![]() Hardy Grasses That Can Cope with Your Dog Give your lawn the best chance for survival by picking one that is perfectly suited to your climate and the amount of sun exposure your yard receives. If you don’t pick a good grass species for your property, your lawn will likely be stressed before your dog sets food on it. ![]() Additionally, deeply rooted grasses will sometimes discourage digging behaviors. Grasses that have deep root systems will tend to weather damage better and recover more quickly. One of the best ways to keep your yard looking great is to select a grass that grows quickly, as this will help it recover from the damage rapidly. All lawns will suffer some damage when your dog runs, jumps, and plays on it – there’s just not a lot you can do about this. Some of the primary things you want to look for include: We’ll talk about a few of the best grasses for homes with dogs in a minute, but first, we want to explain the characteristics that give these grasses an edge. What Characteristics Make for a Dog-Proof Lawn If you keep your dog attached to a runner or a tie-down, try to move the tether periodically to spread out the damage. You can limit this damage by trying to encourage your dog to use the entire yard. That’s why you might find bare patches near fences and in the places connecting your dog’s favorite spots (such as the back door and his dog house). Running usually only causes problems when dogs repeatedly run across the same stretch of land. RunningĪ running dog’s paws can crush grass blades and dislodge swatches of turf. Exposing the soil to the air like this can dry it out, and your dog’s repetitive pawing may compact the soil, making it difficult for the grass to recolonize the area. If you’re lucky, your dog will pick some out-of-the-way location to dig, but unfortunately, they often seem to prefer areas that are at least adjacent to your lawn.ĭigging holes not only damages the grass blades and rips up the roots, but it does a fair bit of damage to the underlying soil too. DiggingĪ lot of dogs like to dig – they’ll dig at their beds, they’ll dig at their water bowls, and many dogs seem to pick a particular part of your lawn where they focus most of their attention. Your dog’s waste can also represent a pretty significant biohazard if you don’t clean it up regularly, so get out there with a pooper scooper and patrol your yard. This can disturb the soil microflora and encourage the growth of harmful bacteria and fungi. ![]() Poop also contains some nitrogen, but the biggest problem relates to the moisture and bacteria it contains. There are also some strategies you can use to fix dog urine spots on your lawn, but they involve significant effort and may require regrowing grass. While this is certainly a great strategy, it may take some effort to teach your dog the new potty game plan, and some sections of your lawn will still get ruined.įilling an area with dog-friendly mulch or a corner with artificial grass and teaching your pet to potty there is one great strategy to alleviate that issue! ![]() Some owners opt to train their dog to only pee and poop in one specific spot to limit some of the damage done. Nitrogen is an important resource for grass and other plants, as it helps them produce new tissues and grow (nitrogen is the primary component of most fertilizers).īut, excessive amounts of nitrogen will “burn” plants, and, in the case of your lawn, this will cause patches of grass to turn brown and die. Dog urine is made up of a handful of major ingredients, including something called urea – one of the byproducts created during the metabolism of protein. Some of the most common ways that dogs destroy lawns include: Peeingĭogs will usually urinate several times a day, particularly if they have free access to the yard. Or, if you end up needing to replace your lawn, you’ll know what type of grass to choose. How Dogs Destroy Lawnsĭogs can damage your grass in a few key ways, and it’s important to identify the way your dog is harming your lawn so you can take steps to protect it. We’ll talk about the dog-grass relationship below, explain the differences between the various grass options, and give you a few tips for keeping your yard looking great. We certainly don’t expect anyone to go rip up their existing lawn so it can be replaced with some other type of grass, but if you are currently making significant landscaping changes, you may want to think about the type of seed or sod you put down. Some types, for example, are less likely to be harmed by your dog’s urine, while others will hold up to heavy traffic better than others. Nonetheless, some grasses are undoubtedly better for homes with dogs than others. It’s soft to the touch, it doesn’t present any serious toxicity issues, and–as long as you mow it on a reasonably frequent schedule–it’s unlikely to harbor many ticks or other pests. Generally speaking, grass is a great groundcover for dogs. ![]()
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