Dog topiary
A dog topiary is a breed shaped in greenery over a welded steel frame. We build the recognisable ones — westie, scottie, yorkie, schnauzer, poodle, bulldog, retriever, dachshund — in hand-packed sphagnum moss, bare galvanized wire, and LED-lit wire frames that read after dark, from a thirteen-inch doorstep piece up to life-size and beyond. A specific dog is a portrait rather than a catalogue item, and we build those from your photographs.
Made in our own workshopWelded, galvanized and covered here — not drop-shipped.
Ships across US & CanadaSmall pieces by UPS, large ones by freight with delivery quoted.
Built to outlast the foliageGalvanized steel under everything, including the welds.
4–10 weeks for a commissionReady-made pieces leave sooner; we tell you which before you pay.
In the workshop now
43 dog pieces, from $114.
Dachshund Topiary, Wire frame, 13 in
$114
Poodle Topiary, Lighted wire frame, 17 in
$128
Westie Dog Topiary, Wire frame, 14 in
$143
Schnauzer Topiary, Wire frame, 18 in
$155
Poodle Topiary, Wire frame, 17 in
$155
Scottie Dog Topiary, Wire frame, 18 in
$159
Yorkie . Topiary, Wire frame, 15 in
$162
Dachshund Wire Topiary, Lighted, 13 in
$168
Dachshund Topiary, Mossed, 13 in
$169
Chihuahua Topiary, Mossed, 16 in
$179
Bulldog Topiary, Wire frame, 16 in
$188
Boston Terrier Topiary, Wire frame, 20 in
$188
Poodle Topiary, Mossed, 17 in
$198
Westie Topiary, Lighted, 14 in
$202
Chihuahua Topiary, Lighted wire frame, 16 in
$206
Cocker Spaniel Topiary, Wire frame, 21 in
$208
Westie Topiary, Mossed, 14 in
$216
Schnauzer . Topiary, Mossed, 18 in
$231
Sitting Cavalier Spaniel Topiary, Mossed, 16 in
$233
Yorkie Topiary, Mossed, 15 in
$240
Scottie Topiary, Lighted wire frame, 18 in
$240
Scottie Topiary, Mossed, 18 in
$248
Schnauzer Topiary, Lighted, 18 in
$259
Boston Terrier Topiary, Mossed, 20 in
$267
How it is finished
The same dog, four ways.
Every piece starts as the same welded, galvanized steel frame. What goes over it is the choice.
Mossed
Sphagnum moss packed over the steel frame by hand. Green from day one, and it can be planted into later.
16 in this shape →
Bare wire frame
The galvanized steel armature on its own, to stuff, plant or grow a vine up yourself.
20 in this shape →
Lighted
The same frame wrapped with LEDs — mains or solar, so it reads after dark as well as in daylight.
9 in this shape →
Getting a breed to read as that breed.
A dog is harder than most animals because everyone knows what one looks like. The silhouette has to carry the breed before any detail does — the drop of a westie's tail, the square of a schnauzer's beard, the barrel of a bulldog. That decision is made in the steel, not in the moss.
It is why we work from photographs when a piece is commissioned. A specific dog is a portrait, and portraits are built from reference.
The ready-made breeds sit in mossed animal topiary; for a portrait of your own dog, send us the photographs.
What it needs once it is standing.
A mossed piece wants misting through dry spells and a refresh of the moss every year or so. A bare frame wants nothing at all until you decide to plant it. Turf and artificial pieces want an occasional rinse and no more — no watering, no trimming, no seasonal work.
The steel underneath is the part that decides how long the piece lasts, and galvanized steel outdoors is measured in decades rather than seasons.
Full instructions by material are on our care pages; if a piece has gone tired, this eight-year-old swan shows what a restoration looks like.
In the workshop
Steel first, then green.
Three of the six stages every piece goes through. The frame is the sculpture; everything after it is surface.
02Steel rod, bent and weldedSteel rod bent by hand and welded into a cage that carries the pose. Anything over six feet also gets steel tubing run inside it.
03Galvanized, welds includedGalvanized over every surface including the welds — which is exactly where outdoor steel fails first.
04Sphagnum packed by handLong-fibre sphagnum packed into the cage by hand and bound down, so the piece is green the day it arrives.
The full sequence — drawing, welding, galvanizing, mossing, planting and installation — is set out step by step in how a topiary form is made.
Before you order
Dog topiary questions, answered.
Can you make a topiary of my own dog?
Yes — that is most of what we do. Send several photographs from different angles and the height you want. Profile and three-quarter views matter most, because the silhouette carries the breed.
What sizes do dog topiaries come in?
Catalogue pieces start around fifteen inches, which suits a doorstep, a hearth or a table. Life-size and larger is a commission.
Can a dog topiary live outdoors?
A bare galvanized wire frame can stay out year-round, and so can the lit wire-frame breeds. A mossed dog is happiest under cover — a porch or a covered patio — because weather wears sphagnum down.
Which breeds do you already have?
Westie, scottie, yorkie, schnauzer, poodle, bulldog, retriever, dachshund and others, and the list changes as pieces come through the workshop. Anything not listed is a commission.
Do they come lit?
Some do. LED-wrapped animals read after dark and are used for winter displays and events; mains or solar depending on whether there is a power feed.
Other animals we build
Bunny topiary · Dinosaur topiary · Horse topiary · Elephant topiary · Deer topiary · Swan topiary · Giraffe topiary · Frog topiary · Bear topiary
Something bigger?
Tell us the animal and the size.
Send a photograph or a sketch with the height you need and where it will stand. We come back with a design, a price and a delivery date — then build it in our own workshop.
