Short of buying a B-B Gun to shoot their behinds, you could buy a repellent specially for these type mammals at http://www.gardensalive.com, or perhaps at your local co-op or plant nursery.
I was told to put human urine in a hose-end sprayer and spray my yard with it to keep away gophers and cats. It worked in a tiny yard I had in California in 2000 before I moved to Alabama. In Alabama, I was all too glad to have squirrels and birds in my yard picking up walnuts and bugs. Now, this may not work for everyone, but it can't hurt to try it out. You don't even have to tell anyone either! Most people are grossed out by it!
You can set up a sprinkler system that goes off when anything enters the yard. It lasts for a few seconds, just long enough to scare off a cat who hates water.
With squirrels, you can use a Hot Pepper Spray (1/4 cup hot sauce per gallon of water or put full strength into a hose-end sprayer and set the control for 1 gallon spray). Usually this keeps them from eating anything in the yard. You can also add 1 cup of tobacco tea to the same hot sauce gallon. Steep a huge pinch of tobacco in a gallon of water overnight, then add 1 cup of this to your gallon of water mixed with the hot sauce. If this doesn't work, I'd go for the repellent from a store that I mentioned above.
Dogs are a little more difficult. They dig everywhere just for fun. You can place a stiff wire down around your plants. Any fabric or netting and dogs can dig right through it and tear if up. If they are digging up the lawn, I'd try the dog repellent mentioned above.
If you have containers, use a stiff wire inside the pots for these heavier mammals. You can always add a mulch in your pot to cover up the wire.
If you have bird problems, read my article on Birds from July 28, 2000.
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