Question
So the other day I left and my impatients for the sun looked great. I came home and one of them was wilted. I smelled it and it smelled like my dog had peed on it. If that is the case will my flower live or will I need to get a new one. And is there any tips you could give me to keep my dog away from them, thanks.

Answer
Very sorry about your dog and flower.  Dogs and flowers do not make good bedfellows.  Ever hear the story Please don't eat the daisies?  That's not a euphemism.  They'll eat anything.  They'll chew anything.  That's a dog for you.

I have a house full of dogs.  They love to dig and they love to dig most where something is growing.  If they uproot it, well, that's just another thing to run around with and fight over.  That's a dog for you.

Impatiens should not be left in the sun.  These are not full sun plants unless you're talking morning full sun or evening full sun.  But middle of the day, high noon, sunburn-ready sun is NOT a way to make your impatiens happy campers.  It is entirely possible that your dog peed, but it is also possible - probable, actually - that your impatiens was already wilting when Nature called.

Move your impatiens to a place in your garden where, if you were to lie there yourself the entire time your impatiens is there, you would never sunburn.  That will keep it from wilting.  Of course, as you know, you need to water this thing as well.  Just for the record.

As for the dog, there are gadgets you can get that will repel dogs.  The most cost efficient ones are those that you use while monitoring the dog, so that you can "pull the trigger" as the dog does what you don't want it to.  One that has been amazing for me has a sort of hissing sound, like a snake - evidently dogs are built with innate fears of this noise.  But you have to be there.

The do-it-yourself invisible fence is very good for gardens, although people usually use them to keep dogs out of the street.  I have a real fence to contain my dogs, and I have an un-installed "invisible fence" that will be going into the garden this summer after my landscapers are finished with their project.  This for me is a great investment because I have at this moment 7 dogs.

Before the invisible fence, I had a gadget that shoots water at any rodent or cat or dog that goes near an area.  This is still going to be used to ward off cats, which come into my garden to find baby birds.  This does not endear me to cats.  But they just do what comes naturally.  Someone has to be there for the birdies.

I have used sprays on the ground to repel dogs, but these are not cost effective and have to be re-applied every time it rains.  That adds up to more than a water-shooting motion-detecter or invisible fence would cost.  I don't know of an effective, kitchen-made alternative.

There are gadgets you can purchase that will go off when the object of your affection, your child say, wanders too far from where you were with them last.  If your impatiens is growing somewhere your dog likes to wander, this will tell you when it's time to use the hissing alarm and scare the daylights out of Fido.

Let me know if you would like details on any or all of the above.  I truly understand your predicament and I'd like to help you.