When we moved from DC to Indiana, our tiny bowling-alley backyard was so exciting! We had our own space! Outside! Emmett and Lucas would be so happy! But then…
For one thing, we realized that the yard wasn’t the suburban paradise we hoped for because they really didn’t want to be out there unless we were there, too. No letting them out to play – they’d just stand at the door and wait to be let back in. I actually wrote about city dogs vs. suburban dogs back in 2010.
The second thing was that maintaining the yard with two, then three, dogs took a ton of time and effort. And water. And money. And we just weren’t all that concerned about it. Clearly.
Those are “before” shots. Before Lucas’ diagnosis altered our perspective on how we use (or don’t use) the space we have. Before we decided to put in as many veggies as we could fit in our small yard. Before we spent all our May weekends tidying up the place.
Because here’s the thing: Lucas LOVES to dig. Since we weren’t growing anything, not even grass, he got to dig wherever he wanted. We only had a teeny tiny little garden that had no veggies in it, and he’d hop in there, dig down to the bottom, then hop back out. Well, after his amputation, we weren’t sure he’d be able to dig again. And we wanted to plant veggies and tidy up the grass in the hopes of cutting down on the dirt and mud dragged in the house. And, heck, he probably wouldn’t be able to dig, anyway. Right?
Wrong!
So, here are the “after” shots from the same angles as the before pics:
See that spot in the top corner on the right-hand photo? That’s Lucas’ Digging Spot! We realized that our sweet amputee would not only hop the fence to dig up the flowers and pee on the veggies, he also would one-legged dig up the whole garden in seconds flat!
So, I built Lucas his own place: a couple hostas since they’re so hardy and cheap, the arborvitae as a pee or hiding spot, then a big mound of dirt encircled by rocks (which we’re still gathering).
Well, the dirt mound’s not so big anymore… he digs it up daily! So, this weekend, we’ll buy more dirt to refill that space. Here are a few seconds of his one-legged dig:
Then! The funniest thing happened… Emmett and Lucas, our two cancer patients who we have lovingly dubbed Grandpa and Hobbles went CRAZY! They caught the play bug and went wild. This so rarely happens. It was hilarious and touching. Just what we needed, really.
Grandpa and Hobbles from Maggie Marton on Vimeo.
If you have a dog who loves to dig, whether he’s got all his legs or not, make him a digging spot! It was worth every ounce of effort, and we are all–even Newt on her line–getting so much more enjoyment out of the backyard. It’s certainly not perfect. The grass will probably never grow in fully, and that’s okay. But it sure is fun to sit outside and watch Lucas dig!
What about you? Do you have digging dogs or lounging dogs? Is your backyard an outdoor oasis for you and your dogs? Or more rough-and-scrabble like ours?
1. my boys never like to be outside if humans aren’t coming with. It’s like we are sending them out so we can host some awesome party inside without them. They are not falling for it! 2. I LOVE the digging man’s perseverance! One leg, no problem!
“It’s like we are sending them out so we can host some awesome party inside without them.” YEP! They stand at the door in absolute horror that they’re missing out on something when, really, I only put them out to vacuum! 🙂
Hershey and Lucas need to get together and form a company called H&L Earthmovers!
From what I’ve seen, Hershey is FAR more effective than Lucas! In fact, we have a patch of scrabble next to our driveway we need to dig out… can you send Hershey our way? She can be forewoman on the job, and Lucas can be labor!
She’d probably just do it all herself! She might have a hard time restraining herself; the last time she dug next to a concrete slab she burrowed under and made a spectacular cement roofed den! Regretfully I had to fill it in as it was under the neighbor’s walkway in her backyard!
It is wonderful to see “Grandpa and Hobbles” playing & digging! Great idea to provide a digging spot for Lucas.
Thanks, Kathy! It was largely to protect my veggies, but he sure loves it! 🙂
Digging spot! I’ve already decided that that will be a must for our future yard. Glad to see it can actually work!
It can… with the occasional (daily) redirection from the veggies to his digging spot! 🙂
What a great video!! Made me smile 🙂 Milah, my middle female dog has dug up our backyard space also. In fact, our small space looks a lot like yours. When we bought our house, most of the area had sod. However, Milah has now ripped up most of the sod, and weeds are growing. She isn’t a digger per se, but she does scratch after she does her business. She also has taught Justice to do the same thing. So…..no more sod. They also do not like to stay outside unless we are out, not even on the deck. They whine until they are let in. Go figure!!
We have a LOT of weeds, but we’ve decided to just let them go. They’re “native plants” now! 🙂
What fun to see them playing and digging and having fun! We had a sandbox at one point but we couldn’t get them to only dig in it. Our yard is pretty rough and scrabble too and we let them dig under the trees and try to discourage other areas. They seem to be getting better about sticking to that one area now that the grass is back in more.
I wonder if the sand texture bothered their toes? We did think about a sandbox–I personally couldn’t deal with sand getting tracked into the house–but then I started thinking about how itchy the beach sand makes me. I wonder if it does the same to them?
Ray digs occasionally and when he does, he can get to China in a matter of seconds. While both boys like being outside with the humans, Julius could spend hours outside alone, as well. Living in a very tree lined area, someone has to patrol for squirrels and chipmunks.
Oooh, my guys are so jealous! I think the lack of trees–no shade, not much interesting to watch, etc.– is part of why they don’t want to be out much. It’s just kind of boring! Although, truthfully, when the temperature is just right for Lucas (50s), he can doze out in the yard for hours, whether anyone is there or not!
Great Idea! been looking to create a designated area for the dogs for a while now, what size would you recommend for a small sized dog?
Thanks, Shaun! My suggestion would be to gauge just how much of a digger your little one is – if you have room! If your pup loves to dig up huge swaths, then a bigger space is needed. If, like us, you don’t have a large yard, just do what you can!