A safe garden for dogs and cats: what to check

The first job of a safe garden is to contain the animal and stop it getting lost or reaching a road. The right boundary depends on the species and the individual: a dog that digs goes under a fence that would stop another, an athletic dog clears a height that seemed enough, and a cat treats any fence as a suggestion rather than a limit. Assessing the boundary means looking at it through the eyes of the animal that will have to respect it, not your own.

• A height suited to the real dog: an athletic animal jumps more than expected, and the measure is chosen for the individual, not in general.
• A buried base or anti dig barrier: many dogs do not clear the fence, they get around it by digging under.
• No foothold near the boundary: log piles, bins and outdoor furniture become launch pads to the outside.
• Self closing gates: the classic escape is through the gate left ajar, not through a hole in the fence.
• For the cat, a dedicated boundary: fences with an inward overhang are often the only limit a cat respects.
• Periodic checks of the condition: a fence loosens, the ground gives way, a new gap appears with no one noticing.

Many common ornamental outdoor plants are toxic if eaten, and unlike house plants no one chose them with an animal in mind: they were already there or were planted by someone without pets. The risk is not theoretical, because a puppy that explores with its mouth and a cat that chews leaves can taste anything. The rule is not to remove every plant, but to know what you have and where the real problems are.

The most delicate moment is the arrival of an animal in an existing garden, or a move to a house with greenery you do not know. It is worth walking round identifying the main plants and marking those you are unsure about, because the right response to an ingestion depends heavily on knowing what was eaten. In a suspected ingestion, having the plant's name greatly speeds up the vet's response.

Many serious garden poisonings come not from the plants but from the products people use to tend them. Fertilisers, weedkillers, slug products and some rodent poisons are designed to be palatable or stay on the ground where the animal walks and then licks its paws. The danger is not only direct contact with the product, but also access to the pack stored badly in the shed.

1. 1

   Store every product closed and high up

   A closed cabinet out of reach is the simplest barrier. A pack left on the shed floor is an accident waiting to happen.

2. 2

   Respect the re entry time after a treatment

   After treating the lawn, keep the animal away for the time stated on the label, and longer when possible.

3. 3

   Avoid palatable slug and rodent baits

   Some are formulated to attract and are very dangerous. Prefer methods that leave no bait accessible to the animal.

4. 4

   Rinse the paws after walking on a treated surface

   The animal ingests products by licking too. A rinse reduces what reaches the mouth.

5. 5

   Always keep the label of the product used

   In an ingestion, the brand name and active ingredient on the label guide the response of the vet or poison centre.

A garden changes with the seasons, and so do its risks. Water pooling in a saucer, a forgotten bucket or a small decorative pond can hold bacteria or, in some conditions, dangerous algae, and it is still a point where a puppy or a small animal can slip. Summer heat turns a shadeless garden into a thermal trap, while winter brings the opposite risk on frozen surfaces.

• Water always fresh and shaded: the outdoor bowl needs frequent changing, because in the sun it warms and becomes a bed for bacteria.
• Real shade during the hot hours: a shelter with genuine screening, not just the side of a baking wall.
• No accessible standing water: empty saucers, buckets and sheeting, and fence off decorative water features.
• Beware sweet fluids for cars or tools: some are extremely toxic and attract by taste, so keep them closed and clean up leaks at once.
• Surfaces that scald or freeze: sun baked paving and winter ice harm the pads, so prefer protected paths.
• Pools and tubs: an edge to climb out from and supervision during use stop an animal in trouble failing to find the way out.

Many of these measures require no building work, only the discipline of remembering them at the change of season. Walking round the garden with an eye on what has changed, at the start of summer and before winter, is the simplest way to keep safe over time a space that by nature transforms continuously.