Dog Friendly Fruit Trees?

[Dame Aussie]

My dog loves lemons. I think he thinks they are balls, but he seems to like the taste too. So much for the citrus based chew deterrents.

Then again, he will eat any plant he can get his mouth on. Even the rose bushes despite the fact they bite back.

If you want another climber how about kiwifruit? You need a male and a female plant if you want fruit...

Good idea, passionfruit is a good climber too.

[trinabean]

I've got lemon and lime trees and a passionfruit vine and have had no problems with them.

[sheena]

I've just planted some blueberries, but they wont give you shade

[Lucky-Dog]

Manadrin :)

[Two Best Dogs!]

Is a grape vine all that dangerous? Could you not fence it off? Seems a drastic measure and no guarantee a replacement won't be just as bad

I'd rather not risk it and it's no hardship, I'm not a fan of grapes. Much rather have something I'll eat and can trade with other people for stuff.

Prob should have mentioned I have a lemon tree!

I chopped out the grape vine too. It had those dark sweet grapes and was too attractive. :)

I think you have a lot of options, but if you have a larger dog don't plant a mango because they can swallow the seeds. And stone fruit would probably be worth avoiding.

You're in VIC? You've got the Digger's Club who should have interesting suggestions for you that match your climate and needs.

She's a walking trash can XD if it fits in her mouth she will eat it! I didn't know about that website thanks I better keep climate in mind. Dunno if she's so interested in pits tho. Maybe I can do some tests with non bad fruit from coles, see which she ignores.

I like the suggestion of apricot. And kiwi fruit. It's a rather nice frame/stand the grapes are on so I could probably put a hammock under it or something.

Apples or banana?

Any fruit in excess is going to be bad.

If you just want shade - you can get ornamentals that don't have fruit.

Nah I want fruit too! We have a gardeners swap market at work I want in on. I miss living out rural

I do have a rhododendron but it's going in a different spot.

Ohhh mulberry sounds like a good potential, gonna look around for types of that one. Thank you. And mandarin. Time to visit Bunnings with the dog, grab her a sausage and me a plant XD

I'm afraid I don't like passion fruit or olives I have horrible taste but whatever I plant I've gotta live with!

Maybe blue berries can go nearby cause yum?!?

Edited September 18, 2015 by Thistle the dog

[Kirislin]

I've got a grape vine, it's about 10 years old now and I've never had a single grape off it, so dont have to worry about the dogs eating them. I've started using the leaves now for dolomades and giving up on the grapes. Mulberry trees apparently grow big. What about a fig tree?

[Dame Aussie]

Cherry tree?

[Two Best Dogs!]

I've got a grape vine, it's about 10 years old now and I've never had a single grape off it, so dont have to worry about the dogs eating them. I've started using the leaves now for dolomades and giving up on the grapes. Mulberry trees apparently grow big. What about a fig tree?

This one had grapes on it when I first moved in (but before I got the dog) so I suspect it's a producer :s a fig tree is good, i could make so much with that.

Same with cherry tree. How am I meant to choose D:

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Now is the perfect time for planting citrus and about 2 months after the perfect time for planting deciduous trees (eg stone fruit - apricots, peaches, cherries, pomme fruit - apples and pears)

Cherries need a really decent dose of cold or they don't make fruit.

So I'd start with a mandarin - and there are lots to choose from. One of the recent gardening Australia had a good story on it.

And citrus do not like wet feet so they go best on mounded up soil... Depending how often it rains where you are.

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s4310556.htm

You can try the other fruit, but they will do better if you wait till winter.

[Danois]

Mulberry tree - ugh. I have one and the bats go nuts in it and my pavers end up splattered in hard to budge purple splodges.

Avocado is not really an issue for dogs given they don't eat the leaves, bark etc but the pit would be a choking risk.

[sheena]

Mulberry tree - ugh. I have one and the bats go nuts in it and my pavers end up splattered in hard to budge purple splodges.

Avocado is not really an issue for dogs given they don't eat the leaves, bark etc but the pit would be a choking risk.

You can get white mulberries :)

We also have a pecan tree...very pretty :)

[*Avanti*]

I second Kiwi fruit. That grows on a vine and could be trained on a frame.

(Edited because I see it was already mentioned.)

Edited September 18, 2015 by LabTested

[Kirislin]

Mulberry tree - ugh. I have one and the bats go nuts in it and my pavers end up splattered in hard to budge purple splodges.

Avocado is not really an issue for dogs given they don't eat the leaves, bark etc but the pit would be a choking risk.

My concern with bats would be their droppings, the risk of disease. We know how dogs love to eat other animals' poo.

[Two Best Dogs!]

Yeah, she's gonna eat that bat poo quick-fast. Bad enough the borderline feral cats are always crapping in the yard.

I think I've made a decision - blueberries AND kiwi fruit. Blueberries at the base of this giant frame and kiwis growing up it. Looks like I need a ratio of 1 male kiwi to 6 female kiwis, i'll try to get away with 1 male/3 female and I'll buy the bigger blueberry bushes.

Not much for shade but I can try to train them to make a "roof"

thanks people :D honestly wouldn't have thought of either of those.

[sandgrubber]

Avoid avocado. It is no good for dogs.

ETA..... Avocado plant probably won't kill your dog but it can cause stomach upsets etc. better avoided.

This is not true. Avocado (persin) WILL kill parrots and can be harmful to horses and goats, but they're harmless to dogs . . . apart from being a bit high in fat. See http://www.avocadofactsfordogsandcats.com/ . . . or the sources it quotes (Dr. Jean Dodds and the ASPCA). Swallowing the seed could be a problem . . . you need to watch what your dog does with an avocado to tell.

An although there have been cases of dogs becoming deathly ill from eating grapes, most dogs eat grapes with no problem at all. When I had 7 acres of pinot noir, my two Labradors probably ate half a kilo of grapes a day at harvest time (at least . . they followed the harvest crew around and ate drops from dawn to dusk). They were fine. I asked about dogs being poisoned by grapes on a vintners forum. There were several replies saying, 'no worries' ... our dogs gorge themselves. No one reported a dog getting sick from eating grapes.

Apples and pears are great. Dogs love them . . there's a little cyanide in the pips, but the pips come out whole in the poop so the concern is minimal. Parrots may not leave much for the dogs, though.

Stone fruits, likewise have cyanide in the pits. There are dogs who might get in trouble eating a peach or apricot pit. I'd be inclined to caution.

Most dogs don't like citrus . . . though I had a neighbor whose Goldies gobbled down lemons!

All the berries are fine . . . apart from blackberry thorns and the damage the dogs may do to plants. But they must be netted.

Figs are fine if the birds leave any.

My dogs were not interested in passion vines and passion fruit when I had them in WA.

The biggest problem I've had with dogs and fruit trees was the dogs fondness for blood and bone fertilizer . . . and manure.

Edited September 19, 2015 by sandgrubber

[Steph M]

Our dogs are beasts with our fruit trees, apricot, apple, nectarine and lemon all get molested. As does the loquats and cherries that birds steal and drop over the fence... We used to have a walnut tree when we visited mum and they would quite happily crack them open and eat them too.

Not ideal, but they seem pretty happy outside under a tree having a nibble.

[HazyWal]

I have plums, apples, figs, walnuts, loquats and olives in my yard and my two aren't really interested. Maddie will occasionally pick an apple and have a nibble and she likes to hoard half sucked olives in my bed for some reason but surprisingly fatboy garbage guts Stan doesn't touch any of it. He did tread in a mushy plum on the ground and had a meltdown over it, I think he thought he'd trodden in poo he doesn't like poo, and he wouldn't even go near that corner of the yard for ages :laugh:

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Yeah, she's gonna eat that bat poo quick-fast.

In my area - I think the bats would have to fight the possums for the fruit at night time and the lorikeets during the day. We occasionly get large lost flocks? of fruit bats but they don't stay all that long - tho they do freak out whoever has the lucky host tree - often something with no fruit like a conifer (not pine cone season).

[Kirislin]

I have plums, apples, figs, walnuts, loquats and olives in my yard and my two aren't really interested. Maddie will occasionally pick an apple and have a nibble and she likes to hoard half sucked olives in my bed for some reason but surprisingly fatboy garbage guts Stan doesn't touch any of it. He did tread in a mushy plum on the ground and had a meltdown over it, I think he thought he'd trodden in poo he doesn't like poo, and he wouldn't even go near that corner of the yard for ages :laugh:

I always love your crazy descriptions. They're so visual, I can see it all.

:laugh:

[HazyWal]

I have plums, apples, figs, walnuts, loquats and olives in my yard and my two aren't really interested. Maddie will occasionally pick an apple and have a nibble and she likes to hoard half sucked olives in my bed for some reason but surprisingly fatboy garbage guts Stan doesn't touch any of it. He did tread in a mushy plum on the ground and had a meltdown over it, I think he thought he'd trodden in poo he doesn't like poo, and he wouldn't even go near that corner of the yard for ages :laugh:

I always love your crazy descriptions. They're so visual, I can see it all.

:laugh:

True story, you've met us we're all nuts :laugh: