What Kind Of Yard?

[Guest Cardiffcouple]

I am looking for input on the best kind of yard for our greys. We “had” grass. Our Mercy loves to run and when she takes off the remaining grass just flies. Ben doesn’t run as much but he makes some pretty good divots when he takes off, too. We just had some rain and now we have mud and grass remnants. We are toying with putting in astro turf (kind of pricy). Also thinking of reseeding in sections with a sturdy playground type of grass. Maybe compacted gravel? Our main concern is for their comfort and safety but that is followed closely by wanting to have a bit of a nice looking back yard.

 

Would you please share with me what you do in your back yard to make it work for those long pointy greyhound toes?

 

Thanks a lot!

[OwnedBySummer]

Ummmm... my grass just grows... green and lush... I do have a lawn care company who fertilizes it and treats it for weeds. Summer doesn't have allergy problems so I can do proper lawn care. She also runs with other greyhounds 3 to 4 times a week, on average. So the back yard isn't her true running and exercise area.

[Guest borzoix4]

Our yard is a mixture of Kentucky blue and tall fescue.

I was thinking though maybe have one of those roller with the spikes to aerate the yard. That will also help develope the roots of the grass to take better and be stronger.

[OwnedBySummer]

Our yard is a mixture of Kentucky blue and tall fescue.

I was thinking though maybe have one of those roller with the spikes to aerate the yard. That will also help develope the roots of the grass to take better and be stronger.

 

If you have heavy, compacted soil (we have clay with a layer of topsoil)... I would highly recommend having it aerated. I get mine both rolled and aerated every spring. I also had it topdressed and overseeded this year and I think it made quite the improvement.

Edited December 6, 2010 by OwnedBySummer

[Guest BonnieW]

I have the same problem with Draco. Our back yard is where he does most of his running and it is beginning to look pretty rough. I'd be interested in the advice you get on this as well. We just decided to have a nice looking front yard and let Draco have his fun in the back yard. I guess I'll try seeding some of the bad spots this spring, but I'm not sure what else to do either

[TheFullHouse]

We just fertilize it 4 times a year and water the heck out of it.

[greyhead]

We top-dress with compost once or twice a year. (Works itself in in a couple days without effort on our part.) We also reseed the parts that get wrecked, but that only happens because the sun drops so low in the winter here in Seattle, and it's so wet, that it's hard for grass to keep a purchase in the shade of the fence line. Other than that, the grass grows really well.

[robinw]

How about clover? It's sturdy and needs very little care. I'm in the process of switching from grass to clover because I don't believe in lawns

[Guest sheila]

I have a fenced back yard but between the hole digging and the flying divots it was not holding up well. I created a fenced dog run that ran from my deck to the end of the yard and put down yard fabric and then pea gravel. The entire run is about 90'x 12' so they have plenty of room to do their business and even do some 'mini romps' and the rest of the yard is safe.

 

Edited December 6, 2010 by sheila

[Guest borzoix4]

If you have clay in the mix, 'crap grass' or clover works great! Add a little fescue for strength and that should work out great.

I am terrified to use fertilizer but I found out a few years ago that if you put down lime like with a grass seeder and water the tar out of it so it soaks in, that helps a lot with the PH in the soil. It also gets rid of fleas too as it removes the bacteria from the soil that the neo's would feed on.

* However- Remember that lime has got to be watered in as would otherwise burn the pads. I use to do mine when I knew it was going to downpour and heavy. You do not need to put it the lyme down heavy either.

[Guest BonnieW]

How does the Clover hold up to the doggie foot traffic from zoomies? I have been reading about the clover lawn this morning and it sounds like a great alternative but it did say it doesn't hold up well to foot traffic. Have you noticed this?

[greytlucy]

Our yard has: Bermuda grass, peastone, granite, and a swimming pool.

 

The greyhound have definitely preferred the grass to the peastone or rock. Someday we'll get out of this house and away from the stupid pool...then we'll have mostly grass for our dogs to run on.

[sobesmom]

IT kinda depends on where you live, and how big your yard is. Grass is a lot different across the country, and a bigger yard is more forgiving. We live in northern PA - our fenced back yard is a quarter acre. So - the grass just grows. We never planted anything special - and we don't fertilize. It gets torn up a bit at the corners when the dogs run, but no biggie. It also gets brownish pee spots, but they disappear quickly as the grass grows.

 

Probably not a lot of help - but if you could tell what state you live in , and how big your yard is - others could be more specific in advice.

[Guest BlingDogs]

Our backyard used to be pretty OK, but now the turf has so many holes and paw-shaped cutouts we gave up

[Guest KsFrets]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who gave up. We live in the city and have a small city back yard. One dog was one thing, but three + occasional fosters means nothing called grass has a chance. The front yard is ours to keep nice, but the back yard is the three M's to destroy, and they are worth it.

[Guest PreciousMom]

Play ground mulch, best thing I every did. No more mud.

 

Weed block & 2-4 inches of mulch.

[AstasMinion]

@PreciousMom, what a great idea!

[Guest auforygirl]

Dog parks usually put down mulch but my girl hates mulch and gravel for that matter... she has sensitive paws. If I could I would make a run with sand, but I live in an apartment so I don't have much say over the dog park. As for astro turf look at this page it even has a testimonial from a greyhound owner CLICK HERE

[cleptogrey]

mulch, 4-8" thick. I LOVE IT and so do the dogs. we had grass until felix roto-tilled it. no matter what i did, fenced off areas and grew new grass, watered, fertilized, tried every variation of grass seed....we had a rice paddy when there were heavy rains. i contacted a couple of local arbortist and found one who was reasonable. the only draw back is it needs to be replenished every 9-11 months and we have a short flight of stairs from the driveway( where it is dumped) to the yard. for christmas i hired some of the arborist's laborers, the best christmas present ever and they schlepped 15 cubic yards up and raked it out. w/o help it took dh and me 4 days to haul the stuff up. but our house is clean, paws dry and when the snow melts we won't have huge frozen puddles of muck. also, if i ever decide to plant grass my new soil is rich and well aireated.

 

i had enough mulch to dress the garden beds in the front and side of my house, my yard is 40' x 75'. but this is my 3rd fill, so i would figure 20 cubic yards for an area that size.