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Leo asked in Home & GardenGarden & Landscape · 8 years ago

How can I maintain a healthy lawn with 2 dogs?

I have a small fenced in backyard and two hyper boxers. I just finished the fence over Thanksgiving. The yard is basically a giant hill leading down to the house. It is roughly 200 square feet. While I still have some grass right now (I seeded it last fall and early this summer), it is quickly turning to mud and dirt from the dogs running so hard. Also, I am having a lot of clover overtaking the grass.

I have seen other dog owners' lawns, some are perfect and some are giant mud pits. How do I avoid the latter while allowing the dogs to go outside from time to time to run and play?

I live in Tennessee, and see a fair amount of rain. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

6 Answers

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  • 8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    if the lawns are perfect the dogs are not let out in the yard

  • The only way to keep the grass looking really nice is to work on it all of the time. I also have dogs and I cannot stand yards that are a mud pit. I over seed every Spring and Fall to start but all summer I am repairing it. Since the dogs urine kills the grass in circles I go out and rake the old grass out and overturn the dirt. I add new seed in those spots and block the dogs with wooden stakes until it grows back in. It is an endless job. The reason the grass dies is it is drinking the urine so you have to water your lawn everyday in the AM. This will help dramatically. For the clover the only thing you can do is rip it out by hand or use weed and feed. Keep the dogs off until it dries and than they will be fine to go on it.

  • 8 years ago

    Clover is wonderful for a shaded lawn, leave it alone! A mix of clover and a few types of grass is more resilient than a monoculture. One thing, you cant use weed and feed on a clover lawn. What I do is use the weed and feed on the lawn grass areas that have a few weeds mixed in and leave the clover rich areas alone. Can you take the dogs on a long walk every day? That would be ideal for them. If the clover really bothers you, you need to get to the bottom of the problem which is pH. Have it tested at your local Cornell cooperative.

  • Anonymous
    8 years ago

    Dogs are tough on fescue lawns! If it is a Fescue lawn then it will never tolerate the constant trampling and it will just get worse. I would recommend changing to a Zoysia lawn if possible simply because it will tolerate the trampling and it is a much easier grass all together. Unfortunately it can be expensive due to needing to lay sod rather than seed.

    If you cannot do the lawn change then the best bet will be making sure you aerate and seed at the appropriate times (Fall being the best), keep them off of it while the seed is germinating, and keep up with a regular lawn care program of fertilizer and weed control to keep the lawn healthy.

  • 8 years ago

    Clover sucks. They have nutlets (and seeds) as reproductive propagules. I would coordinate a renovation NOW in order to have a healthy, rooted, lawn before the heat stress of summer. I would do this:

    1. Bring in the dogs and spray round-up on that clover until its dead.

    2. Use a tiller to loosen the compacted ground.

    3. Soil test (if you want a clue on what the soil will need for the next 'ump-teen' years.

    4. Compact and Sod.

    Sod will cost you no more than $80 for your 200 sq. ft.area.

  • Anonymous
    8 years ago

    I agree with the above poster, drilled it right on.

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