If you’re a dog lover like me, having your dog damage your newly planted grass seed might not be new for you. Well, I understand that it can be pretty frustrating after you’ve been at it all day with your Drop Spreader. Imagine if the same happens on a steep hill, just imagine all of that effort going to waste! But really, there is actually a good way to solve this problem: Dog resistant grass seed!
Related reading: Drop Spreaders VS Broadcast Spreaders, A Comparison!
What’s that, you wonder? Well, there are some kinds of seeds that are just better at coping up with damage. Alternatively, there are a few seed/grass strategies that make your seeds/grass resistant! Well, these are some of the things we are going to take a look at over the course of today’s article.
So, we really expect the article to be super informative. It is really hoped that you would be able to learn a lot of new things from today’s article, and so we really recommend that you remain here with us till the very end. So, let’s get started already!
How can my dog actually damage my grass?
Well, your dog can actually damage your grass and your grass seed in various ways! While it can damage the seeds before they germinate, it can also damage grass after it has fully grown. In fact, this kind of explains why a lot of dog owners don’t really have the perfect turf despite working so hard for it!
Well, the main types of damages that come to my mind at this given moment are as follows:
- Digging: Now, one of the main things that dogs love to do is dig. This might partially be owing to the fact that grass makes you itchy (click here to read more on why grass makes you itchy.) Even with training, it is one of those habits that they just have, and you can’t just say no those puppy eyes, can you? So well, this is one of the main reasons that your grass (seed) might get damaged. As you can assume, this one can damage both grass seeds as well as mature grass. So, this is something you might want to be on the lookout for.
- Dog Urine: Another reason that the grass might be getting damaged is because of your dog’s urine. As unusual as this sounds, this is one of the cases that are actually valid. However, this case is actually a lot less common than people think it is.
- Is the dog really the cause? One of the main things that we see is that people often think that their dog is damaging their lawn while it’s not the dog at all. Grass fungus can easily kill your grass off and give it a similar color as grass damaged from dog urine, making it all the harder to distinguish between the two. However, you can figure out the difference if you’re careful- quoting GardeningKnowHow,
Believe it or not, dog urine is not as damaging as many people believe it is. Sometimes you may blame the dog for brown or yellow spots in the lawn when in fact it is a grass fungus causing the problem.
To determine if dog urine is killing the lawn or a grass fungus, simply pull up on the affected grass. If the grass in the spot comes up easily, it is a fungus. If it stays firm, it is dog urine damage.
Another indicator that it is dog urine killing the lawn is that the spot will be a bright green on the edges while a fungus spot will not.
What is dog resistant grass seed?
A lot of you might be wondering what dog resistant grass seed really is. And that’s a really good question, although the answer is fairly simple. While no grass seeds can actually be perfectly immune to all effects of dog urine and especially actions like digging, some seeds overcome it in a different way: quick regeneration.
Suppose, if your dog damages a part of your lawn with digging, it takes a while for grass to grow back, right? Some varieties of grass actually grow back much more quickly over this empty spot that it surrounds. So, the overall lawns just heals back to its original state is a relatively short period of time by itself.
This is actually a good thing because the overall lawn just goes back to its original condition. One of the main reason why most people love it is because of the minimal amount of effort that it requires. So, if you’re a lazy person like me, you’re sure to love the dog resistant grass seed!
Types of Dog Resistant Grass Seed:
Now, as you might have guessed, there are quite a few types of dog resistant grass seeds. These are actually different types of grass seeds which grow at a pretty fast rate and work to heal up your lawn quickly.
It is worthy of note at this point that a lot of these are geographic location dependent and a lot of lawn owners prefer to use a specific combination of these. So, you might want to do your research before you actually opt to go for any of these so that you can get the best potential outcome.
The main types of Dog Resistant Grass Seeds that I’ve seen people going for might be summed up as:
Kentucky Bluegrass
One of the choices that you might go for is the Kentucky Bluegrass. It is well suited for the entire California region, making it a great choice for you if you live there. Also, since its actually spreads owing to underground shoots, it actually repairs any damaged parts of your lawn really quickly.
Fescue grass
The tall fescue grass is yet another good choice that you might want to grow for. Since its overall underground network is well developed, it also quickly works to repair the parts of your lawn that your dog might have damaged. A lot of the the lawn owners actually prefer mixing up the Kentucky Bluegrass and Fescue Grass from the very beginning to lay a solid foundation for a dog-proof lawn.
Rye Grass
Ryegrass is not generally used for covering the entire lawn from the very beginning. However, given how quickly it actually grows and how easy it is to plant somewhere new, it acts as a great choice if you want to repair specific damaged spots in your lawn.
So, while it does not exactly make your lawn dog-proof, it actually does repair your lawn for the time being while you brainstorm for some options that are actually going to work in the long run.
Some people also prefer to go for Artificial Turfs
Yes, it is true that artificial turfs have been around for a long time now. But have you seen the old ones available out there? They just looked so unnatural that people never actually went for them until they had no other choice left!
However, the modern ones that are coming out have changed this. The new Artificial turfs available out there have been designed and manufactured to perfectly look like real turfs. This is one of the main reasons why a lot of lawn owners have now started going for artificial turfs to avoid all of the hassle associated with maintaining a beautiful lawn.
So, if that’s what you think is going to be the best choice f0r you, you might actually consider having an artificial turf too. Yes, while it’s true that it might never be as good as the real one, the overall hassle is considerably less.
You know what goes well with artificial turfs? Trampolines! A lot of people are afraid of using sprinklers with trampolines, and if you’re one of them, click here to read our article on Do Sprinklers Ruin Trampolines?
Dog resistant grass seed is not the entire solution
While dog resistant grass seeds actually grow back and your lawn repairs itself back into shape soon enough, it is not all the solution to your problem. There are, of course, a few more things you might want to do in order to ensure that your lawn takes the minimum amount of damage and remains as beautiful as possible.
This might easily be done if you take care of the following things:
- Train your Dog: Yes, while it is true that you cannot entirely stop the digging, you can reduce it considerably with training your dog. Also, you can drain your dog to actually take care of its necessities somewhere else. This would actually save your lawn from the damage it takes both from urine and scooping.
- Take Care of the Lawn: You cannot always blame it on the dog, can you? A lot of the times, the dog is not even at fault- you must keep in mind that it’s your job to take care of your lawn and that it’s health depends entirely on you!
- Remain Vigilant: And finally, one of the main things that we recommend is remaining vigilant. If you keep noticing damage even after doing all you can, you might want to keep track of it and get advice from an expert.
Conclusion
We have finally reached the end of this article, and we really thank you for being here with us till the very end! It is really hoped that you could learn at least something new from this article that you would be able to apply in your lawn in real to make it even more beautiful.
We here at Turf Mechanic know that you’re working hard to get the lawn of your dreams, and we want you to know that we are here for you! we understand that you might still have a few questions, and we are always here to answer them for you! So, please do not hesitate in reaching out to us with any queries that you might have!
We really hope to see you again on our next article as well, so please promise us you will be there! Until, then, we here at Turf Mechanic take your leave and wish you a great day!