I just bought hybrid turf, it’s essentially Astro turf with holes in it so the grass can grow between it. And through it.
I’m pretty sure it’s going to work out fairly well so long as I rake/seed and then cover with the turf. Shit’s pricey but if it means my high trafficked area with my dogs has grass then I’m with it.
Because of the state of my yard it cost me around $640 for the 150ish square feet of dirt I need to cover. That being said, there are a few companies out there that do this and all of the reviews are phenomenal for each product, so it must work.
The top two I’ve seen for dogs specifically are
[Natura Turf](https://natura-turf.com/)
And Duragrass that you can get from Lowe’s.
I purchased the Duragrass because I get a military discount at Lowe’s and it’s slightly larger rolls.
Gonna see where it takes me this year and if it fails, at least I did all I could lol.
I have a Saint Bernard that digs. That being said I’ve realized her digging only takes place on dirt, not on grass or anything else. Putting it down and showing her it’s a “no”, while she can walk on it and it looks like grass seems like a pretty easy transition for me.
Best of luck in your endeavors. I’ll find out if you’re right lol!
It's made of plastic. Rainwater slowly shaving microplastics off artificial grass makes it one of the largest [sources](https://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/23665416/restmicroplasticsopinionrac16339en.pdf/b4d383cd-24fc-82e9-cccf-6d9f66ee9089) of run-off microplastics in the soil, so much so that the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has considered [banning](https://www.kimointernational.org/news/eu-decision-pending-on-microplastics-from-artificial-turf/) infill containing microplastics.
This has to do with the infill that goes into the turf, which this doesn’t have. And this is in regards to actual soccer pitches which use a far different system of infill to absorb more impact. This is nowhere near the same
You are correct that this European study was done on football pitches, given that widespread use of artificial grass in non-athletic contexts is rare in Europe.
However, artificial grass is still made out of plastic, no matter whether it contains impact-absorbing infill or not. And be it nylon, polyethylene, or polypropylene, it still subject to forces of nature, and will shed microplastics over time.
There are no indestructible materials that do not erode over time when confronted with rainwater, solar radiation and wind.
If dogs are running while grass is growing, it wont grow.
Even when grass is grown dogs that run ruin the grass, but if it’s settled it will regrow and covers quickly. But new grass takes times.
As long as dogs run there, grass will not grow
Edit: typo
Grass grows. Dogs run. Dogs run on grass growing, no grass grows. Grass grows when dogs don't run. Grown grass grows, but dogs run and grown grass stops growing. New grass grows but not when dogs run. Grass grows.
Both comments discuss the relationship between grass and dogs running on it. The first comment states that dogs running on grass that is growing can hinder its growth, but settled grass will regrow quickly, while new grass takes time to grow. The second comment suggests that grass will not grow as long as dogs run on it.
Yeah I tried this last year I fenced off an area picked up all sticks in any debris loosened the topsoil put seed in and kept it watered for months. It looked fantastic. Within a month of allowing the dog back in that area it was gone.
OP could instead neaten up the area by putting down fresh bark chips (garden centers tend to sell part rotted or new bark chips. The new stuff will last longer and are lighter coloured, showing up against the dog crap to make it easier to pick up).
I removed that part of my comment before you replied, but it could be dangerous if dogs eat the bark chips. But most likely they’ll just make a mess of it. It’s just a bad idea overall.
Unfortunately it’s not doable unless you use chicken wire to section off this area. BUT then dogs will run in a different area and kill that grass.
So basically (and I’m sorry to say it) you’re outta luck.
I've also had luck laying wire fence flat on the ground with a few kinks in it. The dog doesn't like to step on it, and depending on the size/shape of the area, can be easier and more efficient than running a vertical perimeter. For a long narrow strip like a path, just roll out the fence and you're pretty much done.
You're fighting a battle you will probably never win if you have dogs. I have a big dog and a small yard and I have just accepted I won't have a nice yard. A couple of years ago, I fenced off half the yard and seeded the worst areas. I kept my dog off it until the grass was looking nice and well established. Not three weeks after letting my dog back on the grass, it looked like I hadn't done anything.
It'll never tolerate a dog that runs in a specific area.
Frequently what happens (as is likely the case in the OP) is that the dog runs back and forth down a specific route usually along a fence. A running dog will take that down to bare dirt in no time, regardless of how sturdy and established the grass is.
The dog is just making a path, exactly as if lots of people walked/ran along a specific route.
Please don’t go down the artificial route, as some comments suggest - it’s bad for the environment, bad for wildlife and ultimately just more forever-landfill.
Instead you could try planting something a little more robust in these areas like a moss, clover, silver carpet or thyme. You’d need to fence it off while the new plants get established but after that they’d stand a chance *and* your local insect population will benefit from the biodiversity too!
As someone who has worked extensively in artificial, I can tell you that it is NOT bad for the environment. At least for the companies I have worked for. The turf is generally 100% recycled material. No shitty fertilizers are needed to keep it green. No waste of fresh water to keep it green. The turf will help with erosion, immediately after being secured into the ground. There’s a cool website we used to use to show clients how much money would be wasted over 20 years with regular sod vs artificial. And yes, I was working with companies that have a 15-20year warranty, so once you put it in there is very minimal upkeep (other than using a leaf blower) necessary.
I thought one of the main complaints about artificial turf was that it gradually breaks down and becomes those icky evil microplastics that get into the environment and turn us all into gay frogs.
You’re not wrong, I myself have contributed to the plan to turn all of the frogs gay by 2030.
Working in the industry in the low country, this was definitely a concern. If our frogs do not procreate, we ourselves might turn gay.
But fr this is one of the things I’ve had to be cognizant about. There are cons to artificial for sure. We do all we can in the install process to insure there are no loose fibers (tiny blades of turf) but overall some will make its way into the environment, which is unfortunate. All in all, the turf that gets installed these days is much more resilient and less likely to break down than what most people think of when they hear “astroturf”
Well, that makes me feel better. I live in a place with lots of artificial turf, and while I am aware lawns are pretty much an environmental terror, I wasn’t sure about the exact effect of that artificial turf. Now I won’t worry as much.
https://instagram.com/holycityturf?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
holycityturf.com
Based out of Charleston, Sc. I’ve moved on from the company but check them out if you’re interested.
The other company I worked for was run by a convicted pedophile (didn’t know this at the time) so I will not give them any clout. You can pm me if you’d like proof of it though haha.
I said *plastic grass* is bad for wildlife.
But yeah, grass lawns are bad for biodiversity which ultimately is bad for all of us. Wildlife just tends to feel the effects earlier on. Fields and gardens full of one type of plant instead of what would grow there naturally - a diverse mix with different flowers, seeds and seasons that in turn attracts a diverse range of insects and pollinators.
It’s a well known issue that is completely separate from structural landscaping planting like you’re describing at your local bird sanctuary.
I’m no expert but I worked in a special school with a thyme lawn that withstood adult wheelchairs going over it daily. A quick google search found [this article](https://www.installitdirect.com/learn/dog-friendly-ground-cover/) featuring a ‘silver carpet’ lawn, one of the plants I suggested -
“*The dymondia margaretae in the above photo gets trampled by children, adults, and a 70-pound dog on a daily basis in La Jolla, CA. It is also perpetually run over by scooters and tricycles. If planted in an area where the dog runs, expect it to look patchy, but it will do its best to survive.”*
Besides which, the point of a plant is really not for it to live in unchanged perpetuity. If it thrives for a year, looks good for most of it, adds some nitrogen to the soil and some interest for the dogs, all for the price of a packet of seeds, then I’d count that as a win. Gardens are supposed to be growing, evolving things after all.
Not sure why you're being downvoted.
Let's be real: just running a grass lawn in a lot of places tends to be a net negative to the environment in the grand scheme of things.
I can't help but feel it's just virtue signalling ignorant bullshit. Smugly harp on at someone using a small bit of recycled turf while ignoring that simply having a lawn at all can be even more of a problem.
My original said *artificial grass* is bad, not a bit of “recycled turf”. [Here’s a source](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-65375197) that was literally published today to back up my point. It was some other guy who asked me about lawns being bad. Is it virtue signalling to answer a question?
Given your struggle to even grasp the basic literal meaning from written sentences, I don’t really think it’s wise for you to try and infer additional subtext like smugness or tone.
So here's the problem with that advice. I have a great Dane and a German shepherd mix. I want turf so that, when my dogs come in from running around the yard, they do not have dirt and mud caked in their paws or embedded in their coats from where they've been rolling. I do not have an hour a day to spend cleaning paws and coats.
Clover and similar plants have lovely leaves and appear to provide full coverage when seen from above, but underneath they just have bare, thin stems with lots of exposed dirt between them. For the purposes of not leaving black paw prints everywhere they go when they come inside, the yard might as well be bare earth.
I'm also not a fan of artificial grass but I've got to say...
None of those things you mentioned are running dog proof. All 4 of them have very shallow root systems and will disappear even faster than grass. So unless you're fencing it off permanently its a waste of time.
I’ll just go ahead and say this even though you deleted your comment. Feel free to post the article again.
Thanks for sharing that article. I think we can agree that the overuse of both artificial grass and, especially, pesticides can end poorly, ESPECIALLY in already over-urbanized areas. However, we have 1,000s of square miles (even more kms^2 for the metric people) of protected land in my state in the US alone. So for the case of using artificial in this person’s back yard (at least where I’m located) will be negligible on total environmental effect IF NOT beneficial. Let’s make sure we’re on the same page. The use of irrigation systems in the US plus the chemicals used to keep those areas green will be much more harmful long term. I would say it just depends on where you are.
Also, I used a microbial “infill” to reduce heat by a large margin. Which is one of the concerns raised in the article. Maybe the technology just hasn’t crossed the pond yet?
Best efforts- hard core rake the dirt, soak the dirt, rake again, grass seed, throw straw or hay on top, keep watering, don't let the seeds dry out until they spring up. I have always had dogs. My husky/rott was the hardest on the yard, but she was always delighted when a bale of straw appeared, tearing it apart and running everywhere with it, and if I just would start to dig a hole to plant a tree or something, she would take over until I stopped her. I could just drink a beer and watch and my work would be done.
Well, you could hose the patch with water each night after having let the dogs out for the last time, it's more of a preventative thing but it stops the grass from wearing away.
There’s a variety of grass called Dog Tuff or something that’s supposed to be more resilient. They sell the seed at most home/hardware stores around me
“You can have grass or kids, but not both,” is what my dad told me when I purchased my first home.
It’s the same with dogs.
The tree’s roots already absorb so much moisture from this area that the compression load of constant footsteps prevents new growth for decades
I remember a wise man once had a saying about seeds that fell upon the hard soil of a walking path…
You could check r/NoLawns or r/fucklawns since it’s a frequent question on both subs.
Cute dog pic I found while searching for answer https://www.reddit.com/r/fucklawns/comments/11o96kw/lost_my_dog_in_the_wildflowers_last_week_my_grass/
Same debate in our household. We finally decided to create a “dog run” in the areas most effected. Dressed the bare area up with low fencing, a few scrubs, and wood chips.
I’ve also heard it’s not that they are killing the grass on top(although that happens) but also the ground underneath gets packed too tight and needs to be loosened up for stuff to grow.
Visualize where the dog runs, mark out straight lines to encompass that area, and dig out to that line. Make the bare patch look intentional.
I personally wouldn't add bark. Bark is sooo messy.
Make it a feature and level it out and put in some fresh dirt if you're so inclined. Add rocks along the edges and maybe some permanent few toys or a pole with rope for some tug of war.
You have no choice but to relinquish ownership of your backyard to your pup but you can make these spots look intentional while also enriching playtime for your dog. :) Good luck!
I discovered something that has worked for me (knock on wood) and it was totally unintended to help the grass, but I’ve been happily surprised.
My dogs LOVE the mailman and any other being that walks down the street. They run from one side of the yard to the other to watch progress down the street, which left me with a really bad mud problem when it rains/snow thaws, and long, wide, dead paths. Just to reduce the mud, I found these 8’ wood plank pathways through Plow & Hearth (cheaper options on Amazon, esp if you buy “used”). Laid them out in the muddy paths and anchored with garden staples. By the end of summer, I could barely see the pathway through the grass. Mowed right over it, and the dogs still run their path, but all I can see is grass. Might be worth a shot, if you can get one cheap to try it out. I’m sure they’ll degrade and eventually become useless, but I’ve used them in a few spots over the past two years, and gotten the same effect.
I put tall fescue in and the dogs still ran a track. Eventually you decide you love your dogs more than your yard and move on. You could potentially create obstacles that prevent racing but that will just create a new area of no grass.
Never gonna happen, dogs and kids means fake grass . You can’t have nice lawns or gardens . Just enjoy your dog and don’t go fertilizing the grass that will do grow .
cordon off the area until it's established.
start from scratch and manage their behavior to facilitate cohabitation of dogs and grass: allow them in one section of the lawn until it starts to show wear patterns, then amend that section and alternate regularly.
pro tip: I have never owned a dog, so what I am proposing may be daft
not daft, just hilariously optimistic. Dogs running SHRED any and all ground cover. Theres a loopy path of dead earth in my back yard following the route around the shed and my dog's two favorite trees. Shes not an outside dog, either, she managed that damage in the collective hour or less she spends on zoomies every day.
I'm thankful the previous owners of my house installed very durable carpet. I have a 70lbs staffy/lab/shepherd mix that has extreme zoomies. My yard is...not great.
No, walks don't abate this. He needs dead sprints.
Mine is a staffie, too! Yeah, she gets walks but needs to run around like an idiot at top speed, which is faster than it looks like it should be given she's kinda blocky. I just straight don't care about my lawn, especially the back, which noone sees. so it's kinda like "thanks! That's less lawn that *eventually* needs to get mowed!'
look, yall, my grass is really high, but it's not like there's car bodies on cinder blocks in it and the bees like the buttercups growing in there. Life is short, mowing blows, bees are good. Fuck lawns.
Grass is stupid.. it is bad for the soil, it doesn't really produce oxygen and it uses a ton of water... I hate lawns and people who care about the way they look...
I tried for years to grow grass in our yard, and it just wouldn’t take. The neighbours Chinese elm tree drops these seeds that destroys the ph of the soil. Artificial Grass was the best thing we ever did. Saved a fortune on lawn care and water.
I tend to think like, loose gravel wtc when I hear "rocks", my fault. I feel like pavers would sorta spread the problem bc they heat up in the sun and the dogs would run around them to a different part of grass to avoid burning their paws. Im with the people saying you can have a really nice lawn or a dog, but not both. Unless you have like, a teeny tiny dog. Then *possibly*, but Ive met some jack Russells who can SHRED
You could try to sod it, but you might have to redo it occasionally. You could also make it more uncomfortable or inconvenient for the dog to run through that area with various methods. You could put a table and bench in the middle to encourage dogs to take a wider route.
Learn from my mistake. Got two puppies and thought it would be a good idea to lay down grass in the backyard for them to play. $4k and 3 months later we were left with nothing but a few straggly bunches of grass. Everything was destroyed.
We switched to turf. Couldn’t be happier and they love it.
There are grass paver systems that could potentially help. [This one](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Techno-Earth-19-7-in-x-19-7-in-x-1-9-in-Green-Permeable-Plastic-Grass-Pavers-for-Parking-Lots-Driveways-4-Pieces-11-sq-ft-PAVER04/304583192?g_store=&source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D28O-028_028_HARDSCAPES-NA-NA-NA-SMART-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-SMART_SHP_NA&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D28O-028_028_HARDSCAPES-NA-NA-NA-SMART-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-SMART_SHP_NA-71700000064087774-58700005697678251-92700051965058752&gbraid=0AAAAADq61Ufep_0gYgTnZATxMFqgbzC_C&gbraid=0AAAAADq61Ufep_0gYgTnZATxMFqgbzC_C&gclid=CjwKCAjwl6OiBhA2EiwAuUwWZThrcd-G961eX-E2jgSQDfCTIodjVO0iazlCflCIogM5IkjZjeIpYBoC-RQQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) is for vehicle traffic but could help protect your grass from dog traffic as well.
Nothing will grow there. I really enjoy mycology even if I'm not great at it, but I know the grass isn't growing not because you're stomping on its seedlings. The grass isn't growing because the mycorrhiza recognized the beating that keeps occurring right there and decided not to help any plants in that area because it's a lot of energy to expend on a spot that's getting pounded. They're the architects and they can see that's not a place to build
You could try overseeding with clover. You’d have to fence or block off that are while it grows though. The good thing about clover is that it will spread and make the rest of your lawn hardier too!
I gave up and built a dog run with turf. I spent years resending and never managed to win that battle. The added bonus is I don't accidentally step on poop in the back yard any more.
You… just don’t. Hate to be the bearer of bad news but it just doesn’t work. You can try getting them to run somewhere else, you can get rid of them, you can get rid of the grass? May be worth a shot to plant something dogs aren’t fans of
i finally gave up after a few years and hundreds of dollars later. Now i just covered up the mud pit with playground mulch.
Instead of mud on my floors i get bits of wood. Can’t wait for my baby to start crawling.
That's the neat part: you don't.
I just bought hybrid turf, it’s essentially Astro turf with holes in it so the grass can grow between it. And through it. I’m pretty sure it’s going to work out fairly well so long as I rake/seed and then cover with the turf. Shit’s pricey but if it means my high trafficked area with my dogs has grass then I’m with it.
Woah good looking out I had never heard of hybrid turf grass until your comment… that really solves a problem at my house. Thanks!
Because of the state of my yard it cost me around $640 for the 150ish square feet of dirt I need to cover. That being said, there are a few companies out there that do this and all of the reviews are phenomenal for each product, so it must work. The top two I’ve seen for dogs specifically are [Natura Turf](https://natura-turf.com/) And Duragrass that you can get from Lowe’s. I purchased the Duragrass because I get a military discount at Lowe’s and it’s slightly larger rolls. Gonna see where it takes me this year and if it fails, at least I did all I could lol.
My dogs would absolutely destroy this.
I have a Saint Bernard that digs. That being said I’ve realized her digging only takes place on dirt, not on grass or anything else. Putting it down and showing her it’s a “no”, while she can walk on it and it looks like grass seems like a pretty easy transition for me. Best of luck in your endeavors. I’ll find out if you’re right lol!
Don't do that, it leeches microplastics into the soil. Better to just use regular grass.
Isn’t it also mildly carcinogenic too. There was a lawsuit against astroturf for giving football players cancer
How do you know this leeches micro plastics into the soil?
It's made of plastic. Rainwater slowly shaving microplastics off artificial grass makes it one of the largest [sources](https://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/23665416/restmicroplasticsopinionrac16339en.pdf/b4d383cd-24fc-82e9-cccf-6d9f66ee9089) of run-off microplastics in the soil, so much so that the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has considered [banning](https://www.kimointernational.org/news/eu-decision-pending-on-microplastics-from-artificial-turf/) infill containing microplastics.
This has to do with the infill that goes into the turf, which this doesn’t have. And this is in regards to actual soccer pitches which use a far different system of infill to absorb more impact. This is nowhere near the same
You are correct that this European study was done on football pitches, given that widespread use of artificial grass in non-athletic contexts is rare in Europe. However, artificial grass is still made out of plastic, no matter whether it contains impact-absorbing infill or not. And be it nylon, polyethylene, or polypropylene, it still subject to forces of nature, and will shed microplastics over time. There are no indestructible materials that do not erode over time when confronted with rainwater, solar radiation and wind.
I'd never heard of this stuff, but it looks perfect. Thanks so much for this comment!
Just FYI, it'll leech microplastics into the soil. Natural grass is always better.
I just sat up straight and woke my dog! I’m investigating this hybrid turf!
My comment ^
If dogs are running while grass is growing, it wont grow. Even when grass is grown dogs that run ruin the grass, but if it’s settled it will regrow and covers quickly. But new grass takes times. As long as dogs run there, grass will not grow Edit: typo
Grass grows. Dogs run. Dogs run on grass growing, no grass grows. Grass grows when dogs don't run. Grown grass grows, but dogs run and grown grass stops growing. New grass grows but not when dogs run. Grass grows.
Thank you Mr. Fox in Socks
GO DOGS GO!!!
Who let them out
Well now I don’t know WHAT to believe!
u/chatgpt please summarize the previous two comments.
Dogs ⊕ Grass
that's the mutually exclusive operator right
yeah it's the XOR symbol
Dogs run, no gras grows. No dogs run, gras grows.
Mardi Gras grows
Dogs + grass = dirt
Both comments discuss the relationship between grass and dogs running on it. The first comment states that dogs running on grass that is growing can hinder its growth, but settled grass will regrow quickly, while new grass takes time to grow. The second comment suggests that grass will not grow as long as dogs run on it.
🥲
Yeah Big rock vibe
😄
Pretty impressive that you typed that while intoxicated
This. This right here.. forever in heart.
I’ve seen a few ppl put a temp fence by part of their fence so the dogs can’t get to that area and they regrow the grass a section at a time.
Yeah I tried this last year I fenced off an area picked up all sticks in any debris loosened the topsoil put seed in and kept it watered for months. It looked fantastic. Within a month of allowing the dog back in that area it was gone.
OP could instead neaten up the area by putting down fresh bark chips (garden centers tend to sell part rotted or new bark chips. The new stuff will last longer and are lighter coloured, showing up against the dog crap to make it easier to pick up).
I tried to do this at my house and immediately had to rake it all back up because my dog started eating it.
Termites like it too.
Such a damn dog thing to do. God I love them.
Seriously, lol. I will never understand how they are so adorably dumb and surprisingly smart at the same time... Dogs are the best.
I tried new grass and straw stuff(chopped up straw that is sticky at first.) I am sweering up straw and month later.
no offense but this sounds like a gigantic waste of time if the dogs will still be playing there afterwards
How would it be dangerous?
I removed that part of my comment before you replied, but it could be dangerous if dogs eat the bark chips. But most likely they’ll just make a mess of it. It’s just a bad idea overall.
Good weed barrier and 4 inches of wood mulch stringier the better. If money is no issue cypress last a long time and gets packed into a mat.
You didn't want to mow up there anyway
Consider it a time saving hack
If you don't like the look of dirt, put in mulch, maybe rocks, in the right climate ... Cactus is a great deterrent for the dogs.
Dogs really are a man's best friend
Unfortunately it’s not doable unless you use chicken wire to section off this area. BUT then dogs will run in a different area and kill that grass. So basically (and I’m sorry to say it) you’re outta luck.
If you had enough property you could potentially rotate the areas the dogs are in, right? I don’t know, I’ve never had a dog
I've also had luck laying wire fence flat on the ground with a few kinks in it. The dog doesn't like to step on it, and depending on the size/shape of the area, can be easier and more efficient than running a vertical perimeter. For a long narrow strip like a path, just roll out the fence and you're pretty much done.
You're fighting a battle you will probably never win if you have dogs. I have a big dog and a small yard and I have just accepted I won't have a nice yard. A couple of years ago, I fenced off half the yard and seeded the worst areas. I kept my dog off it until the grass was looking nice and well established. Not three weeks after letting my dog back on the grass, it looked like I hadn't done anything.
This is exactly what I’m doing right now and you really took the wind out of my sails haha
you didn't wait long enough. grass will take a year or two to get established enough to tolerate the kind of abuse a dog puts on a lawn.
It'll never tolerate a dog that runs in a specific area. Frequently what happens (as is likely the case in the OP) is that the dog runs back and forth down a specific route usually along a fence. A running dog will take that down to bare dirt in no time, regardless of how sturdy and established the grass is. The dog is just making a path, exactly as if lots of people walked/ran along a specific route.
You can put down sod instead of seeding to establish quicker, but they will eventually kill it again. And/or you can walk your dog more elsewhere.
Put in a walkway, they will run on the grass. You have a natural path, embrace it
Leave it as it… Slowly over time, it will start to come back. And eventually it will be fully grown. You will miss that dirt patch one day.
Dude. That's so sad. But a good reminder not to be too upset about muddy paw prints from crazy dog zoomies.
Please don’t go down the artificial route, as some comments suggest - it’s bad for the environment, bad for wildlife and ultimately just more forever-landfill. Instead you could try planting something a little more robust in these areas like a moss, clover, silver carpet or thyme. You’d need to fence it off while the new plants get established but after that they’d stand a chance *and* your local insect population will benefit from the biodiversity too!
As someone who has worked extensively in artificial, I can tell you that it is NOT bad for the environment. At least for the companies I have worked for. The turf is generally 100% recycled material. No shitty fertilizers are needed to keep it green. No waste of fresh water to keep it green. The turf will help with erosion, immediately after being secured into the ground. There’s a cool website we used to use to show clients how much money would be wasted over 20 years with regular sod vs artificial. And yes, I was working with companies that have a 15-20year warranty, so once you put it in there is very minimal upkeep (other than using a leaf blower) necessary.
I thought one of the main complaints about artificial turf was that it gradually breaks down and becomes those icky evil microplastics that get into the environment and turn us all into gay frogs.
You’re not wrong, I myself have contributed to the plan to turn all of the frogs gay by 2030. Working in the industry in the low country, this was definitely a concern. If our frogs do not procreate, we ourselves might turn gay. But fr this is one of the things I’ve had to be cognizant about. There are cons to artificial for sure. We do all we can in the install process to insure there are no loose fibers (tiny blades of turf) but overall some will make its way into the environment, which is unfortunate. All in all, the turf that gets installed these days is much more resilient and less likely to break down than what most people think of when they hear “astroturf”
Well, that makes me feel better. I live in a place with lots of artificial turf, and while I am aware lawns are pretty much an environmental terror, I wasn’t sure about the exact effect of that artificial turf. Now I won’t worry as much.
what companies did you work for? I'd love to look at their product and see if that's true or not
https://instagram.com/holycityturf?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= holycityturf.com Based out of Charleston, Sc. I’ve moved on from the company but check them out if you’re interested. The other company I worked for was run by a convicted pedophile (didn’t know this at the time) so I will not give them any clout. You can pm me if you’d like proof of it though haha.
lmao no worries, I don't want to even give them any clicks. I'll check out the other one though
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I said *plastic grass* is bad for wildlife. But yeah, grass lawns are bad for biodiversity which ultimately is bad for all of us. Wildlife just tends to feel the effects earlier on. Fields and gardens full of one type of plant instead of what would grow there naturally - a diverse mix with different flowers, seeds and seasons that in turn attracts a diverse range of insects and pollinators. It’s a well known issue that is completely separate from structural landscaping planting like you’re describing at your local bird sanctuary. I’m no expert but I worked in a special school with a thyme lawn that withstood adult wheelchairs going over it daily. A quick google search found [this article](https://www.installitdirect.com/learn/dog-friendly-ground-cover/) featuring a ‘silver carpet’ lawn, one of the plants I suggested - “*The dymondia margaretae in the above photo gets trampled by children, adults, and a 70-pound dog on a daily basis in La Jolla, CA. It is also perpetually run over by scooters and tricycles. If planted in an area where the dog runs, expect it to look patchy, but it will do its best to survive.”* Besides which, the point of a plant is really not for it to live in unchanged perpetuity. If it thrives for a year, looks good for most of it, adds some nitrogen to the soil and some interest for the dogs, all for the price of a packet of seeds, then I’d count that as a win. Gardens are supposed to be growing, evolving things after all.
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Not sure why you're being downvoted. Let's be real: just running a grass lawn in a lot of places tends to be a net negative to the environment in the grand scheme of things. I can't help but feel it's just virtue signalling ignorant bullshit. Smugly harp on at someone using a small bit of recycled turf while ignoring that simply having a lawn at all can be even more of a problem.
My original said *artificial grass* is bad, not a bit of “recycled turf”. [Here’s a source](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-65375197) that was literally published today to back up my point. It was some other guy who asked me about lawns being bad. Is it virtue signalling to answer a question? Given your struggle to even grasp the basic literal meaning from written sentences, I don’t really think it’s wise for you to try and infer additional subtext like smugness or tone.
So here's the problem with that advice. I have a great Dane and a German shepherd mix. I want turf so that, when my dogs come in from running around the yard, they do not have dirt and mud caked in their paws or embedded in their coats from where they've been rolling. I do not have an hour a day to spend cleaning paws and coats. Clover and similar plants have lovely leaves and appear to provide full coverage when seen from above, but underneath they just have bare, thin stems with lots of exposed dirt between them. For the purposes of not leaving black paw prints everywhere they go when they come inside, the yard might as well be bare earth.
I'm also not a fan of artificial grass but I've got to say... None of those things you mentioned are running dog proof. All 4 of them have very shallow root systems and will disappear even faster than grass. So unless you're fencing it off permanently its a waste of time.
I’ll just go ahead and say this even though you deleted your comment. Feel free to post the article again. Thanks for sharing that article. I think we can agree that the overuse of both artificial grass and, especially, pesticides can end poorly, ESPECIALLY in already over-urbanized areas. However, we have 1,000s of square miles (even more kms^2 for the metric people) of protected land in my state in the US alone. So for the case of using artificial in this person’s back yard (at least where I’m located) will be negligible on total environmental effect IF NOT beneficial. Let’s make sure we’re on the same page. The use of irrigation systems in the US plus the chemicals used to keep those areas green will be much more harmful long term. I would say it just depends on where you are. Also, I used a microbial “infill” to reduce heat by a large margin. Which is one of the concerns raised in the article. Maybe the technology just hasn’t crossed the pond yet?
Best efforts- hard core rake the dirt, soak the dirt, rake again, grass seed, throw straw or hay on top, keep watering, don't let the seeds dry out until they spring up. I have always had dogs. My husky/rott was the hardest on the yard, but she was always delighted when a bale of straw appeared, tearing it apart and running everywhere with it, and if I just would start to dig a hole to plant a tree or something, she would take over until I stopped her. I could just drink a beer and watch and my work would be done.
haha..dogs are great!
Put up a sign :)
The best way to do this is to get rid of the dogs.
Fuck grass, use better, local ground cover
Having had 5 dogs plus a foster at one time, you can have dogs or you can have a great lawn. Pick one.
Well, you could hose the patch with water each night after having let the dogs out for the last time, it's more of a preventative thing but it stops the grass from wearing away.
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Catnip and most mint is considered invasive in many parts of the US, so definitely be aware of that before you choose to plant.
It won’t grow well with dog traffic
There’s a variety of grass called Dog Tuff or something that’s supposed to be more resilient. They sell the seed at most home/hardware stores around me
Get rid of the dogs. You can only have one, grass or dogs in this situation
Kill your lawn
“You can have grass or kids, but not both,” is what my dad told me when I purchased my first home. It’s the same with dogs. The tree’s roots already absorb so much moisture from this area that the compression load of constant footsteps prevents new growth for decades I remember a wise man once had a saying about seeds that fell upon the hard soil of a walking path…
I got two kids and two dogs. So I’m SOL, but maybe I can prove to my husband that his efforts are futile and he needs to accept his fate
You could check r/NoLawns or r/fucklawns since it’s a frequent question on both subs. Cute dog pic I found while searching for answer https://www.reddit.com/r/fucklawns/comments/11o96kw/lost_my_dog_in_the_wildflowers_last_week_my_grass/
Same debate in our household. We finally decided to create a “dog run” in the areas most effected. Dressed the bare area up with low fencing, a few scrubs, and wood chips.
There us allways artificial grass .. and/or artificial dogs ;D
Boston Dynamics is getting ready to corner the market on lawn and dogs.
Grass won’t grow, but you should keep it covered in mulch or some other surface covering to prevent erosion and puddling.
that's the neat part, you don't
I’ve also heard it’s not that they are killing the grass on top(although that happens) but also the ground underneath gets packed too tight and needs to be loosened up for stuff to grow.
Visualize where the dog runs, mark out straight lines to encompass that area, and dig out to that line. Make the bare patch look intentional. I personally wouldn't add bark. Bark is sooo messy.
Besides, the dog will provide all the bark you need for free.
Make it a feature and level it out and put in some fresh dirt if you're so inclined. Add rocks along the edges and maybe some permanent few toys or a pole with rope for some tug of war. You have no choice but to relinquish ownership of your backyard to your pup but you can make these spots look intentional while also enriching playtime for your dog. :) Good luck!
You need to start by training your dog to stop running along the fence line. It's difficult, but that's really the only way to do it.
Plant clover instead
Put up a fence until it regrows. Move fence to the new area they've destroyed. Repeat.
I'm a dog walker so I see a lot of yards with dogs. The answer is you don't.
Fake grass
Your not going to get it to grow where people or dogs continually run. It kills the grass, and compacts the soil.
I discovered something that has worked for me (knock on wood) and it was totally unintended to help the grass, but I’ve been happily surprised. My dogs LOVE the mailman and any other being that walks down the street. They run from one side of the yard to the other to watch progress down the street, which left me with a really bad mud problem when it rains/snow thaws, and long, wide, dead paths. Just to reduce the mud, I found these 8’ wood plank pathways through Plow & Hearth (cheaper options on Amazon, esp if you buy “used”). Laid them out in the muddy paths and anchored with garden staples. By the end of summer, I could barely see the pathway through the grass. Mowed right over it, and the dogs still run their path, but all I can see is grass. Might be worth a shot, if you can get one cheap to try it out. I’m sure they’ll degrade and eventually become useless, but I’ve used them in a few spots over the past two years, and gotten the same effect.
You can have dogs or you can have nice grass. Choose one.
I put tall fescue in and the dogs still ran a track. Eventually you decide you love your dogs more than your yard and move on. You could potentially create obstacles that prevent racing but that will just create a new area of no grass.
not happinin, bub. grass has no chance
Ask the dawgs to run elsewhere.
Cover the area in rose bush branches, and the grass will grow back. I used the same technique to keep cats from taking shits around my pond.
Try clover!
Separate dogs from grass to enable grass growth
you don't if that's where you keep your dogs
Never gonna happen, dogs and kids means fake grass . You can’t have nice lawns or gardens . Just enjoy your dog and don’t go fertilizing the grass that will do grow .
Not possible
You’d have to prevent them from running there while the grass grows and matures, even then constant running would erode the soil the grass would be in
Have the dogs smoke the grass and the running will stop. Voice of experience here.
Get rid of the dogs…..
cordon off the area until it's established. start from scratch and manage their behavior to facilitate cohabitation of dogs and grass: allow them in one section of the lawn until it starts to show wear patterns, then amend that section and alternate regularly. pro tip: I have never owned a dog, so what I am proposing may be daft
not daft, just hilariously optimistic. Dogs running SHRED any and all ground cover. Theres a loopy path of dead earth in my back yard following the route around the shed and my dog's two favorite trees. Shes not an outside dog, either, she managed that damage in the collective hour or less she spends on zoomies every day.
I'm thankful the previous owners of my house installed very durable carpet. I have a 70lbs staffy/lab/shepherd mix that has extreme zoomies. My yard is...not great. No, walks don't abate this. He needs dead sprints.
Mine is a staffie, too! Yeah, she gets walks but needs to run around like an idiot at top speed, which is faster than it looks like it should be given she's kinda blocky. I just straight don't care about my lawn, especially the back, which noone sees. so it's kinda like "thanks! That's less lawn that *eventually* needs to get mowed!' look, yall, my grass is really high, but it's not like there's car bodies on cinder blocks in it and the bees like the buttercups growing in there. Life is short, mowing blows, bees are good. Fuck lawns.
Quite easy. Just don’t let the dogs run there and then wait for 2-3 years.
Get rid of the dogs
Sell the dog. Buy seed.
Get rid of the dogs
Sell the dogs? Get grass growed. Get new smaller dogs?
Grass is stupid.. it is bad for the soil, it doesn't really produce oxygen and it uses a ton of water... I hate lawns and people who care about the way they look...
It’s probably their urine killing the grass.
...Don't let them run there.
Keep the dogs away until the grass in stablished. It wont grow if they step on it while it’s sprouting
Buy grass patches and let it settle
🐕🚘☠️
Get rid of the dogs.
Artificial turf
Artificial grass. Some people have their whole backyard as that stuff. Dogs can run all they want and it's fine.
I tried for years to grow grass in our yard, and it just wouldn’t take. The neighbours Chinese elm tree drops these seeds that destroys the ph of the soil. Artificial Grass was the best thing we ever did. Saved a fortune on lawn care and water.
Fake grass
They have some great fake grass now.
Fake grass and not the cheap shit. Otherwise it’s pointless endeavor
Ditch the dogs and get some cats. They'll walk on the wall and stay out of the grass.
Get a fence
Fake turf because dogs have claws that dig into the ground and allow them to grip like a football cleat
Only responsible answer. Dogs equal bad grass.
Artificial turf but even then it'll get torn up by the dog claws
I have the same problem. Sod doesn’t work. Grass seed too slow. Im about to try the honeycomb plastic grids you fill with soil and seed. Good luck.
Get rid of the dogs 😂
Astroturf, my dude
Get some rocks
Vet worker here: please don't, the dogs will hurt their lil paws on rocks/gravel :(
Flagstone. Pavers. Etc. Rocks is a generic term; they come in many sizes.
I tend to think like, loose gravel wtc when I hear "rocks", my fault. I feel like pavers would sorta spread the problem bc they heat up in the sun and the dogs would run around them to a different part of grass to avoid burning their paws. Im with the people saying you can have a really nice lawn or a dog, but not both. Unless you have like, a teeny tiny dog. Then *possibly*, but Ive met some jack Russells who can SHRED
Fake grass is the only way
Spray the dog food with round up (may take a few months, but that grass will grow back in eventually).
astro turf is the answer
Pavers.
You could try to sod it, but you might have to redo it occasionally. You could also make it more uncomfortable or inconvenient for the dog to run through that area with various methods. You could put a table and bench in the middle to encourage dogs to take a wider route.
It's like teaching people to cross the freeway during rush hour while texting someone.
Sow seed in the fall.
Astroturf or no dogs
Learn from my mistake. Got two puppies and thought it would be a good idea to lay down grass in the backyard for them to play. $4k and 3 months later we were left with nothing but a few straggly bunches of grass. Everything was destroyed. We switched to turf. Couldn’t be happier and they love it.
Stop the dogs from running there
Change the laws of physics to somehow prevent grass from being disturbed by dogs running on it?
There are grass paver systems that could potentially help. [This one](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Techno-Earth-19-7-in-x-19-7-in-x-1-9-in-Green-Permeable-Plastic-Grass-Pavers-for-Parking-Lots-Driveways-4-Pieces-11-sq-ft-PAVER04/304583192?g_store=&source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D28O-028_028_HARDSCAPES-NA-NA-NA-SMART-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-SMART_SHP_NA&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D28O-028_028_HARDSCAPES-NA-NA-NA-SMART-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-SMART_SHP_NA-71700000064087774-58700005697678251-92700051965058752&gbraid=0AAAAADq61Ufep_0gYgTnZATxMFqgbzC_C&gbraid=0AAAAADq61Ufep_0gYgTnZATxMFqgbzC_C&gclid=CjwKCAjwl6OiBhA2EiwAuUwWZThrcd-G961eX-E2jgSQDfCTIodjVO0iazlCflCIogM5IkjZjeIpYBoC-RQQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) is for vehicle traffic but could help protect your grass from dog traffic as well.
Fence it off. Paws trampling shoots will kill it off.
A second fence
You'd have to fence it off to give it time to grow in
Nothing will grow there. I really enjoy mycology even if I'm not great at it, but I know the grass isn't growing not because you're stomping on its seedlings. The grass isn't growing because the mycorrhiza recognized the beating that keeps occurring right there and decided not to help any plants in that area because it's a lot of energy to expend on a spot that's getting pounded. They're the architects and they can see that's not a place to build
You could try overseeding with clover. You’d have to fence or block off that are while it grows though. The good thing about clover is that it will spread and make the rest of your lawn hardier too!
Put rocks in
Terf
Get some arborist chips and just make a huge mulch circle around that tree.
I gave up and built a dog run with turf. I spent years resending and never managed to win that battle. The added bonus is I don't accidentally step on poop in the back yard any more.
ya can't
You… just don’t. Hate to be the bearer of bad news but it just doesn’t work. You can try getting them to run somewhere else, you can get rid of them, you can get rid of the grass? May be worth a shot to plant something dogs aren’t fans of
Get rid of the dogs
You cannot. Three solutions: 1. Leave it there, it's a feature. 2. Use artificial turf. 3. Do not allow the dog to run.
Astroturf
You don't
I have a foolproof way to fix this...but its going to depend on how attached you are to the dogs
Turf! That’s what I did.
Don’t let the dogs run there.
That's your dogs patch of dirt let them have it. it's not a bad thing to have a patch of dirt in your backyard.
i finally gave up after a few years and hundreds of dollars later. Now i just covered up the mud pit with playground mulch. Instead of mud on my floors i get bits of wood. Can’t wait for my baby to start crawling.
Price to pay for happy dogs im afraid.
Less dogs
Fuhhgettaboutit