dogs and lawns

doggeydog – posted 14 January 2003 05:54

I know you must get a thousand emails about dogs and lawns and I’ve searched the net high and low but I’d like another opinion anyway. I have a pit bull (Long Island, NY) – she has free run of my entire yard. She goes to the bathroom anywhere she pleases – no changing that habbit. She also runs alot on one particular area – I’m not into being out there to water or care for my lawn – I was thinking zoysia would be my best bet – besides concrete and just mud – would you say that’s my best choice – or is there perhaps some kind of ground cover that could stand up under those conditions and at the same time not prevent me from walking on it and alsobeing very low to the ground so that I could find and dig out the dog’s #2 without ripping out the plantings. Thanks.

james – posted 14 January 2003 07:57

first of all, keep the dog. the dog doesn’t know what kind of grass you have or wasn’t consulted on the landscape design of the house. it’s all about landscape design, if you had an area where the dog could learn to use the bathroom , then you might have your problem solved. other than that, get a fescue or bluegrass type of lawn, keep it well fertilized and watered and maintained, and pick the poop up and you should have no problem, i’ve had a 130 pd. german shepherd and a golden retriever all on theh same lawn, and you couldn’t tell the difference.

doggeydog – posted 16 January 2003 07:17

Thanks for the reply – are you pretty sure that this grass you reccommended would be better than the zoysia – I’m more concerned that I have grass period – even if it turns brown 3/4 of the year like zoysia (which I was told is the strongest grass out there) rather than having to be out there watering and fertilizing the grasses you mentioned just so I have greener grass. The bottom line is which grass will hold up better under wear and tear, female dog urinating and little watering on my part ? Your recommendation or the zoysia. Thanks again.

james – posted 16 January 2003 09:02

i still can’t imagine a situation buy which there’s so much urine that it becomes a problem for the lawn. pit bulls aren’t really that big, and females don’t “mark” their territory as aggressively as males. use a bluegrass or a fescue lawn, seed it in, then follow normal maintenance practices of watering as needed, fertilizing and couple of times per year and mowing once a week. you’re too far north for zoysia. it might be green 3 months a year tops. seed the bluegrass or fescue in the spring or fall when the temps are in the 80’s. locally, call your Lesco service center office and they can sell you professional quality products for your lawn. keep the dog! just maintain the lawn in a normal manner, and everyone should be happy!