Someone told me once that you can have dogs or you can have a garden, but not both.

I won't go that far, but it does present some challenges. First do you walk your dog? A dog with that kind of energy needs roughly 45 minutes of exercise a day. And by exercise I don't mean turn him out in the back yard to run around. I mean put him on a leash and go walk. You can do 45 minutes in one shot or break it up into 2 shorter walks.

This accomplishes a couple of things. It bonds you and your dog, you get to share an adventure every day. This will make you his leader if you do it right. It also burns off his excess energy and makes him less likely to do the things you don't want him to.

I know Cesar Milan, the dog whisperer is controversial to some because he's dealing with the worst of the worst bad dogs. I think if you'd watch an episode or two, you'd learn a great deal about what dogs need, following the principals of exercise, discipline and affection, in that order. Some dogs need jobs or tasks to make them feel needed, to burn off energy and to help them understand their place in the pack, with your family being the pack. People in the family (including children) are supposed to be alpha or leaders and pets subordinate. Problems arise when that balance doesn't exist.

I have a couple of acres, and for many years did not walk my dogs. I have a St. Bernard hound mix female and a terrier/dalmation cross male now. The terrier/dalmation absolutely must be walked every day! I didn't know if I'd (and the yard) would survive his puppyhood. He'd carefully watch me plant trees and when I left him out to take a break in 2 minutes he'd be at the front door with a tree in his mouth. I thought I'd lose my mind!

Once we started walking him he was much less naughty. We're in a rural area so we have the luxury of letting him off leash and holy cow that dog can run. When I saw how much he needed to get rid of that pent up energy and anxiety, it sold me on the daily walks. He's 3 now and by no means perfect, but so much better than he was.

I know as a society we are busy people. You may not think you have time, or maybe he's too much to handle on a walk. If that's the case, enroll him in a basic obedience class. Get some help so that you can walk him comfortably. I think you'll like the results. If you just can't, you'll have to fence what you don't want him to get into. That's not much fun for either of you. Or you can stop letting him loose in the yard by himself for a while. Go with him outside, not to do anything but observe where he's going and correct him when he gets into something he shouldn't. And by correcting I don't mean spanking or yelling. You have to get a hold of him, look him in the eye till you have his attention and tell him no. That's a lot of work and training, much of which would be addressed by walking him.

I would also give him his spot under the roses or find another spot to give him where there's afternoon shade. Dogs need a cool place to den during hot days. I've had to give up planting anything under our bay window as the dogs just dig it out so they can lay where it's cool. I'm willing to give them that.

Wow, I really went off on a rant there. Sorry if I'm coming on too strong! I do understand what you're dealing with and want to offer some solutions, so please take this in that spirit.

Barb