Hello all.
We have two very active K9s (a rescue part-border collie and a border collie) that we've acquired in the last 18 months. They constantly chase each other and we play fetch with them several times daily. The yard is fenced in, it is pitched and has a few trees that throw shade. The trees and pitch alone present a challenge since rizomal grass does not grow well in the shade so we are constantly fighting erosion. Now introduce the dogs and the grass stands no chance; they tear up grass running, starting and stopping. There is a 15 by 75 foot section where most of the running occurs that is now nothing but dirt. We must come up with a solution to resist erosion and to keep the tracking in dirt to a minimum (the dogs come and go in/out through a doggie door).
I've been searching for a dog friendly surface solution and have not yet found one that is satisfactory. I basically want to do something with the 15x75 area that will allow them to still use the area as their primary running path without damaging their paw pads. Decent artificial turf (especially dog turf) is too expensive and high maintenance. I've seen a number of references to 'hardscaping' and that seems appealing, but I am not sure which option to use.
So far, I am most interested in decomposed granite/sealer with a mulch pit at the end. Does anyone on this forum have any experience with such options or other ideas I can explore?
Thanks in advance.
We have two very active K9s (a rescue part-border collie and a border collie) that we've acquired in the last 18 months. They constantly chase each other and we play fetch with them several times daily. The yard is fenced in, it is pitched and has a few trees that throw shade. The trees and pitch alone present a challenge since rizomal grass does not grow well in the shade so we are constantly fighting erosion. Now introduce the dogs and the grass stands no chance; they tear up grass running, starting and stopping. There is a 15 by 75 foot section where most of the running occurs that is now nothing but dirt. We must come up with a solution to resist erosion and to keep the tracking in dirt to a minimum (the dogs come and go in/out through a doggie door).
I've been searching for a dog friendly surface solution and have not yet found one that is satisfactory. I basically want to do something with the 15x75 area that will allow them to still use the area as their primary running path without damaging their paw pads. Decent artificial turf (especially dog turf) is too expensive and high maintenance. I've seen a number of references to 'hardscaping' and that seems appealing, but I am not sure which option to use.
So far, I am most interested in decomposed granite/sealer with a mulch pit at the end. Does anyone on this forum have any experience with such options or other ideas I can explore?
Thanks in advance.