My Dogs Are Ruining My Yard

We have a VERY large fenced in yard but my two dogs tend to stick to one specific area and they have totally and completely trashed that part of the yard. Where there used to be lovely, lush grass, there is nothing but dirt and the loss of grass is not from urine, it is from the two of them walking, running, laying, and playing in that small portion of the yard. Is there anything I can do to get grass back and keep it there? I don't mind laying sod but I don't want that sod to be dead in a matter of weeks once it's down. The other thing is with nothing but dirt, my house is getting dirtier and dirtier much more quickly. I am now sweeping at least once a day to keep the dirt coming in to a minimum.

Any ideas and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, and they love to recycle, too.

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Permalink Reply by Marnie, Stanlee's Mom on February 20, 2013 at 8:44am

That's where the beautiful, lush grass used to be.

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Permalink Reply by Joanne ~ Spud* on February 20, 2013 at 8:55am

We use snow fencing to plant more seed and re-route the common paths. No, it doesn't work. But hey, we try

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Permalink Reply by Marnie, Stanlee's Mom on February 20, 2013 at 11:00am

I will have to look up what snow fenicng is. I've tried re-routing but, I guess you know how well that works, right?

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Permalink Reply by Sheila & Finnley on February 20, 2013 at 11:10am

If you get snow fencing Marnie, get the wooden stuff. The plastic with holes can be torn right down with one mighty doodle jump. Learned the hard way !

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Permalink Reply by Marnie, Stanlee's Mom on February 20, 2013 at 11:24am

Snow fencing and SAND fencing are basically the same thing used in different parts of the country. Easy enough to find here. In fact, I have a roll I purchased to use around my Christmas tree but never did put up. (It's wood so we're good for at least a small portion.)

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Permalink Reply by F, Calla & Luca on February 20, 2013 at 9:00am

Come join our garden group if you haven't. We have discussed lawns and types of grass. But basically, I think as soon as you can seed in your area, you need yo block this area off temporarily. Fill in, smooth out and reseed. You need a tough lawn. I use tall fescue and I would love it all to be dwarf tall fescue so I await the time that will be more readily available. I have lots of mud and bare spots right now bit it's too early to seed here. I use tall fescue because it's relatively tough and low maintenance. Once it's established it may help but the kind of digging in your picture will be more that any lawn can withstand.

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Permalink Reply by Marnie, Stanlee's Mom on February 20, 2013 at 10:54am

I haven't tried that type of grass and am not finding it at local stores (quick search) The most common types in the area I live (upper panhandle, bordering Georgia) are Centipede and St. Augustine. Of the two, St Augustine is more tolerant of shade but most grasses utilized up north cannot take our climate. Our soil is mostly sand with a touch of Georgia clay thrown in to make digging tough in some areas. Speaking of digging, the digging shown in the picture has just about been eliminated as Stanlee quickly learned this was "undesirable" behavior.

Going to join the garden group today and maybe repost my question there (if that is permitted)

Here are a couple of links showing the types of grass for our area - it's pretty limited:

http://www.espositogardencenter.com/FertilizationInsectWeed/Latesum...

(I shop here frequently)

http://www.fatherandsonlandscape.com/lawn-tips/8-what-is-the-best-t...