Have any of you ever tried this?

[Dunn's]

So our question is has any one ever tried filling in a small back yard area with mulch. Due to the fact that the dogs are destroying all of the grass. Or is there a type of grass that holds up against dogs extremely well. We also where thinking about filling it in with sand but then we would probably have alot of sand tracked around the house. I know mulch would track as well but it would have to be better than all the mud. also with the sand I would think it would be easier to clean up the dof piles. So any insight anyone has to the mulch or sand, or a better grass. just let us know. Oh yeah the current or used to be there grass was zoysia.

[bcg]

Concrete..

[WALKER LANDSCAPE]

Yeah concrete then you could just Power Wash everything off once a week. Plus wash the dogs too. Economical way would be mulch I guess the sand might be bad for the dogs paws after awhile too.

[bcg]

Sand and mulch will BREED fleas, and I don't just mean a little bit.

[Olylawnboy]

Been there Dunn that :) Just had to :) You said it's a small yard and the dogs, plural, are at least killing off the grass. Are they digging too?
You just have too much dog per sq. ft. and nothing will ever work but a concrete kennel, if you could call that working, and it would suck to be them.

[Dunn's]

Yeah we already have a 20x20 pad of concrete in this area, and where still wanting to keep some of the area soft to give their pads a break. Also I didn't think of the flea part of it. We do give our dogs frontline once a month though so they shouldn't get them. Maybe I will call our vet and see if there are any flea reppelents you can put down that aren't harmful to dogs.Thanks for all the replies so far. Any other ideas or oppinions appreciated.

[Dunn's]

Been there Dunn that :) Just had to :) You said it's a small yard and the dogs, plural, are at least killing off the grass. Are they digging too?
You just have too much dog per sq. ft. and nothing will ever work but a concrete kennel, if you could call that working, and it would suck to be them.

We have a bigger yard but unfortunately they kept jumping the fence so I put up a wood privacy fence on about half the yard it is a 50x30 area so the back part of the yard is still fine. I just wish we didn't have this big mud moat from them.

[The Rookie]

Incorporate some flagstone around the perimeter of the fence and other high traffic areas. Should help the grass from being rooted up in these areas. If you countersink the flagstone you should be able to keep mowing your zoysia low without hitting them. I think this remedy would be the most cost effective and least flea attractive solution.

[lawnpro724]

Concrete will work best. I have a customer with the same problem years ago and suggested he put down concrete something I dont do. He did and the problem was solved.

[Dunn's]

Thanks rookie I will think about that idea, because we have a pile 3 feet high by 10-12 feet diameter of flagstone laying right outside the privacy fence. Thank you as well Lawnpro but we have enough concrete back there already.

[txgrassguy]

Why don't you try someting like pea gravel or some other small aggregate?
I strongly agree with a poster who mentioned disease and pest control as being a big problem with mulch and pets.

[Dunn's]

I will look into the pea gravel idea only problem is there are no real Lanscape supply companies in the ST. Louis area. Well atleast not any we have found. There are plenty of wannabe Landscape supply companies, but all they really do is by there stuff from home depot/Lowes and resell it. To me a five to ten percent discount is nothing when you are trying to run a business. I know this is for personal ue but since we own a company I would like to get a better price than retail. That would get costly really quick.

[sildoc]

I used to deal with this problem all the time. Drainage is the key. We have very poor clay soil here and I ended up having to retill a ton of pumice in to our soil along with a ton of organic material. I also installed 3 lines of corigated about 8 inches under soil and 8 top drains. We have rye here so I also added a creeping red fescue to keep the durability up durring the winter months when the rye grows really slow.
Pain in but and I end up having to water more in summer but well worth keeping the mud down in the winter time.

[DoetschOutdoor]

What part of Stl are you? Just over the river in Illinois we have a few yards that are pretty good at supplying all of my materials.

[Dunn's]

What part of Stl are you? Just over the river in Illinois we have a few yards that are pretty good at supplying all of my materials.

We are in Florissant/Hazlewood area.

[JKOOPERS]

hey dunn heres a good place to go they actually supply home depot . http://rivercitylandscape.com/ this where you will find evrything you did but its a 1/2 hr from florissant

[atv220chris]

Behle is a good place for rock in the florisant area

[packey]

Have you ever thought about rock. This is a very viable alternative and with a little work will also be really attractive. You could combine small rock with flagstone paths and low water pantings. Dogs get a place to run and play and you get a really cool place to set and relax or have guests over to entertain.

[steve5966]

I have two German Shorthairs and two oak trees in my back yard. Needless to say the grass didn't last long. I have been mulching the yard for two years now and this is what I have found. No fleas, I'm not saying it doesn't happen sometimes, but not in my yard. I mulch heavy in the spring and topdress in the fall if we have a little extra. Rain moves mulch if you have a slope, so the rake comes out after a heavy rain. It's easy to clean up after the dogs. You will find little pieces of mulch in the house and the dust can be a problem, overall I'm happy with it.

[atv220chris]

but i was thinking and rock gets hot in the summer

[Runner]

The key phrase is, they are tearing up the WHOLE lawn. I am not sure that putting stone paths (which dogs will not stay on in the middle areas of the yard) would be a
solution.

[roguesuerte]

Is the grass being ruined by urine, or traffic. I read a couple of posts about adding tomato juice to their food, if urine. I am going to try this in the spring with my dogs.

[Whitey4]

The tomato juice thing is like trying to dredge a harbor with a spade. It will reduce the nitrogen in the dog's urine ever so slightly, but not anywhere near enough to make a difference.

I thought about a dog run, but they just can't get enough excersize to stay fit and healthy in such a confined space. I have just let the whole backyard go. I put down no control materials, nor do I seed. I let the lawn do what it wants, which means that after the spring, the crabbgrass moves in. I mow that part of the lawn pretty low, as the back half keeps itself more or less together, and I mow that part of the lawn at a normal height, while scalding the crabgrass section.

I've put plantings in around the perimeter and use several different types of barriers that keep the two dogs out. Even with the dirt and mud, the plantings make the space somewhat pleasing to the eye. I use artificial turf on the steps to the back door, and this helps keep dust and mud out of the house.

I bust my nut on the front lawn.... but just let the back do what it will. It's even worse if the dogs are females. At least males lift their legs and don't put down a concentrated puddle of high nitrogen urine. The urine from my two females even burn the heck out of the crabgrass. If in June the yard is green, it's a good year!

I have found that grass will come back into the crabgrass area naturally after it dies off for the season. Not enough to cover, but in patches.

[Marcos]

The price of bulk fire-proof rubber 'playground mulch' is starting to really come down around here........... finally.

I've used the flagstone-in-the-perimeter concept someone mentioned, on a project myself before.

Maybe you could combine these two ideas...have the flagstone around the perimeter and the rubber mulch in the interior.

Playground mulch is very surprisingly water-stable once it's settled, and honestly you could have your choice of either picking up the doggie-turds and / or rinsing (a small part of it) into the mulch if you have to.
If fleas or whatever become a concern in the rubber, it's real easy to penetrate the material with whatever pesticide you're going after them with.
It's very permeable, and not near as hot as you'd think.

[landvet]

You could try seeding with some tall fescue like k31. It's a thick bladed grass that is very drought resistant and does well in compacted soils.I have a large dog and I've used it in my backyard at my old house and will be overseeding the back yard of my new home with it this spring. It's extremely durable , invasive and thick. Its basically a weed in normal blue and rye grass lawns, but as a monoculture alone it's great. I've also done several customers lawns with it that have bigger dogs and I've also seen it used in lawns where geese are a problem; they hate it.

[ncls]

It might be too expensive, but lay out landscape fabric, then use rubber mulch. It's washable, the landscape fabric will allow water to absorb intto the soil.

http://www.stopmulching.com/

[Dreams To Designs]

Artificial turf is ideal for dog runs, pens and small yards. It is attractive, easy to keep clean and won't be a breeding ground for insects. You can add stone or rock for paths and perimeters and the yard will look like most others without the mess.

Kirk

[Lawnboy70460]

I didn't hear anyone mention this and I might be totally ******ed. but what about laying chicken wire down and letting the grass grow through it? the dogs can't dig throgh the chicken wire.

[Tom B.]

Artificial turf is ideal for dog runs, pens and small yards. It is attractive, easy to keep clean and won't be a breeding ground for insects. You can add stone or rock for paths and perimeters and the yard will look like most others without the mess.

Kirk

Although it can be expensive, artificial turf seems to be a pretty logical solution. Some companies even make an artificial turf just for dogs.

[wooley99]

Use your flagstones for paths and use crushed concrete for the rest. It's recycled concrete and when crushed it turns back into it's component parts rather than small pieces of concrete. I used it to expand my driveway and around my above-ground pool. It doesn't sink into the ground but packs firm with traffic. You have problems with dust if it's very dry though. You can find it from concrete suppliers when they have their wash pits cleaned out or during road/bridge construction from the contractor. Sometimes you can find the crusher company directly.

[CHF]

I had client and they had the same problem, they went to the vet and he said that pea gravel was the best for he dogs feet. So we made a dog run {there yard was larger}fenced it off so they could open door and let them go. Then I put down filter cloth and covered it with the pea gravel about 4-5 inches of it. The gravel and filter cloth lets it drain almost as well if not better than grass, and still lets nature run its course.

[bruno_rs]

So our question is has any one ever tried filling in a small back yard area with mulch. Due to the fact that the dogs are destroying all of the grass. Or is there a type of grass that holds up against dogs extremely well. We also where thinking about filling it in with sand but then we would probably have alot of sand tracked around the house. I know mulch would track as well but it would have to be better than all the mud. also with the sand I would think it would be easier to clean up the dof piles. So any insight anyone has to the mulch or sand, or a better grass. just let us know. Oh yeah the current or used to be there grass was zoysia.

man, that's a tough one... if they managed to kill off and/or destroy zoyzia, i don't know of any other grass which will work for you. looks like your only options, without creating a mess AND dragging it into the house, would be hardscaping of some sort.