Serious lawn help needed!!

The doggies have wrecked our back lawn….thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s still lawn there, but a lot of it is dug up, with holes, and there are large areas of just dirt.

We would like to try and salvage this (we are renting) without having to replace the entire lawn. I will take some photos and post them, but does anyone have any advice to start?

First off, I would have to say don't leave them out there too long unattended. Dogs sure know how to get into things when they get bored. Secondly, buy some grass seed, plant it and water. It takes a while but it will do the trick. Another option is buying sod. Good luck.

Whenever we are home, they are in. Quite often they are in when we're not at home, as well. But they mostly do go out the back when we are at work - our house is very small and they are very big, it's not fair to keep them confined inside all day, and they really love it out there. I'd say they are in more than out, though.

They are not so destructive now that they are older, but the damage has been done. Thanks for your advice!! We are going to topdress it, as well, and replant some runners.

Rather than use seeded grass I'm thinking it might just be easier to throw down a few sheets of sod-- but it depends on what grows better down there!
You can always add a garden gnome or two !

Hehehehe.....no, I want things that will SURVIVE!!!! Lol.... They'd think all their Christmasses had come at once if I put a gnome out there!! That reminds me...I have to take a photo for you of a house on our street, it is gnome central!! Cute, but kinda creepy, too...

Originally Posted by KitEKats4Eva!

I have to take a photo for you of a house on our street, it is gnome central!! Cute, but kinda creepy, too...

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I have two suggestions.... fill the holes with water and turn them into ornamental ponds... or you can cover them with dried leaves and sticks and trap the next dog to walk over it.

Sorry, neither of those were much use, but I thought I'd try to raise a smile.

Seriously, I'd first of all try filling the holes and you can buy grass-seed at any garden store. I would try and prevent the dogs from being out there for too long, long enough to do what they need to do, but not long enough that they can get over excited about digging things up!

OH and gnome central? I wish I had photos of the gnomey garden I found in Kent - all the gnomes were naked! How's that for attracting attention!! It definitely makes people look twice anyway!

Originally Posted by LilleKat

... or you can cover them with dried leaves and sticks and trap the next dog to walk over it.

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I am so glad you were joking - for a minute there I was thinking `Is she SERIOUS?????'....lol...

A couple of people have mentioned sod. What is that, exactly??

Sod..... earth. Basically. If I recall rightly it's just lumps of good soil... someone stop me if I'm wrong here. Or it's an insult... that one I DO know!!

Originally Posted by LilleKat

Sod..... earth. Basically. If I recall rightly it's just lumps of good soil... someone stop me if I'm wrong here. Or it's an insult... that one I DO know!!

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Yes, according to my mother, my father is a sod. (But she loves him!! )

Sod is a strip of dirt with grass already growing . Like live grass carpet you put down on dirt so it takes root in your yard.

Aaaaah what we country bumpkins call "turf". Gotcha.

umm grass grows quicker with manure..
Honestly!
In australia chicken manure is the cheapest (i know this is so gross) just.. fill the holes with grass, it should grow with in two months (atleast it worked in melbourne!)

Is the doggie yard big enough that you could temporarily fence 1/2 of it off? You could fill in the holes on that side, and then till it up and rake it down til it`s level then rake in some grass seed. When it gets growing enough to have to mow it, then you could switch the dogs to that side and do the same to the other 1/2 of the yard.
That or i`d just fill the hole and buy sod....depending on which would be cheaper to do...buying the additional fencing or buying the sod.
Linda

I think the type of grass you have is not the same type we have in the northern climates. You have warm season grass?? Like they grow in Florida??? You but little plants and set them out??? I have my turf book from class-I might be able to give you more tips if you give me more info on what you grow.
Or with the holes you could bury the gnomes so just their heads are peeking out of the ground!!

We're trying to make progress on our lawn too...what we do is dig up the areas where there isn't any grass to loosen up the soil (the dogs pack it down running across the same trails again and again so nothing will grow there), then we plant runners from the healthy areas in there, water deeply, then cover the planted areas with gratings or a piece of chain-link fence - the dogs don't like walking on it so they stay off it while the grass takes hold (if you use chain-link fence you'll need to move it frequently so the grass doesn't tie it down). You could probably do the same thing with sod - sod might be faster than just replanting runners.

We also try to get the dogs to vary their paths by putting lawn chairs, BBQ pits, and other stuff in the middle of paths where the lawn is getting trampled, to let that grass have a rest - then another path starts to get trampled, and we move the chairs again. It's taken a while but our lawn has gradually recovered from being 1/4 grass and 3/4 dirt to being about 1/2 & 1/2. We're hopeful it will recover even more this spring.

When we sold our last house, we first got a dog run to close the dogs in one area so the back yard could regrow. Then we farmed them out to live with friends for about 2 months! We actually planted a little garden on the bare patch left by the dog run, so it looked real nice.

I think it is impossible to grow grass with large dogs, unless you use one of the methods to keep them off that area. Maybe fix it the best you can, then the week before you move out plant some sod.

Originally Posted by Beckiboo

I think it is impossible to grow grass with large dogs, unless you use one of the methods to keep them off that area. Maybe fix it the best you can, then the week before you move out plant some sod.

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Honestly, I think you're right. We've been working pretty hard just to make a moderate amount of progress - and that's with 2 dogs who are indoors all night and usually a fair portion of the day too.

Originally Posted by tuxedokitties

We're trying to make progress on our lawn too...what we do is dig up the areas where there isn't any grass to loosen up the soil (the dogs pack it down running across the same trails again and again so nothing will grow there), then we plant runners from the healthy areas in there, water deeply, then cover the planted areas with gratings or a piece of chain-link fence - the dogs don't like walking on it so they stay off it while the grass takes hold (if you use chain-link fence you'll need to move it frequently so the grass doesn't tie it down).

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That is the EXACT advice - almost word-for-word - that my mother gave me. She is a fantastic gardener so we are going to try that first up.

Originally Posted by Beckiboo

Maybe fix it the best you can, then the week before you move out plant some sod.

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We are thinking that that's what we may have to do if the above doesn't work - and just tell our landlords it'll be fixed before we go. They are really cool people, very understanding, and basically, I think if we are honest with them, and tell them we'll fix it, they'll be fine with that.

Originally Posted by tuxedokitties

We've been working pretty hard just to make a moderate amount of progress - and that's with 2 dogs who are indoors all night and usually a fair portion of the day too.

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Are you and I the same person??? This is exactly how we have things with our doggies too!