Dog owners, with yards, Any tips?
 

http://juliablue.com/dogtrail.jpg

I spent a few grand on getting new lawn and sprinkler system installed in the back yard, and after a few weeks I was suddenly reminded of what happened the last time I had a lawn rolled out and owned a dog.

As you can see, Buddy has a trail that he uses. If we play fetch, and I throw his toy into the opposite corner of the yard, he will always end up on this trail when he is running back to me. I suspect that when I am out of town he spends hours patrolling the yard, and walking the same path.

I know my last dog did the same thing (almost exactly the same spot too). so I know this must be a fairly common problem. How did you deal with trying to have a nice lawn and a dog at the same time?

Is there any "turf builder" you have tried that was able to stand up to the constant walking or am I going to have to learn to deal with it?

Put in a path! Our dogs actually follow the paver stone path we put in haha

I had a huge lawn torn to bits by various animals of mine...

that is just part of nature

I doubt nature intends to have 1 inch grass without flaws

the woods are full of animal tracks

it has got to be the lawn or the dog

or both

Create a decorative path. No grass and not many types of vegetation would put up with the usage your dog is giving it.

Wow.... We have 3 dogs who run like maniacs, and I've never had a problem with a path being worn into the yard. Sorry, can't help you...

I think I have enough brick to cover that path, but my fear is that he would just start walking to the side of it and not on it. I don't really want a backyard of brick . . . the sprinkler system would not help them much.

I have a ring exactly like that all the way around the house. They are definitely creatures of habit.

Apparently (from what I read on GFY) it is due to emotions, not habits or instincts. :upsidedow

Absolutely no help here, but what the fuck kind of hahahahahahahahaha dog do you have? I've never seen anything like that in a lifetime of dogs and backyards. Either your dogs have OCD, they are fucking massive, or the grass in your area isn't strong/soil isn't fertile enough.

That grass looks pretty and delicate. Have you thought of getting some st augustine grass? Its like little vines that grow and form a nice thick pad of lawn, real nice stuff. It is what we have all around our property but down here it grows like crazy. When I was a kid we had a lawn of st aug grass in So Cal and it was super nice.

It really looks like you'll either have to put in some stepping stones or try a tougher turf.

...or get rid of the dog. :1orglaugh

do something pretty with it like those round cement blocks or something.... the dog is going to walk that area no matter what so you have to just make his path look pretty in some way.

It's almost impossible to have a nice yard if you have a hyper-active dog.

the the cheapest and easiest thing to do is to cut your dogs legs off with a sawzall:2 cents:

He is 65 pounds of pure energy, likes to run. I think the problem is that the lawn is only a month old and the daily watering is making it easy to tramp.

I will be honest, I don't know what kind it is because they put it down when I was in EU. Was very lush and thick, looked quite sturdy.


Like I said, I would put brick down on the path if I thought he would use it. That is why I was thinking about a turf builder, and was looking for recommendations.

My dogs tend to create paths through the yard as well. Not sure there's anything you can do about that habbit. If you cover his path, I suspect he will most likely continue to use it and not create a new one so that should help you out anyway.

Hyper active dogs are almost always a product of not enough exercise. A dog like Buddy needs at least 2 walks a day from 30 minutes to preferably an hour each. I know it sounds like a lot, but you'd be surprised what a different it makes.

Maybe you can try hiring a local dog walker to take Buddy for a good long hour run each day and then take him in the morning yourself as well. If you burn off some more of his energy he'll be more content and less likely to "patrol" the backyard when you're away.

Well just hit a home depot and pick up a bag of lawn fertilizer, they'll have the standard stuff there. You'll probably need something to spread it, depending on the type you buy. Fertilizing works really good, it should help for sure.

I can't recommend a specific brand or type, but the common stuff is always piled high at those places. Shouldn't be too tough to find the right stuff once you are there.

The hard part will be keeping him off the path so it can grow back though. Hmm.

Well, he gets 45 - 60 minutes a day when I am here . . . part of the problem is that I have been gone more than home since the lawn got put in. I think I will lay some of the brick down as a temp measure and see if he walks on it or to the side . . . if he is willing to walk on the brick I am cool with that.

... and yeah what WC said is very true. Dogs need way more exercise than most people realize.

My two small dogs go in and out of the house to our yard like 10 times a day, and get so much exercise by the time the sun goes down they are knocked out sleeping. Its so nice.

You have to burn the fuckers little energy out, and then they are sweethearts. A lot like kids I would imagine.

yeah he's been stressed out missing you. Pacing like an old man. :1orglaugh

Yeah, it's tough to have a busy life and dogs. Most people won't even make that much time for their dog, so already you're on the right track.

Like I said, maybe you can find some local kid that will take him for a good long walk every afternoon at the same time for an hour or even longer. The cost of that versus constant lawn replacement it probably worth it :)

Actually, he is pretty good about separation anxiety. I have friends whose dogs go nuts if they leave the house. Buddy is cool about it and waits patiently when I leave him outside the bank or grocery store.

He is one of the healthiest things I have done for myself in a few years. We walk a mile or two every day which I think has helped a lot.

call up Cesar Millan from the dog whisperer and get on TV :thumbsup

After reading one of his books, I can't imagine a more annoying person to invite into my home. :1orglaugh

baddog that would be great to see you on his show. it would be a classic! Cesar meets the real Baddog! :1orglaugh

Cesar Milan might be a little fruity but I've come to believe he really does understand dog mentality exceptionaly well. Just the fact that he can keep a pack of 20 dogs together, many of them pittbulls, and have them all be calm submissive to him and remain a well balanced pack speaks wonders.

What most people don't understand about walking their dogs is it's partly physical, but also a large part of it is mental. It's a pack instict for them to roam. In the wild they would have to walk for food, for water, to patrol their territory, etc. When you take your dog for a walk, and mind you when you walk your dog and not the other way around, you satisfy that primal drive for a healthy pack life. All the smells, sights and sounds combined with the structured movement as a pack (you as pack leader) goes a long way to "fulfill" the basic insticts a dog has.

That's why an hour walk will always be more satisifying for a dog than an hour playing ball in the backyard.

That is why we take a different route every night. While I only have 4 directions to start off we mix it up ever so slightly and try to make it a point to never head off in the same direction two nights in a row.

And yeah, while I agree that Milan has dog skills, I don't think I could last more than 10 minutes with the guy.

Every dog I've ever had does that (until they get too old to get around). Once my yard started recovering from the now 12 and 15 year olds, I got the younger dogs. They have 2 distinct paths that I've watched them chase each other around for 20 minutes at a time. Now the crippled 12 year old uses the paths to get up the hill ;)

The deer do it too. There are "deer paths" on my property and all over my neighborhood that have been the same for at least 7+ years. Even when a tree falls the path stays the same - they just go over the tree.

Just think of it as "Buddy's Path" and don't worry about the yard :)

Problem is, that path looked like a motocross course before I redid the yard. He had it banked at the end of the yard so he could hit the straightaway towards to gate.

if you have a dog that spends a lot of time in the backyard it's pretty hopeless to have a perfect lawn unfortunately. you'll always be re-sodding. their pee also kills the grass.
plus what you have there - and holes they dig if they are diggers.

My dog has killed 3/4 of the grass in my back yard just from pissing.

Our solution is to install fake grass in the side yard and make a dog run out of it then install an invisible fence to keep him away from the real grass.

No help for baddog though.

The younger ones decided to make one of their paths directly next to the wood steps. The leaves were so thick one year and the path so clear that a friend of mine was using the path to get up and down the yard - then telling me I should really consider putting some steps in ;)

patch perfect for the lawn...

electric fence for the dog..best thing ever! Also good as a training tool.

BD send me your address i need to send you this coffee from CR its insane

M

Like I said, the lawn was put down when I was in EU. Kind of pissed me off, but I understood. Pissed me off because when I am home the dog is rarely outside and when I am away he is never outside.

Surprisingly, the lawn looked pretty good. I was betting that he was done with his hole digging, and his having a week alone with it was a scary idea. But it turned out there was just one patch, and he wasn't digging, he was lifting the grass up. I put it back in place, the best I could.

Gardner noticed, brought back a new patch, dog lifted it again. This time I was there and saw it happen, so I was able to put it into his head that this was not going to fly. As a reinforcement, I took some of his shit and set it on that patch.

Ever since then has he not only stopped pulling up the grass, but he decided to shit over on the side of the house away from the lawn. He also pisses on the trees, fence or decorative rocks. I have never seen him pee on the lawn.

My yard isn't big enough to do an invisible fence, it wouldn't be fair. He loves to play on the grass. I was surprised at what it did to his attitude.

would that be mike @ ?

Lab?

5678

People are suprised that our lab doesn't leave tracks in our yard. He just runs around everywhere and not always the same spots so I guess I'm lucky.

It's easy! Dogs are stupid and robotic. Get a cat..

border collie/mutt