Dogs have destroyed yard
 

My two large dogs love to run, (they are not digging up the yard) but unfortunately my yard is now dirt. As soon as the snow melts I need to redo the yard.

Planting grass will not work. Sod... dogs will destroy. Any landscaping ideas that dogs cannot destroy that are not going to cost an arm and a leg? I was thinking pea gravel but they will kick it up and make paths where they always run. I need ideas please.

1" rock (they call it "desert landscaping").
Ankle breaker though.
Or teach dogs to quit digging and seed.

Is your yard big enough to build them a run? Sounds like they have designed one they like. Landscape around it. Can you share pics or a sketched plot plan?

What are they, how old, and how big?

Taxidermist, real looking eyes, and mechanical motor parts you can turn off and on? Stepford Dog approach?

Guessed not.

Stepford dog???? ummm... lets go with NO!

Lab/Newfie and Shepard/Husky. Both 70 lbs. both 2 years old.
Yard is not big enough for a run.

So what, you were too cheap to go with pedigree puppy mill dogs with papers? Sounds like a magical mutt mix though. They must look and act hilarious.

I was serious, in my ancient landscape designer days I learned not to fight the animals with which we share our sacred land. They do have run paths they like so why fight it? You can keep them on those paths with some clever placed obstacles and even some simple grade changes. Everybody ends up happy.

Trust me? Send me a sketch of the yard with the paths they have carved out for themselves. I will help you. Let's post it all here for others in similar situations.

The huskie genes in one of your mutts must be in heaven right now and wondering why it has been such a warm winter? I had friends in Philadelphia with arctic purebred dogs. 101 in the summer was devasting without the water features I added to their landscape. Of course they never shook the water off outside.

And when God decided dogs could be domestics, he must have had labs in mind. Tongues always out, tails wagging. We should all have such dispositions.

Do they bark? Do we have to build sound baffles in for neighbor relations?

The yard is actually "L" shaped, the small part of the L is all patio blocked the corner of the L is the most warn out area from running around the corner, and the large part is the main part of the yard. I don't have pics of it.

Not worried about the barking, it keeps the idiots away!

Let's be honest here. If you have two big dogs running in your back yard, it's always going to look like you have two big dogs running in your back yard. You'd be surprised how much "damage" these two little turds do in our back yard - and it's a huge yard.

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._3353496_n.jpg

You're pretty limited in your options. Landscape it with non-organic material, limit their time running loose in the yard, and take them frequently to parks to run and play.

You never want to use pea gravel for anything but decoration in a flower bed or landscaping. Anything round will never lock in and hold.

Plot plan and an idea of how big the yard when you get a chance. The Shepherd/Huskie gene mix was not what I was expecting to see. Cool looking dog!

You know dog pictures like this could put puppy mills out of business!!!

Dogs end up in pounds because they are mutts and deserve to be there. Noone should, ever, ever, rescue a mutt if a purebred puppy mill offspring is availed.

I would take a cross-breed over a pure-blood any day.
Usually much smarter, and no "I'm a purebred" attitude.

I was going to be sarcastic and offer the solution of using AstroTurf. On a whim, I Googled 'astroturf for dogs', and behold, it's out there.

http://www.progreen.com/dogrun.htm
http://www.ondecksports.com/Products/Turf-for-Dogs

There are even more links than these two.

I know it is and it looks great, I got a quote ... I could buy a new car for the price... I need another suggestion.

Absolutely! :thumbsup: Our family dog for many years was a smelly thing my Dad and sister found in the paper. Imagine a Pecanese and Chiauauau (sp?) mix? Nastiest, yappiest breeds mixing it up? Ginger never barked unless something was up. She had this stupid rubber chicken toy we had to keep replacing. If people came over she would take it in sequence to everybody in the room, expecting them to toss it. She would skip those she did not like. They were usually the ones I could not stand either.

She was territorial and anything in her yard without permission was free game. She could climb trees after cats by jumping from limb to limb which was a site most did not believe until they saw it happen. Unlike a cat, she could jump from limb to limb back down. I did put some ground rubber mulch around the tree so she would not hurt herself if she fell.

Dogs of any size were no match to her either, if anywhere near her space.

Anyhow, as suggested, if the OPs dogs have carved a run path they like, I do say we landscape around it. All will be happy. From experience, it is rather like pinball machine designers must go through. I have done it before and am willing to share. Costs you nothing to watch this post.

Just need plot plan sketched and basic dimensions.