Lawn is hanging by a thread...

This forum is for discussing all topics related to the challenges (and joys!) of keeping your house clean while living with dogs. Here you can share tips, recommendations for products and techniques, and more!

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Glacier

Slick as Ice

Barked: Thu Apr 14, '11 9:04am PST


	...or root if you will. My yard was already pretty bad with a combination of short centipede roots, large dog running around, and moles. Now with two large dogs running around it's a lost cause. Hubby and I have decided to just nix the grass in the back (the front is gorgeous) until we move. There's not enough sun it seems for the lawn to stay healthy with all these knocks against it. We have sandy soil and since there's little to no grass left, the dogs come in incredibly sandy and dirty and walking in sand all over my house is driving me nutters. So, I need creative ideas on what to cover the ground with that will keep the dogs out of the soil and not look like total poo. Here are my thoughts: -pinestraw -hay -some kind of ground cover plant that's green but tough to kill (honestly weeds would be fine at this point!) -mulch (cedar, or bark, etc?) -or just be like my neighbors and pave over the entire backyard so their jack russells can't dig it up anymore

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Harlow

st. francis of- asses

Barked: Thu Apr 14, '11 9:17am PST


	Glacier, we have the same problem with 4 large dogs in a small backyard that was not in good shape to begin with. Since it is not our house, we are leasing, we went with the least expensive route. We used pine straw. It works great! Keep the dust level down, if it rains, the dogs are walking on the straw, not in mud. It is easy to keep a few bales and just spread it out when areas get thin.

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Tanuk, CGC

Sherpa Tanuk of- Everest

Barked: Thu Apr 14, '11 9:23am PST


	That's what I was thinking, and when we're ready to put sod down again just brush it into the garden beds and voila! However, I was thinking a more attractive permanent change would be a truckload of the tiny river rocks. I'd love that, but I'm afraid it'd hurt us when we go to resell. I guess it'd appeal to anyone with dogs who wanted to buy the house. I'll post a pic of the yard when I get a chance to see if it sparks creativity. It's about 1/3 of an acre I think? Edited by author Thu Apr 14, '11 9:24am PST

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Chloe

OG- Original- Goberian

Barked: Thu Apr 14, '11 9:34am PST


	Stupid question- what's the difference between pine straw and hay?? I don't really have advice, just empathy. October of last year we had our septic AND our well replaced, which means 3/4 of our yard was dug up and completely destroyed. The company that did the work planted grass seed and covered the yard with hay (or is it pine straw? hence my stupid question) when they were done. We watered the yard daily last year until winter came and the ground froze, but hardly any grass is growing this year. So we have an acre of dirt that the dogs trot around in every day. I have sand/dirt all over the house, I'm sweeping and vacuuming almost daily, as well as wiping down the leather furniture daily. What about pea gravel? I think it is expensive though, so depends on how big your backyard is. Plus I don't know if they would track the tiny stones into your house or not.

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Sanka

The ground is my- newspaper.

Barked: Thu Apr 14, '11 9:55am PST


	Did you mean straw or were you really considering hay? Hay is food. Straw isn't. It's easy to confuse the two. Straw honestly tends to get everywhere. It gets into the dogs' fur. Even with my dogs just walking through our kitchen to get to the garage, the straw gets in the house. So, I imagine with your dogs, the straw would easily get caught up in their fur. It's easier to pick up than sand, but it's more visible. I don't know if it'll work for you, but I love the moss yards people have when they have large shaded areas. That's what a lot of people have when I go to the U.P. of Michigan since there are so many trees.

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Glacier

Slick as Ice

Barked: Thu Apr 14, '11 2:16pm PST


	Hmm, interesting idea Sanka, I'll look into moss, I don't know how drought tolerant it is though. I haven't noticed moss growing here...had it in GA though. I meant straw! Hay is for horses! And chinchillas. They wouldn't appreciate me taking their noms and spreading them all over the yard.

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Jewel, PCD

8.6lbs of fury- in a bow!

Barked: Thu Apr 14, '11 2:18pm PST


	I have an area of my yard that doesn't grow due to a large tree and I was thinking of squaring it off with lumber and then laying down fist sized rocks. I wouldn't do that for a whole yard but can....no yeah I'm going to need to see a picture.

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Halo

Howling good- times to be had- with me.

Barked: Fri Apr 15, '11 12:13pm PST


	Buffalo grass, you can order it several places online. That stuff is worse than kudzoo for spreading, getting tall and, refusing to go away in even the harshest environments as long as it has water. Kudzoo would also work if you live where it grows, just smash a few kudzoo tatters out there, and wait a couple of weeks- tons of dark green leafy stuff.

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Bella

Rub my Belly!

Barked: Fri Apr 15, '11 2:40pm PST


	Just a thought...would your dogs go to the bathroom on all these considerations?? I know some dogs are very picky about the surface they eliminate on and others are not.

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Bella and- Daisy CGC

I'm a Meanie

Barked: Fri Apr 15, '11 7:26pm PST


	Hmm. Where I am from (and living now) pine straw is pine needles. The house I just moved into is kinda naturally covered in the needles because there are 3 pine trees back there! Straw is typically a special type of grass cut and baled like hay that animals don't eat, and hay is the edible grasses. Pinestraw is also widely used in the south as a mulch. I would go that route personally. Easy to spread (and pick up if needed later), easy to keep clean, and doesn't disintegrate quickly.

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