I have had 8 dogs in my yard over the years with the hostas and they all left the them alone. No chewing on the hosta. I wouldnt worry about the puppy…….I have a 1 year old dog and a 4 month old puppy now…..I’m not concerned. Myonly concern is them not trampling the plants, just some training.

Sherry

Mike congrats on the new puppy! What kind is it? We always like to see pics. Ditto what Sherry said in her comment. Trampling on them would be of more concern.

Yes, yes, pics please! And name!

debra

I've had several other dogs, too. They have all been older rescues and never had a problem. First time with a real puppy who chews everything and picks up anything in the yard he can get his teeth on!

Thanks for your comments!

Hear is Casey. Australian Labradoodle.

Casey is beyond adorable! I always had older rescues too Mike but got my current dog Callie at 8 wks. old. I had no issues with her. I put her on a leash and walked the gardens with her a few times. A few gentle "No, not in the garden" if a paw went in. There is one squirrel that ticks her off that she will go after the odd time. She is such a good garden buddy. I hope the same for you and Casey!

Congratulations on your new companion! I think most animals instinctively know poisonous plants. Never had problems in my garden.

Casey is darling!! My experience with CATS is they also instinctively know poisonous plants. I never realized how many were in the garden until I started researching. They just leave them alone.

debra

Nice pic, Ben. How old is Bandit?

Bandit is five. Thanks!

Both Casey & Bandit are so cute. The only plant eating dog I ever had was Ginger, my first Papillon. For her, it was a game but she chose the same plant variety whenever she did this thing. I love & collect Heuchera / Coral Bells in my planting beds. When Ginger was outside & either wanting my attention or just being silly she would race past Coral Bell plants & snap at & bite the leaves & run off with some in her mouth. She always spit them out when I yelled ”drop it” to her. She did this enough that a visitor who also liked coral bells asked me what kind of insect was taking such large chunks out of the leaves. I have passed on some plants that are extremely toxic because of dogs in my yard but really the only thing I’ve seen any of my dogs nibble on is grass. We practice organic pest control too so no worries about grass that’s just been treated with something toxic. I agree with everyone here - just keep a good eye on Casey until the puppy chewing stage is past. I don’t know that I agree animals instinctively know toxic plants.

I am realizing that I miss having a four-footed companion. That little Casey and Bandit are so cute.

I do not think that animals know toxic or not. Possibly just what tastes bad, maybe. My friend had a Dieffenbachia and 2 of her cats chewed it down to a nub. Both throats swelled and one had brain damage. The other did not survive.

Puppys never chewed my plants just my shoes. I did have an Australian Shepard named Ginger who would dig up what I had just planted and run the yard laughing with glee. I can see her now.

I think some pup lovers are not botanists and confuse plantain lilies (hostas) and daylilies with other toxic lilies. our previous golden retriever did lots more harm to the hostas by relaxing on them than they ever did to him 😁

I'll chime in here with my $.02 worth. We had a few dogs over the years and never had a problem. I think the key is training, my dogs (after puppy stage & training) never entered the gardens nor bothered any plants. Too many people treat their pets like society says we have to teach children, no discipline.

I know this won't be too popular but just my experience and opinion.

old_dirt I could not agree more. Pets and kids need to be taught limits and restrictions in a kind & constructive manner. We did treat training with our pup and she was more than happy to comply lol!

This is just not a real issue. Dogs don't eat hosta or care about them. Different breeds are more susceptible to things I suppose but I have hundreds of hosta, have had dogs, all the neighbors have dogs who run through my hosta beds...I've never heard anything less likely.

Monty only pees on them.....

@mikgag Z5b NS Canada - What breed is Monty? Irish Wolfhound? He makes a Great Dane look like a mere whisp of a pup 😉

Yup....Wolfhound.

Thanks for confirming my guess! He’s beautiful. Looks like he’s living & enjoying the good life!