i am worried about getting a puppy, i am almost certain that the garden isnt ready for him and i refuse to get a puppy if he cant really enjoy the garden, thats what puppies do isnt it?! anyway, i have a pond, small but quite deep, should i be fencing it off? ive seen this type of thing done for babies: http://kyspeaks.com/photos/koipondfence2.jpg so thought i might work for a puppy, maybe a bit higher fencing though!
the other thing is that all of my flowerbeds are coverd in golden gravel (i dont know if the colour makes a difference!) but you know what
i mean, standard gravle like this; http://www.twenga.co.uk/prices-golden-gravel.html anyway im pretty sure its not toxic but is it a choking hazard or is it too small?? im most likely to be panicking about nothing but id rather check

Hi,

Not sure about the gravel but as far as the pond is concerned i'd be wanting something higher and stronger. A friend of the family lost a dog in their pond due to drowning, strong swimmer it was as well, just couldn't get back out of the pond :-(They've now blocked and filled it in, weren't going to risk that again... So in all honesty i'd be putting in a swimming pool barrier, like they do in Australia which is a legal requirement in some states.

My daughter had a strong mesh 'lid' made for her Koi pond when the children were small. The plants grow through it and it isn't that obtrusive. It is also removable for maintenance.
The only flower bed mulch that I've heard of being dangerous for dogs is the cocoa mulch stuff. It is toxic to dogs - probably the same chemical as chocolate

When I learned that my Newfi puppy had been born, the pond was emptied & filled in as a flower bed. Not worth taking the risk. Checking on the doglost site, I can't tell you how many dogs have been thought missing or stolen only to be discovered drowned in the family pond. It has happened a lot more because of the recent ice. Gravel shouldn't be toxic but you would certainly need to discourage eating it as some puppies will do. It'll be a constant nag for a few months! As said, cocoa bark mulch is very poisonous, as are many plants and all bulbs. Such fun having a puppy!

> i am worried about getting a puppy,

I would be too!  :-(

I would be making a decision based on which I wanted most.  For me, it would be getting rid of the pond. 

I have never let a pup be outside on their own for the first few weeks (much longer actually).  I'm out there come rain, shine or snow, reinforcing good toilet behaviour such as going on command and going quickly.  I also spend time teaching them which bits of the garden to be careful in ('stay off the flower beds', 'don't chew the plants' and 'get that flowerpot off your head') so I am around to prevent them getting into trouble

I don't have a pond but we do have a ditch that is filled with standing water in all but the driest weather.  The difference might be that mine could walk in and out on a gradual slope so there is little danger of them just stepping off the edge by mistake and as said, I don't leave them alone.  Is it possible to alter your pond to make it safer?

The decision about whether to fill in the pond might depend on the relative depth of the water to the height of an adult dog.  Would a puppy be out of it's depth, is it ok for an adult dog?  Even in our wettest weather my pup would have been able to hold his head quite high above the water but he also grew like a weed and was very quickly too tall for a ditch drama - although he still plays in the mud, the little toad :)

Extreme vigilance is important with pups regardless of known hazards - some dogs seem to get into trouble with the safest of things and others could walk a barbed wire fence without a scratch.  You could just wait and see what type of pup you get and make changes as you go.  Our garden was fine for one dog but the next pup of the same breed seemed to find all sorts of new problem areas!  Whilst the newly discovered hazards got sorted I sometimes kept him on a lead and I also used a 'pee pen' this time around.  This was a small enclosed area in which he went for a pee before playing and somewhere he was less distracted by the other dogs - a brilliant thing which I would use again, as he got the message so quickly.