Artificial grass with dog

[WorthyOtter]

Were in the process of laying artificial grass. Our dog destroyed the grass we had so we've resorted to this. We've removed all the grass, dug down 10cm, and laid the weed membrane stuff. We're seeing conflicting things online about the next steps. Can anyone who's laid grass with a dog let us know what you steps you took next? Thanks

I know loads of people who have fake lawns and have never come across this?!
I just don’t believe it unless they aren’t picking up the dog poo immediately like you would on a real lawn. Some people like to leave dog poo all over the place and that’s when I smell it. Not because it is lying on a fake lawn!
What your brother needs to do is pick up the dog excrement in a timely manner not just leave it there. We all need to be hygienic for ourselves and our neighbours…….

The plastics leach into the environment due to the rain and runoff.
The blades of grass contain pfas plastics that kids, animals can be exposed to as they can disintegrate.

Haha that would've made more sense

Ew, fake grass. It’s never not an embarrassing abomination.

Surely there’s a better alternative.

Isn't artificial grass linked to cancer? Maybe countries are phasing it out of sports fields after suspicious deaths https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/mar/10/phillies-ball-players-cancer-artifical-turf and the science that looked into it.

Look into planting clover. It is resistant to dog urine, looks amazing and is so soft for bare feet.

I inherited a tiny garden with artificial grass. My dog refuses to pee or poo on it, it never gets too hot. I may replace it one day , but it would only go into landfill, so no environmental win!

Any suggestions? Not sure what the big deal is about a little bit of artificial grass?!?

We have two dogs and fake grass in our back garden which was previously a mud bath. It doesn't ever get too hot for them, and it rarely smells. We live in Scotland though so both might be down to the weather. I do hose it sometimes if we've had a particularly dry spell, or where they have pooed if it's left a mark.

@turquoisetoits not the poop! It’s the wee! It’s awful. I don’t know if it’s just not able to penetrate the ground because of the weed layer or what but trust me after a year or two it’s unbearable.

@WorthyOtterdont do it!! The companies sell you an absolute lie by calling it pet safe. It’s safe as in it won’t harm your dog but omg it’s terrible!! The smell 🤢 Google dog friendly garden maybe. We ended up with mostly gravel and then lovely pot plants but we just did hard core/weed membrane, compacted it (borrowed a whacker plate) and then gravel. Worked fine and our dog never tried to do any digging or eating of gravel.

hoenslty the Astro grass just cooks piss in summer and unless you follow them round with a hose and disinfectant it just smells of hot wee. Cannot state how bad it is 😂😂

Concrete, artificial grass and dog pee. Must be a great place to spend time in summer

You could you know, actually research and educate yourself about more sustainable and even natural ways to deal with this. What's even funnier is you are probably paying some company £ to do this.

Not if it’s done properly with all the right materials. Know loads of people who have it and never smelt of wee!

No wonder the environment is f*cked, when you have fools with more money than sense paying companies thousands to lay down a plastic covering so their pets can pee everywhere.

I don't understand why you'd want plastic, especially when you have a dog that should be enjoying nature

Loads of things are linked to cancer!
Breathing
eating
drinking
living
cleaning products
stress
mobile phones
social media
etc etc etc etc

@turquoise why so keen to defend artificial grass. You know it's plastic and doesn't degrade naturally. What happens in years to come when all this stuff gets ripped up, how should it be disposed of?

Because they don’t want real grass that looks shit and smells of poo and wee too.
They don’t want to use harsh chemicals and fertilisers that are bad for the environment.
They don’t want to be mowing lawn every week disturbing neighbours when we don’t get much sun as it is!
They like the look of it and no maintenance if done properly.
Some people have complicated lives with young children, disabled, carer etc so haven’t got the time or will.
The list is endless

Read my last comment.
I hope you are living a perfectly environmentally sound life.

You know using computers and phones etc very bad for the environment since you are such a perfect example of someone who does everything correctly.

My neighbours have fake grass and two large dogs. Just be aware that if you don't pick up the poo on a hot day the very instant the dog produces it, the smell over the fence is awful. Neighbour sometimes goes to work very early and takes the dogs with her, so lets them out for an early poo before putting them in the car, so the poo is there all day and on a hot day I can't sit out in MY garden because of the stench.

May I respectfully ask that you aren’t rude to the op. You do sound so snooty and it’s really not nice…….

It’s no different to people who don’t pick up dog excretions on real grass.
There are a lot of people on here who don’t have it but all of a sudden are experts!😂

I’ve never once used fertiliser on my grass!
The birds use it to dig for worms to feed their chicks - can’t do that on plastic can they? We have lost over 70% of bird numbers since the 1950s!

A grass lawn doesn’t need mowing every single week and you can do it when it’s not sunny! I’m leaving mine now until the end of May to see what wildflowers and grasses pop up.

I have a cat that pees on my natural grass - it doesn’t smell at all!

Your fake grass is actually polluting your neighbours’ soil too via runoff.

In Autumn, people have to hoover their fake grass every week and hose it down otherwise it gets covered in moss.

It fades to a horrible colour and only lasts 10 years. It can’t be recycled.

It is different. I have a dog and real grass. The poo sits down into the grass if I don't pick it up immediately and therefore is shaded from the direct sunlight. It doesn't smell as much as poo sitting on the top of, what is in essence, a sheet of nylon. I pick my dog's poo up when she does it usually, but sometimes miss one if she does it during the night, and they truly don't stink like poo on plastic grass which just sits on top.