Hi everyone, I have a lab puppy 15 weeks old, who was consistently, from around 10 weeks old, pulling up plants and biting off twigs and flower buds from various bushes. Although this is perfectly normal for a lab puppy from around 10 weeks, the last few days at around 15 weeks old, she has more or less stopped doing this. I know this may sound a daft question, but I would have thought that she would continue this destructive gardening until probably early adulthood. Can anyone offer any reasoning as to why she has suddenly decided to give up this destructive gardening. THANKS IN ADVANCE.
Because you did such an excellent job of showing her more fun things to do? At only 15 weeks I think there is lots of time for her to resume gardening. Hold your breath. I decided not to have my garden with first puppy. Except my Mum gave me some Kelsey onion bulbs to plant so that 's all I had in my vegetable garden that summer. Jet helped me transplant them. The same day I planted them. What was I thinking, letting her in there with me?
Hooray! My first pup was like this - trashed the garden at a very young age, then suddenly stopped (while still a small puppy).
My two year old rescue lab eats whatever he can get hold of in the yard, including rose bush branches. He has to be supervised all the time, and f perchance he grabs a big leaf or flower, he proceeds to prance all over with it in his mouth begging to be chased. Don't know why, nor how to stop it. He was a stray for awhile so I'm thinking he may have had to eat plants to survive, but now he is very well fed!
Be grateful! None of my previous dogs were big gardeners whereas Molly's a fairly persistent hole-digger ( though she's grown out of eating plants).
Hmm, now that you mention it, Xena (16 weeks) has stopped her persistent pruning of my blueberry and raspberry bushes. Maybe they do quickly grow out of it?
Yes I thought that too. Vanilla stoped after about 15/16 weeks, but I think that was just a break to plan her next landscaping design. She is now 20 weeks and in full swing digging and prunning again...so back to distracting her again....
Edsel had terrible anger issues toward my hostas as a wee pup. He systematically crushed, ripped and shredded dozens that first summer. Now he never intentionally destroys any of my plants but will plow through any border, shrub or crash through planters if they are between him and whatever object he must retrieve. Fetch at all costs!
Cooper does un-selective pruning of various plants, especially Rhodies. She is also a cultivator, but she prefers digging up our compacted gravel paths to dirt. At least it keeps her nails worn down and gives me a reason to keep my plate compactor.
When Doug was small he went round the garden and snipped every head of every daffodil .....every last one. It was carnage
