Simple answer - he's staying near your backdoor because he's a social animal and needs to be part of your family pack - not banished to some pile of straw elsewhere - don't shut him out.

I am so sorry that people just don't understand the mentality and scentiant aspects of dogs to people - it is wondersous.

Dogs and gardens are not always conflicting,- but until people figure out how to direct and re-direct instinctive canine behavior and apply such, there will be problems. Wake up, folks !

Products and electronics do nothing ..... knowledge, education, patience and consistancy do lots.

If you don't want to fence the beds off - and he may jump over the fences anyway - then try Googling for "Dog repellent, garden" (without the quotation marks), and see what you get. You might also look on Gardeners Supply's website (www.gardeners.com) and see if they have anything - I seem to recall they do or did. I know some people have had luck using a garlic or red-pepper spray, but others say their dogs seem to like the stuff, so it depends on your dog's tastes. And you may have to try more than one brand of repellent, depending on ingredients.

Can you get or make an all-weather bed or a shelter for him by the back door, that can stay out in the weather, so he has a specific place that is HIS, and he can bed down in/on that, instead of your pine straw mulch? Having a place that he should go lie down, rather than many places he shouldn't, might make him willing to go there voluntarily. And you can reinforce that by luring him there with treats whenever you see him in your flower beds, and rewarding him when you do see him there..

Just as an aside - I have read in 3 different publications, whose reputations I trust - pine straw now seems to be a much better mulch for shrubs and trees than for flowering plants, whether annuals or perennials, and for vegetables. These seem to do better with a hard-wood based mulch, whether double- or triple-ground. This won't help with the dog, but....

I would love to find a repellent that works, not for my dogs, but for my neighbor's dogs. So far I haven't found anything. I'm going to try planting some thick thorny shrubs around where they frequent the most and see if that helps any.
Dana