Following in Bear’s famous pawprints, a two-year-old rescue Koolie is in fast-track training to save wildlife this fire season.

A new four-legged conservation hero is in training, with a rescue dog preparing to follow in the iconic pawprints of world-famous koala detection dog Bear.

Following the retirement of 11-year-old Bear earlier this year, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Innovation for Conservation (I4C) launched a nationwide search for a new canine hero. The chosen dog will be trained to search for live koalas in need of rescue, filling the critical void left behind when Bear hung up his signature red fire-protective boots.

The call-out in May attracted global attention, drawing more than 50 applications from across Australia—primarily Queensland—and even a very enthusiastic applicant from South Carolina in the United States. The applicant pool represented a diverse range of breeds, from Jack Russells and Corgis to Belgian Shepherds and Cattle Dogs, with working breeds like Kelpies and Border Collies topping the list.

Among the applicants was Oaka, a two-year-old Australian Koolie from northern New South Wales, who stood out to evaluators immediately.

"We didn't know it would be possible to find a new Bear. He was truly one of a kind and left big boots to fill, but then along came Oaka," said IFAW Oceania Head of Programs Josey Sharrad. 

“Bear showed the world what's possible when a rescue dog is given a second chance and finds its true purpose. I see that same spark in Oaka.” 

A Second Chance at Purpose

Oaka’s backstory mirrors Bear’s own journey. She was surrendered after her previous family considered her too energetic to handle. However, local rescue group DM Rescue and trainer Avery Keller recognised her latent potential and submitted an application following the public call-out.

Evaluators assessed around 13 dogs in total—testing candidate dogs from local rescue groups such as the Sunshine Coast Animal Refuge and Peninsula Animal Aid—both in person and via video evaluations. The team searched for specific criteria: medium size (small enough to carry if injured, large enough for tough terrain), high energy, non-aggressive behaviour, and a hyper-fixation on play. 

High energy, agility, and intense drive made Oaka a standout candidate during field assessments

Crucially, the ideal candidate required a 100% play drive with zero prey drive, ensuring no instinctual desire to chase or harm wildlife.

Oaka’s video submission justified a 10-hour round trip from Coffs Harbour for in-person testing on the Sunshine Coast.

"When we saw her in person, we could tell immediately that she was different," said Innovation for Conservation director, trainer, and handler Russell Miller. 

“She had this obsession with the ball that was that little bit extra. Her concentration was a bit more intense, with a strong motivation to get her reward. Within minutes of seeing her in action, we knew we had struck gold.” 

"Oaka being an Australian Koolie like Bear has the perfect breeding for this type of work," Miller added. "She can already easily search the area and recover her ball—now we have to transfer this into the search for the odour of the koala fur."

Dog handler Associate Professor Romane Cristescu with Oaka, who is being trained as IFAW and Innovation for Conservation’s potential new koala detection dog, resting with her prized blue ball reward after a successful search exercise.

While the origin of her name remains unknown, handlers note that Oaka translates to "from the woods," a fitting title for a dog destined for forest conservation.

The Physics of Sniffing High Targets

Training a dog to detect live koalas canopy-high in trees is an intricate process, vastly more complex than training a scat-detection dog.

Because koalas sit motionless high up in the treetops, their primary scent stream does not drop straight down to the base of the trunk. Thermal currents and wind drift often carry the scent meters away from the tree, forcing the dog to track invisible scent plumes back to their overhead source.

To master this, Oaka undergoes twice-daily training sessions. Initial modules focus on search efficiency and ball-finding confidence. Trainers then introduce target odour association, pairing the scent of fresh koala fur with her ball reward. Gradually, the fur is hidden at increasing distances and elevated off the ground to mimic canopy conditions. Ultimately, Oaka is taught to execute a formal alert: dropping to lie down at the base of the exact tree where the scent originates.

With a 100% play drive and zero prey drive, Oaka stays entirely focused on her ball reward while searching through dense bushland, ignoring local wildlife.

To fast-track her development, Oaka is training under IFAW’s Director of Canine Units, Frédéric Chappée, a expert with over 20 years of experience who has pioneered a distance-learning program combining remote tracking with periodic in-person evaluations.

"When I'm looking for a new detection dog, I can assess up to 100 dogs, but we found Oaka within a week," Chappée said. "For many people around the world, Bear became an icon, but what makes Bear truly unique is not only what he achieved, but the void he left behind. It’s a void that I am hopeful Oaka can fill."

IFAW’s Frédéric Chappée and Associate Professor Romane Cristescu working with Oaka during a field training session.

While anti-poaching dogs trained by Chappée in Indonesia and Zimbabwe can be field-ready in six months, canopy search demands extra time. Bear’s training took two years before his legendary deployment during the 2019–2020 Black Summer bushfires, where he helped locate over 100 live koalas in burnt habitats—earning praise from international figures like Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.

Preparing for the Seasons Ahead

With El Niño climate patterns bringing heightened fire risks, the team is working rapidly to prepare Oaka for field deployment.

“We are fast-tracking her training because we know how critical it is to have a highly skilled koala detection dog back in the field,” Sharrad explained. 

"With El Niño already here and a tough summer on the horizon, our koalas will need all the help they can get."

Koalas are notoriously difficult for human eyes to spot; they are quiet, still, and expertly camouflaged. Combined with thermal-camera drones, detection dogs drastically raise rescue success rates following bushfires, floods, or vehicle strikes.

Fuelled by nutrition partner Lyka, Oaka will soon begin testing in real-life scenarios. IFAW and I4C remain optimistic that she will be capable of assisting during the upcoming fire season, even while completing her full certification.

As for Bear? The veteran is enjoying retirement on the Sunshine Coast with plenty of beach walks, belly rubs, and daytime naps—while keeping a watchful eye on his successor.

Updates on Oaka’s progress and her upcoming television project can be followed on Instagram via @ifawglobal and @bearthekoaladog.

All photos: Suzanne Pearson / © IFAW (supplied)

Double your Donation for 24 Hours to Help Animals in Need Across Australia

The RSPCA’s annual Give to Get Them Home national fundraiser returns on Thursday, 1 October 2026. For 24 hours only, every dollar donated by the community will be doubled by generous sponsors, giving animal lovers a powerful chance to double their impact for vulnerable animals across the country.

Money raised during the one-day drive directly funds the rescue of animals from cruelty and neglect, essential veterinary care, training, rehabilitation, and the day-to-day enrichment pets need before finding their forever homes. In 2025 alone, more than 16,200 Australians came together to raise over $3.65 million—a milestone the RSPCA hopes to surpass this year.

How the Matching Works

On Thursday, 1 October, National Matching Partners—including Royal Canin, Peter Alexander, Bravecto, and generous individual donors—will match every donation dollar-for-dollar.

“Give to Get Them Home is a powerful opportunity for anyone who cares about animals to make an even bigger impact because their donation will go twice as far.” — RSPCA Australia CEO Richard Mussell.

“Our member Societies rescue thousands of animals across the nation every year and are confronted with shocking cases of animal cruelty and neglect... The cost of providing this care continues to rise. We simply couldn't provide the necessary treatment, training, rehabilitation, care, and enrichment without the generosity of our supporters.”

Event Details & How to Give

• What: RSPCA Give to Get Them Home 24-Hour Matched Giving Day
• When: Thursday, 1 October 2026 (12:00 AM – 11:59 PM)
• Where to Donate: rspcagivingday.com

Special offer: Donors on 1 October qualify for 2 months free RSPCA Pet Insurance. Donors who use that link to take out a new RSPCA Pet Insurance policy by 16 October will receive their first two months free, and RSPCA Pet Insurance will donate a further $100 to the RSPCA for every eligible policy*.

View terms & conditions.

About the RSPCA:
The RSPCA is Australia’s leading animal welfare organisation and one of the country’s most trusted charities, working to prevent cruelty by actively promoting the care and protection of animals nationwide.

Surge in Demand for Care Highlights 90 Years of Service as Iconic Animal Hospital Opens New Adoption Centre

North Melbourne — Australia’s largest charitable animal hospital, Lort Smith, marked 90 years of caring for Victoria’s pets and their people today, celebrating the milestone with the opening of a brand-new cat adoption centre at its original North Melbourne home.

The media event, held at the hospital’s Villiers Street premises on Wednesday morning, brought together supporters, pet therapy dogs, and community leaders to reflect on nearly a century of service—complete with birthday cake and a first look at the new feline residents settling into their dedicated adoption space.

Lort Smith celebrated its 90th anniversary and opened its new Adoption Centre alongside Board Chair Kirsten Fox, Patron Lady Marigold Southey AC, and CEO Frances Mirabelli.

The 90th anniversary milestone comes alongside fresh data from Lort Smith’s 2025 Impact Report, revealing an unprecedented surge in demand for affordable veterinary care and financial aid as Victorians prioritise their pets’ health amid ongoing cost-of-living pressures.

Returning Home: A New Chapter for Cat Adoptions

Current CEO Frances Mirabelli
with Skippy

For Lort Smith Chief Executive Officer Frances Mirabelli, opening the cat adoption centre in North Melbourne represents a full-circle moment for the iconic organisation.

“Bringing cat adoptions back to North Melbourne, where our adoption story first began, is a meaningful new chapter,” Ms. Mirabelli said.

“For 90 years, Lort Smith has been here for pets and the people who love them. We do everything we can to keep them together by providing high-quality, affordable veterinary care.”

“When staying together is no longer possible, we’re here to support families with compassion and help their pets find loving new homes.”

By the Numbers: Impact of the 2025 Report

Data from Lort Smith’s 2025 Impact Report highlights the massive scale of care provided across its North Melbourne and Campbellfield facilities over the past year:

✔️ Financial Relief Distributed: $1,165,365 provided across 8,434 people facing hardship

✔️ Animals Cared For: 15,538 animals treated across both hospital sites

✔️ Surgeries & Medical Procedures: 18,086 performed by veterinary teams

✔️ Pets Rehomed: 791 animals successfully placed in forever homes

✔️ Pet Therapy Outreach: 65,225 people reached through community visits

✔️ Volunteer Contribution: 18,326 hours logged by dedicated supporters

✔️ Community Support Line: 67,554 phone calls received and answered

With 55 vets and 81 veterinary nurses working tirelessly across both locations, the hospital reported rising surgery rates and increased demand across all medical services.

“As the cost-of-living crisis placed increasing pressure on people and their pets, we strengthened our commitment to keeping them together,” Ms. Mirabelli explained. 

“It certainly was a year of consolidation, reflection, and renewed purpose for Lort Smith—a year where we seriously reviewed how we operate, what we do well, and where we needed to evolve to better serve our community.”

A 90-Year Legacy Built on Adaptation

Founder Louisa Lort Smith in 1930 (left) alongside the original hospital signage from 1940 (right).

Established in 1936 by founder Louisa Lort Smith during the height of the Great Depression, the hospital was founded on a simple premise: to keep pets and people together through accessible, compassionate care.

Lort Smith volunteers and staff with dogs alongside an animal welfare van in June 1939.

Over nine decades, the patients coming through Lort Smith’s doors have mirrored the changing face of Melbourne.

A line-up of bandaged feline and canine outpatients awaiting care at Lort Smith in the 1950s.

In the early days, horses were regular patients and the hospital maintained its own stables.

“Not every patient was quite so ordinary,” Ms. Mirabelli noted. “Over the years, Lort Smith has treated a camel from Melbourne Zoo, a family of ducks that wandered over from the Royal Botanic Gardens, and even a valuable snake visiting Australia for a local show.”

Key milestones across Lort Smith's 90-year history in Victoria.

Memorable Cases: Lives Transformed Over the Years

Behind the statistics are thousands of individual animals whose lives were saved by the quick action of Lort Smith’s team and the generosity of community donors.

Skye’s Second Chance

Skye happy and healthy (left) and enjoying cuddles with her new owner Alice (right).

When eight-year-old Maltese Cross Skye first arrived at Lort Smith, she was in severe discomfort from advanced dental disease, nervously hiding her face behind tiny paws. She also required multiple costly surgeries to remove a series of potentially cancerous lumps.

Thanks to public donations, Lort Smith provided Skye with the urgent medical treatment she needed. After a full recovery, Skye met her new owner, Alice.

“Skye chose me,” Alice recalled. “I was visiting the shelter when Skye leapt straight into my lap and into my heart. Skye makes every day a joy with her cuddly antics.

“When you give an animal love and care, they return it with interest.”

The Hard-Rubbish Puppies

In 2017, a good Samaritan made a shocking discovery in Hoppers Crossing: a litter of one-week-old Staffy-cross puppies abandoned in hard rubbish. The finder bottle-fed the hungry, dirty pups before surrendering them to Lort Smith.

The hospital team placed the puppies into specialised foster care for round-the-clock feeding. Weeks later, all the puppies were adopted into loving homes.

“When an animal has nowhere else to go, or no one else to look after them, they’re welcomed into our hospital with love,” Ms. Mirabelli said. “Assisting animals in need is at the heart of our mission.”

Community Support Keeps the Doors Open

Despite serving as an essential community safety net across Victoria, Lort Smith receives no ongoing direct government funding, relying entirely on community donations, bequests, and public generosity.

Through its Pets in Need fund, emergency pet boarding, and expanding pet therapy initiatives, the charity continues to preserve the human–animal bond for those experiencing hardship.

“We thank all those throughout Victoria who have contributed to our legacy over the past 90 years and remain committed to supporting people and their pets through life’s most difficult moments,” Ms. Mirabelli said.

As Lort Smith enters its tenth decade, technology and treatments have evolved—but its core mission remains untouched: helping write Melbourne’s story, one furry, feathered, and scaled patient at a time.

How You Can Support Lort Smith's Life-Saving Work

As a non-profit receiving no ongoing direct government funding, Lort Smith relies entirely on community support to care for animals in need. Whether through one-off donations, monthly giving, workplace giving, or leaving a gift in your Will, every contribution helps preserve the human-animal bond for vulnerable pet owners across Victoria.

To discover the different ways you can help support Lort Smith’s mission, visit lortsmith.com/support-our-work.

Photo credits: Lort Smith Animal Hospital (all supplied)

Pet Care Costs Are Rising — Could Building a Local ‘Dog Village’ Help?

Why finding your dog a local bestie could bring friendship, familiar care, and a support network for both dogs and their humans.

Dogs bring an enormous amount of joy into our daily lives. They get us outdoors, introduce us to neighbours we might otherwise never meet, and quickly become central members of the family.

But dog ownership also comes with a practical question almost every owner eventually faces: What happens when you need to go away, have a particularly busy week, or simply need an extra pair of hands?

According to data from the Australian Government’s Moneysmart website, Australians spend more than $21 billion a year caring for pets, with ongoing maintenance and boarding costs cited as the most common challenge of pet ownership. Affordability is even listed as a major reason people give for choosing not to adopt a pet or expand their family with another animal.

While professional pet sitters, doggy day cares, and commercial boarding facilities play an essential role, many owners share a deeper wish: wouldn’t it be lovely if your dog could stay somewhere they already knew — with people they trusted and a canine friend they were genuinely excited to see?

That exact dilemma is what led Sydney founder Ana Hill to launch MyPetBesties — a community-led platform designed to help local dog owners build mutual support networks long before care is actually required.

More Than Saving Money: The 'Dog Village' Concept

The potential savings of reciprocal pet care are undeniably appealing when household budgets are under pressure. However, focusing solely on money misses the heart of the concept.

Unlike commercial booking sites where you search for an available sitter at the last minute, MyPetBesties encourages owners to connect in advance. Families meet for casual park walks and playdates so the dogs can bond naturally. Over time, those relationships can evolve into mutual swaps for walks, afternoon play sessions, weekend sleepovers, or holiday care.

"Whenever my family wanted to travel, deciding what to do with our dog was one of our biggest stresses," explains founder Ana Hill. "Cost was part of it, but what I really wanted was somewhere that felt less like arranging 'care' and more like sending her to stay with people and a dog she already knew. There are so many dog owners living close to each other with exactly the same problem — we should help each other!"

For dogs, this gradual progression makes a world of difference. Rather than experiencing the stress of an owner suddenly disappearing and leaving them in a strange environment, a stay feels like visiting a friend's house. They already know the smells, the routines, the humans, and their canine buddy.

Real Stories from Local Dog Owners

Local members are already experiencing the benefits of building their own local network:

Finding Trust and Peace of Mind in Mona Vale

"I discovered the service through a recommendation, and I’m so glad I did! I needed someone I could completely trust to look after Mac when I was busy, and finding someone who would genuinely care for him was really important to me."

"Mac is an American Staffy and absolutely loves playing with his big buddy Toby, who was the perfect match for his size and energy. It made me so happy knowing Mac was safe, loved and having so much fun while I was away. He came home happy and content, and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience."

— Caroline, Mona Vale

Connecting in a New Neighbourhood in Cromer

"Returning to Sydney after being away for 2 years, we moved to the Northern Beaches where we had no fellow dog-owner friends. I noticed a MyPetBestie poster at Collaroy dog park and I immediately thought what a brilliant idea! Now we can find a friend for Indy."

"We met Shirl and her dog Sonny. The dogs got along great and they were soon chasing each other and play wrestling. It was great to make a genuine connection, and now we have a familiar face to look out for next time we go to the dog park."

— Mel & Dave, Cromer

"My dog made a lovely new friend, and I did too! It’s great knowing our dogs can play together and that we can help each other when needed—a wonderful way to connect dogs and people in the community."

— Shirley, Narraweena

Transparent Pricing: Free to Join, Pay-Per-Match

To keep the platform accessible, MyPetBesties avoids costly recurring monthly subscriptions:

• Free Profile Creation & Browsing: Joining the platform and creating a detailed profile for your dog costs nothing. Owners can freely browse nearby matches filtered by proximity, size, lifestyle, and travel dates without any obligation.
• Simple $12 Connect Fee: When two owners review each other's profiles and both decide they would like to connect, each family pays a one-off $12 fee to unlock direct contact details.
• Support Local Shelters: Members also have the option to add a voluntary contribution during connection to support animal rescue organisations.

Safety, Trust, and Planning for the 'What-Ifs'

Because MyPetBesties is a peer-to-peer community built on mutual trust rather than a commercial agency, safety and communication are placed directly in the hands of the owners.

1. Mandatory In-Person Meetings: Before any stay or care arrangement is made, owners and dogs meet in a neutral space, such as a local park.

First meetups allow owners to observe how their dogs interact and build trust at their own comfortable pace.

2. Home Environment Visits: Prior to a sleepover, owners visit the prospective host's home to inspect fencing, gates, and living spaces first-hand.

3. Emergency Preparation: Members are encouraged to exchange veterinarian details, emergency contact numbers, medical histories, and agree in writing on how unexpected veterinary costs should be handled if the owner cannot be reached.

4. Insurance Verification: Because the platform does not provide public liability or pet insurance, owners are advised to check their personal home, contents, and pet insurance policies beforehand.

Ultimately, community pet sharing isn't meant to replace professional sitters or boarding kennels — but it adds a warm, rewarding alternative. Knowing trusted neighbours nearby makes the everyday realities of pet ownership far more manageable, turning neighbours into friends and giving dogs a home away from home.

Find Your Dog's Local Bestie

Local meetups can start at off-leash parks so dogs and owners can build trust naturally.

To learn more, explore nearby profiles, or join the community:

• Website: Visit MyPetBesties.com
• Socials: Follow their latest community updates on Facebook and Instagram (@mypetbesties)

Sources & References

• Australian Government Moneysmart, “Getting a pet” (updated August 2026).
• MyPetBesties platform guidance, FAQ, and safety resources (accessed September 2026).

Australian Nursery Data: What Dog Owners Are Actually Planting (And the Hedges That Survive)

By Isaac Olson, Nursery Near Me

Most advice about gardening with dogs focuses heavily on what to avoid—a crucial topic Australian Dog Lover has explored in detail through guides on common plants poisonous to dogs, as well as creative ways to build an engaging sensory garden for your dog. Identifying toxicity matters, but it only answers half the equation: what should you actually plant in its place?

To find out, we looked at real-world buying behaviour. As an online nursery delivering to every mainland state, we analysed 12 months of sales data comprising 3,165 orders and 20,604 plants, cross-referenced with the pet-friendly tags on our site. Pet-friendly turned out to be one of the most requested plant traits in the country, and the specific varieties Australians chose reveal a great deal about how we garden with a dog underfoot.

The Numbers Behind Pet-Friendly Gardens

Almost half of every plant we sent to Queensland carried our pet friendly tag. In New South Wales, the ACT, South Australia and Western Australia it was over a third, and in Victoria about a quarter. In Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT and South Australia it ranked in the top four qualities buyers looked for, behind low maintenance and one or two others. Put plainly, a large share of the country is choosing plants with the dog in mind, whether or not they say so.

What they choose is even more telling. Of the plants carrying our pet-friendly tag, Lilly Pilly Resilience outsold the next plant more than five to one.

A narrow-form Lilly Pilly creating a tight boundary screen—Lilly Pillies were the most planted pet-friendly plants in Australia last year.

Behind it, in order, came no mow grass (Zoysia tenuifolia), Baby Boomer lilly pilly, Miami crepe myrtle, long leaf lomandra, Silver Falls dichondra, the yellow Banksia rose, Acoma crepe myrtle, Little Gem magnolia and tussock grass, with a narrow lilly pilly and a compact lomandra selection also in the top dozen. Rosemary, liriope, sweet osmanthus, kidney weed, silver carpet, seaside daisy, westringia and an olive tree filled out the top twenty-five.

Three things stand out:

• Structure Over Flowers: The list is dominated by hedging and lawn substitutes, not display flowers.
• Lilly Pilly Dominance: The lilly pillies alone outsold every other pet-friendly plant many times over.
• Built Tough: Nearly everything on it is tough, evergreen, and able to be walked on, run past, or lifted a leg against without much complaint.

Dog owners are not planting a display. They are planting a boundary and a floor.

The Dog-Proof Hedge

A hedge is where a dog and a garden meet most often. It is the fence line the dog patrols, the spot where the neighbour's dog gets barked at, and the first thing a new puppy digs under. Here is what the sales data and our customers' delivery photos say about hedges that cope:

✔️ Lilly Pilly: The obvious first choice and deserves it. It sits on the vet safe list, and Resilience and Baby Boomer both take hard pruning, shrug off a dog's daily patrol along the base, and regrow from the wood if a section gets flattened by a big dog. Resilience is the workhorse for a two to three metre screen; Baby Boomer makes a low hedge a dog can see over.

✔️ Westringia (Coastal Rosemary): The native answer for a lower hedge or a fence-line filler. It is non-toxic, handles salt, wind, and dry spells, and a dog running the same track past it every day does it no harm.

✔️ Callistemon & Tea Trees: Hold a fence line in poor soil, feed the birds, and sit on the vet-safe lists we checked.

✔️ Pittosporum Tobira & Camellia Sasanqua: Give a denser, glossier hedge in cooler or shadier spots, again with no toxicity concern.

✔️ Spacing and protection matter more than the plant. Plant a hedge at the close spacing the nursery recommends rather than stretching it, because a dog will find the gap and turn it into a highway. For the first summer, a low temporary fence of stakes and mesh 30 centimetres in front of the row keeps paws off new roots and lets the plants knit together.

A low temporary mesh barrier keeps paws off young roots during the first summer, giving young hedges time to establish.

Mulch thickly, because bare soil beside a fence is an invitation to dig, and water deeply and less often so the surface is not permanently damp and interesting.

✔️ Hedges to Avoid: Box (English, Japanese, and Korean box alike are toxic to dogs, despite English box being the sixth most planted line in the country last year); privet; nandina; and ficus hedges or climbing fig, whose sap irritates mouths and skin. If you inherited a box hedge with a new dog, most dogs leave it alone, but a chewer or a puppy is a different matter.

Lawn Substitutes & Groundcovers: What Actually Copes

The groundcovers on the list are not there by accident. A dog wears a track wherever it runs, and the question is never whether a groundcover will be trodden on, but whether it will come back.

✔️ No Mow Grass (Zoysia tenuifolia): The closest thing to a lawn. It forms a dense, slightly mounded mat that a dog can run on, taking a daily patrol better than most fine lawns. It is slow, which is the price of being tough. Plant plugs on a 20 to 25 centimetre grid in spring, water every second day for the first month, and expect the mat to close over in one growing season. Until it closes, keep the dog off with a low mesh fence, or plant in halves if the dog has nowhere else to run.

✔️ Kidney Weed (Dichondra repens): Ideal for shade and the strip beside the house that grass gives up on. It takes light traffic, though it will thin out on a track used daily. Silver Falls, its grey trailing cousin, is a spiller for a wall or pot rather than a footway.

✔️ Silver Carpet (Dymondia margaretae): A flat groundcover for full sun and dry ground. It hugs the soil, tolerates paws well, and shrugs off hot summers, though it sulks in wet feet.

A Kelpie on a mulched path between Lomandra and Westringia—both non-toxic and tough enough for a daily patrol.

✔️ Tussock Grass & Lomandra: What our customers plant along the fence track itself. A dog runs past a clump rather than through it, and a clump recovers from anything short of digging.

✔️ Managing Lawn Urine Burn: What burns a patch is concentrated nitrogen and salt. Female dogs squatting in one spot or large dogs leave yellow rings, whereas small males watering a fence leave none. Tough groundcovers cope better than fine lawns, but none are immune.

The fix is simple: flood the spot with water within a few minutes to dilute the concentration. Better still, give the dog a designated toilet zone—a metre of mulch or gravel with a post—and guide them there first thing in the morning. Urine-altering supplements are not worth the money.

✔️ Fertiliser Warnings: Feed groundcovers with a controlled-release fertiliser pushed under the mulch. Avoid blood and bone, compost, or open prills (exposed fertiliser pellets scattered on top of the soil). One Adelaide vet's poisoning records put fertiliser, compost, and mushrooms ahead of every plant in the garden for toxicity emergency visits.

Risky Popular Plants & Safe Native Swaps

Our order data shows a clear gap between what dog owners want and what they end up buying. English box was sixth nationally and Japanese box in the top twenty. Agapanthus was in the NSW top ten, an azalea made the Victorian top ten, and climbing fig was ninth nationwide. None of these carry a pet-friendly tag, and all sit on vet avoid lists.

Here are direct, dog-safe plant swaps that perform the exact same landscaping job without the safety risk:

A driveway edged with Lomandra and Liriope—the dog-safe swap for Agapanthus.

• Instead of Box Hedges: Swap for Baby Boomer lilly pilly, compact westringia, or dwarf Pittosporum tobira.
• Instead of Agapanthus: Swap for lomandra or liriope for the same strappy border lines.
• Instead of Azaleas: Swap for Camellia sasanqua for vibrant spring colour.
• Instead of Climbing Fig: Swap for Star Jasmine on walls and fences.
• Instead of Oleander: Swap for native Callistemon (Bottlebrush).
• Instead of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (Brunfelsia): Swap for Plumbago.
• Instead of Hydrangeas: Swap for Plumbago in full sun or Camellia sasanqua in shady corners.
• Instead of Gardenias: Swap for Sweet Osmanthus for a similar rich fragrance.
• Instead of Nandina: Swap for Little John bottlebrush or Baby Boomer lilly pilly.
• Instead of Wisteria: Swap for thornless yellow Banksia rose.
• Instead of Strelitzia: Swap for Cordyline (ensure you avoid Dracaena, which looks similar but is toxic).
• Instead of Toxic Spring Bulbs (Daffodils, Tulips, Hyacinths, Clivia): Swap for kangaroo paw, native violet, seaside daisy, catmint, or gaura.

Pots, Balconies & Small Courtyards

Rosemary and crepe myrtle in a courtyard—both sit on vet-approved safe lists and ranked in the top twenty pet-friendly plants sold last year.

A dog in an apartment or townhouse courtyard meets plants at closer quarters. Anything at nose height in a pot will eventually be chewed. Keep toxic plants completely off balconies: no sago palms, cycads, dracaenas, yuccas, umbrella plants, philodendrons, or lilies.

✔️ Balcony Screening: Resilience or Baby Boomer lilly pillies in 40 to 50 centimetre pots create a green wall in two seasons. Westringia and rosemary make tough screens in wind and sun, while Pure Silk camellia sasanqua suits shaded balconies.

✔️ Potted Trees & Palms: Olives and Little Gem magnolias live happily in large pots for years. Indoors or on covered balconies, opt for bamboo palm, lady palm, ponytail palm, or bird's nest fern.

✔️ Container Tips: Use heavy concrete or glazed pots that dogs cannot tip. Stand pots on feet so drainage water does not pool in saucers for dogs to drink. Avoid spiny plants near flat-faced breeds (Pugs, Bulldogs) whose eyes sit close to foliage.

Planning a Shared Garden Space

Before buying plants, walk your block from your dog's perspective. Map out the patrol tracks, digging corners, and waiting spots. Dedicate high-traffic areas to hardy groundcovers (no mow grass, dichondra, silver carpet, tussock grass, lomandra) rather than delicate shrubs.

Always cross-reference nursery tags with official veterinary safe lists. Plant hedges densely, protect young root systems for the first season, and reserve delicate display flowers for areas fenced off from dog traffic.

A garden with a dog in it may never be a pristine show garden, but choosing the right evergreen bones ensures both you and your dog can comfortably share the space.

Photo Credits: All images supplied courtesy of Nursery Near Me.

About the Author

Isaac Olson is a director of Nursery Near Me, an online nursery based in Brisbane that sources from wholesale growers around Australia and delivers to every mainland state. Their pet-friendly range and free plant care guides are at nurserynearme.com.au.

Connect with Nursery Near Me on Facebook and Instagram.