Dogs and grass, what to do

BigClay

BigClay

Knower of useless ZJ things
Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Location
Winston-Salem
I have two large dogs and one small dog, and they love to run in my back yard and play. Their playing is tearing up my grass, and in many places it is now bare dirt. What are some of the best grasses to plant to help keep the wear down to a minimum.
 
Spray paint the spots that are dirt till they do it again? Just a suggestion! ha
 
Really this is a sign that your yard is too small for that size of dog.

Zoysia grass is among the thickest and toughest. It turns brown and looks dead during winter, but it grows slow and think the rest of the year. It's very nice to walk on barefoot - almost like a thick rug. Also no weeds will grow in it. You start it in small spots and it will spread from there. I think it's typically sold as sod.
 
The problem with most of those warm-season grasses is that they're dormant for 4 months out of the year, during which time the dogs tear them to crap. When they start growing again in the summer, they don't grow quickly enough to overtake the areas damaged during the winter.

If I had to pick anything, there are some great tall fescue varieties that are deep rooted (3ft) and handle July and August temps reasonably well. Plus they grow (not enough to mow, but stay green) through the winter. It's still going to be a constant maintenance issue with that much traffic, though.
 
 
My Celebration Bermuda held up great to the wear and tear of my two dogs (the areas with Kentucky 31, not so much). It is used on playgrounds, ballfields, golf courses, etc. and is highly wear tolerant. The only problem is Bermuda needs full sun to grow, so if your yard is shady, it won't work for you.
 
Take a couple tomato stakes and drive them in the ground where you have the issue., tie something between them, this will change where they run, move it or several of them as you need to
 
Bermuda is a tough ass grass.

It requires some maint because it will take over everything.
It is a warm season grass.... while the other fescue lawns are green, bermuda will be turning brown. In the piedmont bermuda will look good for 5 months best.

If you have some shade.... Creeping red grass. Like bermuda it grows out more than up. Fills in spots nicely but will burn up in full sun.

Its part of having a dog, I let by back yard go and just keep the front nice.
 
Thanks for all the info guys.

Looks like the Creeping Red Grass might be the trick because my back yard is real shady.

I love my dogs and haven't cared about the back yard (the front yard gets all of my attention and looks pretty good if I do say so myself), but we are thinking about moving in the next year or so. I am afraid the back yard is going to bring down the value of our house, so that is why I am asking.
 
Back
Top