. Any suggestions to discourage this? I'm tempted to BBQ the prick.

I want to try laying chicken wire over the holes and securing that with tent pegs. Sound like a good plan or not?
 
my dog was digging holes,read somewhere to put "chest rub" in the spot they where digging..tried it and no more digging...
 
Morning newguy.
You might get your chance to BBQ a hop flavoured dog based on the link below. It only affects a few percent, but I'd be trying your chicken wire approach to keep them away from them. In saying this, my mates dog prunes his hops that pop up outside his cage every year and has never had any issues. Maybe it's just the cones??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_health#Hops
 
The plant protection devices mentioned should work (any physical barrier should do the trick, and a bit of vicks vapour rub or equivalent rubbed on the stakes around your hop crop should deter dogs and possums).

However something that has not been answered is.. why is the dog digging up the newly planted hops? Why didn't the dog previously dig them up at your old house?

I find there are two common reasons for dogs digging up newly planted plants.

The first is, did you use blood and bone or some other organic fertiliser when you planted? This makes dogs crazy.. they can smell the blood & bone so they assume that you've buried a bone in there, it's just a matter of digging around until they find it. So maybe try using a pelletised fertiliser if this becomes a big problem.

The second is, was the dog watching you as you were planting? Dogs are smart, they know that the only reason to dig a hole is to bury a bone. They don't get the whole gardening thing.. particularly when planting rhizomes where you dig a hole, and fill it in with nothing showing on the surface. So they watch you digging around in the garden, assume you're hiding your meat/bone stash and as soon as you're out of site they'll do their best to find your buried treasure.

So in a nutshell, don't let your dogs watch you when you're planting, and be mindful that organic/blood based fertilisers smell like a buffet to dogs.

Cheers,
Al
 
Dogs like playing and having fun and will dig just for the hell of it if you ask me.
A small fence consisting of a few star droppers and some mesh will do the trick. Can be taken down and re-installed each season if necessary.
 
Why only BBQ the prick? Seems like a waste of the rest of the dog to me?


Where is malted when you need him?
 
Thanks guys. Al, he sure did watch me plant them. He's only 10 months old so when the hops were mature last year, he wasn't old enough to dig. No bone meal, just the promise of hidden treasure I suppose.

I put some camphor ointment around the holes and will install some chicken wire tomorrow. I know about hop toxicity with sighthounds but I don't think he has any sighthound in him. He ignored the mature hops last year, hopefully he will this year as well.
 
Have heard the burying the dogs own shit in the spot they keep digging can deter them (careful not to harm the hops though). Another option is to blow up some balloons and bury in the spot, allegedly the popping of the balloon when digging can scare the dog and they will learn not to do it.
 
putting there poo in the hole where they dig does work to a point, they don't like it on there paws if it's still wet

can't wait to try out the vipor rub thing though, totally doing that tonight
 
This could be useful:
7 Recipes for Cooking Dog.
  1. Thit Cho Luoc - Steamed dog
  2. Cha Cho - Grilled dog
  3. Rua Man - Steamed dog in shrimp sauce, rice flour and lemon grass
  4. Doi Cho - Dog sausage with dog blood, peanuts, vegetables and neck bone
  5. Gieng Me Mam Tom - Steamed dog in shrimp sauce, ginger, spices and rice vinegar
  6. Canh Xao Mang Cho - Bamboo shoot and dog bone marrow
  7. Cho Xao Sa Ot - Fried dog in lemon grass and chilli
Heres the link.
 
Doesn't happen too often these days but that there is a link I'm too afraid to click.
 
punkin said:
Why only BBQ the prick? Seems like a waste of the rest of the dog to me?
Instead of cooking him, it would be a better solution if you could teach your dog to cook.
"Hey! Quit diggin an git outa that garden and fetch me a sandwich!"

wiener-dog-chef-cook-costume.jpg
 
Next time he does it dig the hole bigger, put rhizomes and dog in hole and cover over. Water wll
 
While we're on the topic of vapo-rub.. it's also great to rub along the top of fence posts/rails if you have possum problems. They use your fence like a highway, but the first time they step in vapo-rub and follow their natural instincts to lick it off you will have successfully deterred them (for a while, you need to repeat applications as it melts away/gets washed off).
 
go out near the hop plants and on a dark night when the said dog starts to dig pis on his head or her head worked for me :)
 
bum said:
Doesn't happen too often these days but that there is a link I'm too afraid to click.
Don't be afraid. It's fair dinkum. I reckon you could substiute lamb of goat !! L.O.L.!
 
Update:

Camphor ointment seemed to work for a few days, then he started digging again. His own crap on each hole didn't work either.



Mousetraps on each hole, however, work marvelously well. ....Particularly when the dog decides to lick them. :D
 
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