Bonemeal is made up of animal bones, so, essentially it's food for them and animals sense of smell is much stronger than ours. Apart from using something else, I don't know what else you could do.

You could try sprinkling the bonemeal in the bottom of the planting hole rather than on or near the surface. This seems to have fooled our foxes so far.

Rock phosphate. Not sure whether it's available in the UK in a retail version but it is certainly available to commercial growers (and is available in USA and South Africa) see the Peter Beale's forum (http://www.classicroses.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=2857) for a lively discussion, but unfortunately no UK supplier.

(I visit PB's site because they grow one of my three-most-perfect roses - Ophelia)

We put bone meal in the bottom of the planting hole, if we are going to use. Our previous Siamese cats would try to get into the hole to eat before we could even plant the shrub/tree! But once planted we never had a problem.

In the bottom of the hole, stirred in a bit, then planting mix around the rootballs which doesn't contain either bonemeal or fish, blood and bone. All animals will attempt to get at either of these products, including dogs, cats and rats.

Thanks everyone - I have kept them at bay the last 2 nights with a generous helping of pepper around the plants [this also seems to have stopped the squirrels digging out potted plants,[ to bury their nuts?]].

Bit early for nut burying yet...

My dogs love it !