Sod?

[L.M.]

Hi again!  My last post was about "dog proof" grass.  Well, now we are considering sod instead.  My lawn is an absolute mess...not so much from my doodles than from last year's summer sun and intense heat which killed nearly all of our newly established grass.  We are strongly considering fescue sod and sprinklers.  For those of you that have used sod and a sprinkler system, how has it lasted with dog traffic?  I have two doodles...one big guy and one little gal.  Both are diggers....although they only dig when there is exposed dirt....That issue should be okay once sod is down.  How do the lawns last with dog urine?  Again, I would have sprinklers as well to dilute it, but does that really help?  Our yard is small, so we have no option of sectioning off a dog area.  I know female urine is more concentrated....but do the sprinklers usually dilute it enough to prevent grass burn spots?  Basically, I'm curious if most of you who use/used sod found it to be worth the cost when you have dogs that could potentially ruin it.  Reseeding the lawn was our original plan, but keeping the dogs off of it while it establishes for months would be virtually impossible for us.  

Thanks for the help again!  =) 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Jackdoodle certainly limits options. We'll keep thinking.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yep...the $1000 worth of fescue sod that had to be pulled out a year after it was installed was a real gut-wrencher.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I remember you wrote about that.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Just chiming in for fake grass.  The largest part of our backyard is pool, concrete and planting area: roses, trees, groundcover, etc - no grass.  My doodles are there everyday from May through October - mostly in and out of the pool. They are also there when I am at other times.  In other words they are always supervised back there.  I have had no problem with the planted areas except it can be hard to find the ball there, but then there is no grass either.

For the part of the back yard that is accessible by the dog door we installed fake grass about five years ago.  I could have new countertops and backsplash in the kitchen or fake grass.  The fake grass was very expensive ( more than granite countertops!) and worth every dime.  I would make the same decision again.  If it smells in an area I pour clorox or nature's miracle on it and hose it down.  In the winter I rarely if ever need to hose it down.  In the summer once a month is plenty under normal pooping and peeing.  We play fetch there everyday, day in and day out and have not had injuries. Knock wood.  I have walked on it barefoot in our August afternoons, it is not nearly as hot a concrete. 

 

I have been on the local school board for twenty years.  We put artificial turf on the football field and field event areas nearly ten years ago.  We actually received safety credits for doing so, because the statistics with the newer grass (don't think astroturf) show significantly less serious injury.  It does give a mean "rug burn" to human skin. If it is very hot here you can hose it down. The heat concerns with atheletes are not from contact burns, but from hot air.  Watering for just minutes can lowly the temperature on the field by twenty degrees without causing problems that come from playing on wet real grass. 

 

Fake grass, for me, is the best thing since sliced bread

[F, Calla & Luca]

Hey, we could of done this in the Doodle debate group : )

[L.M.]

Ok...my husband literally just got off the phone with one artificial turf company.  Our backyard is not large...let me just start with that.....With that said, this company gave us an estimate of over $15,000 for turf. LOL I thought they were joking......We are still going to look around but that is just out of the question if that price is the norm.....

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Mowed weeds would be fine with me. We now have half dirt and half weeds in our small yard.  Looks nasty, but I see no way to improve upon it because there is not blocking off an area.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Some of you may find something that meets your needs here:

http://www.highcountrygardens.com/

At any rate it's interesting and pretty.

[Marianne *OZZY & ZOEY]

This was my yard before canine grass and now

Best thing I have ever bought.  My dogs don't know the difference and they stay so much cleaner too.  Less money at the groomer and I have to say my house stays much cleaner.  Just my opinion

[L.M.]

It's beautiful!  It looks completely real as well!  Are you willing to share info about the cost?  As I said before, I just got off the phone with one company that estimated about $15,000 for our yard......I almost fell over lol.

[L.M.]

I also see that you live in New Jersey?  I am in Sayreville so I'd love to hear some recommendations about the company you worked with.  =)

[Marianne *OZZY & ZOEY]

www.jmsynthicgrass.com  tell them I have it so you can get the same kind.  I have a sprinkler system for the sod I used to have LOL.  so we left it in place and wash down the grass when it needs to.  You will see it has drainage  Best thing I ever bought and Zoey stays blonde and Ozzy stays black and not turning brown from the mud.  Everyone has an opinion but for how clean it keeps the doodles and my house it is so worth it.  If you need more info send me a private message on my page.  Good luck what ever your choice