Artificial grass with 3 dogs, am I mad?

jomalone14

Hi all,

I'm the proud owner of 3 amazing dogs and one very muddy back and side garden

The garden didn't even recover after last winter so I'm looking at a worsening situation year after year.

I'm considering biting the bullet and re-doing the garden this year in favour of artificial grass.

Have any dog owners on Boards had artificial grass put down and if so, has it been a success?

I have 2 collies and a tibetan terrier cross so when there's a mad chase on between all 3, it's like a herd of cattle tearing up and down the lawn.

How robust is artificial grass?
How much trampling will it take?
Does it still look as good a few years after being laid?
Any downsides apart from the price?

Many thanks in advance.

Lumen

Wouldn't gravel work better? Don't fancy picking crap out of plastic grass.

Del2005

Lumen wrote: »

Wouldn't gravel work better? Don't fancy picking crap out of plastic grass.

And picking crap out of gravel will be easier?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

The only way to go, for what is essentially a dog run, is a hard surface which can be easily and regular cleaned.

Del2005

Del2005 wrote: »

And picking crap out of gravel will be easier?

On gravel you can leave it and it'll get washed into the ground. On artificial grass it'll just sit there for a very long time.

jomalone14

Thanks for all the replies so far.

I've no problem picking up poo from any surface, it's a necessary daily chore.

However, I can't see my formerly nice back garden covered in gravel, I like greenery hence the artificial grass. I already have a substantial patio so to concrete, pave or gravel any further goes against my thinking.

Anyone got artificial grass that could give me an idea on how good or problematic a job it could be in terms of wear and tear?

daheff

Wonder how much your dogs will want to dig on it? Could spend good money on it, only for the dogs to dig it out quite quickly?

colm_c

What about digging it out, put in proper drainage and use something like these:
https://www.geo-coastal.ie/products-services/miscellaneous/reinforced-grass-paving/

At least you'd have a well drained, respectable looking garden when the grass grows back.

jomalone14

daheff wrote: »

Wonder how much your dogs will want to dig on it? Could spend good money on it, only for the dogs to dig it out quite quickly?

Thankfully, they've never really dug the garden. It's more damage from constant running up and down the garden. The ground naturally has become quite compacted, leading to pooling of water when it rains heavily. There's more muck and bare patches in the back garden now than grass!

jomalone14

colm_c wrote: »

What about digging it out, put in proper drainage and use something like these:
https://www.geo-coastal.ie/products-services/miscellaneous/reinforced-grass-paving/

At least you'd have a well drained, respectable looking garden when the grass grows back.

Thanks Colm C. Looked up their website and it's looks an interesting concept. Definitely worth looking into so thank you.

daheff

colm_c wrote: »

What about digging it out, put in proper drainage and use something like these:
https://www.geo-coastal.ie/products-services/miscellaneous/reinforced-grass-paving/

At least you'd have a well drained, respectable looking garden when the grass grows back.

might have an interest in this meself. have a back garden thats like a mud pit at the moment....not much traffic in it, so obv bad drainage. wondering if something like this could work in front of the shed (at least) to sort that out.


is this something you could put down yourself?

colm_c

daheff wrote: »

might have an interest in this meself. have a back garden thats like a mud pit at the moment....not much traffic in it, so obv bad drainage. wondering if something like this could work in front of the shed (at least) to sort that out.


is this something you could put down yourself?

Haven't used it myself, but will be using it for a motorbike path and plan to self install, looks easier to install than paving.

zuroph

I had a 46kg shepherd Rottweiler cross and did this to our mud pit back garden with great success.

First, make sure it’s fitted correctly. We dug down and put a drain the whole way along the length in the centre that returns to waste water, so the grass acts as one giant drain for the garden.

Once it’s down well And tight it’ll last great. My dog used to go nuts on it but usually it was him rolling on it as a back scratcher.

It’s great for maintenance too, you can do an occasional run with a power washer and blast it all.

Just don’t buy the cheapest grass out there, you get what you pay for.