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

Really??????

We love a nice lawn but we don't spend "hundreds of pounds a year" maintaining it.
With two Ddogs there is some maintenance but it is mainly just labour which my OH loves doing. Airiating & scarifying are free, mowing costs very little, a bag of seed at the start of the season and an occasional water if it is very dry (like now).
Lawn looks super and the wildlife loves it.

The synic in me wonders if you sell artificial turf?😆

We have a lawnmower that was in the shed when we moved in, I mow the grass once a week for about six months of the year, not a single patch on it. The sky waters it, never put down seed or fertiliser. Hot plastic isn’t safer than grass, microplastics will be entering the ecosystem.

Can’t you just take your dog out for the toilet? That’s what we do and our lawn is still fine. Or if you must, just have a watering can full beside the lawn to rinse after a pee. Dog poo on any garden lawn is gross and unhygienic. There’s really no need if you feed at regular times and take them out for the toilet. You don’t have to go far each time, just beyond your property. This would be a better option than dog muck on your lawn and plastic grass.

Please also be aware that cats love to bury their mess in bark. I really wouldn’t recommend it. Not only is cat muck really unsafe, it smells so bad.

Cruel!

We have artificial grass after my dog completely destroyed our lawn and made it into a giant mud pit. We love it. All we do is use a wash once or twice a year in the Summer months and that’s it. We never have to clean his paws when he comes in. It’s so easy. Once a year we hoover it to get up any small leaves etc but it’s not necessary, it just makes it look better. We had a layer of hardcore and sand under ours.

On very warm days, it does get hot (as a previous poster mentioned). I just hose it down every now and then if my dog is using it but he lies in the shade anyway so it’s not an issue.

That isn't a valid argument.

We always had a dog when I was growing up. The dog was walked a lot, and I don't remember ever seeing dog poo on the lawn or patches where he had weed.

My question is are dog owners not walking their dogs enough or had my mum trained the dog not to use the lawn as a toilet?

None of the dogs we had destroyed the lawn, so what is your dog doing to destroy your lawn @WorthyOtter ?

What a ridiculous post!! Must be somebody selling plastic grass.

I don’t know anybody who spends hours and £££ to keep grass green. We do zilch and have a dog. No watering or fertilisers, hardly anybody does. It’s not like a bowling green but it’s green and grass with a few daises,buzzing with life.

Plastic grass gives off chemicals, is literally the worst thing you can do for the environment and eco system and there’s a special place in hell for all who dig up life supporting grass to replace it with chemical churning plastic. Who would want their children and dog to breath that in all summer?😱It looks awful and chavvy and kills off so much wildlife. It’s just vile and I hope it will eventually be banned.

"harsh chemicals and fertilisers that are bad for the environment." What are these then? Never used them in 25yrs of having a lawn, have I been "lawning" wrong? Never weeded it, the dandelions and daisies are food for the bees.

Mow it every other week for about 5 months of the year, strim the edges a handful of times and that's it. Use a push along trundle lawn mower and it comes up nice.

Domestic lawns look after themselves with just the odd haircut. No one should have a "perfect" lawn except Wimbledon.

A quick g0ogle will give you info on the carcinogenic chemicals they contain. Then there’s the horrific environmental impact from microplastic plastic breakdown and the manufacture, destruction to the eco system and wildlife that grass maintains. Why would you put your children and dog at risk?

“Artificial turf in the UK contains various chemicals that raise concerns about potential health and environmental impacts. These chemicals include PFAS, PAHs, phthalates, and VOCs, some of which are known carcinogens or endocrine disruptors.”

cleanwater.org/2024/09/16/turf-artificial-harm-very-real

I literally despair at people who put making lawn Instagramable above their children ingesting carcinogenic forever chemicals and destruction to the ecosystem.

Why would anyone need to water grass 😂? We have something called a sky that does it every so often for free.

And when it doesn't do it in a heatwave and the grass gets crispy and brown, it all comes back in a few weeks once the rain returns. It's almost as if nature has got it sussed and we need to let it get on with it.

Do you have plastic in your house?

Do you use a mobile phone?

Grass seed mixes are not all the same. It could well be worth speaking to a garden centre or landscaper re: your requirements. A very quick google shows that there are urine resistant mixes. If you ask for something robust, with/without wildflowers, resistant to dog urine, good for shade/bright light etc to you should be able to find something. But don't write off all grass. It's not all the same.

All you perfect posters who hate fake lawns please let us know about whether you have any plastic in your home or garden?
Do you or your children use mobile phones??? Be honest as we know you are concerned re cancers?
Do you buy all charity recyclable clothing.
Do you walk everywhere?
How many cars do you have?
Are you doing everything correctly if so let everyone on here know so we feel reassured that you aren’t just the usual holier than thou person who has to put other people down.
It makes many of us feel sick as so many of you preach but when we look at your homes and gardens so many things are bad for the environment that you are doing.
When you are living your lives 100 per cent perfectly come back on here and fill us in so we can all be reassured that you don’t have any plastic in your home and you walk to work everyday and you never go abroad on a plane and you don’t tumble dry your clothes snd the list goes on and on and on….

Just checked with DH and he says it was a crushed gravel type stuff not sand.

Anyway it’s your life. I’m just saying I also didn’t listen to anyone and did it anyway and was wrong. It stank so bad you couldn’t open the patio doors in summer. It also had dog hair stuck to it which had to be scraped off (can’t hoover up dog wee!) and was completely black in winter, to the point if you hosed it you could see the filth running off.

We now have paving and it’s so much better and more hygienic.

Er yes! Don’t cover my garden in them though . You’re just sounding ridiculous.

Yes we need to reduce plastic consumption- big time. However covering vast areas in plastic, destroying wildlife and making children play in cancer inducing chemical soup that is heated up to awful temperatures in the summer isn’t the way to go about it.

Love my fake grass, so easy to clean up after my 2 large dogs. It has been down 3 years and still looks good and does not smell. You need to ensure you have the correct drainage for the base, eg can not just lay on top of soil, need to have compacted type1 then sand and a membrane.

She's a female dog, look it up. It goes patchy

No you are ridiculous as you are preaching but there are loads of things we as a family do that are very environmentally aware and been a carer makes it difficult to do everything exactly perfectly but we do loads of good things too so hopefully that ‘balances’ things out.
I just feel it’s very unfair for posters to criticise others when they aren’t doing things perfectly themselves.
As you can see from comments I have made on this thread it’s not just about mobile phones!!?
There are so many reasons why people do things and they aren’t always the right decision for others but maybe look at the whole picture instead of putting someone else down.
The fake lawns are not heated to dangerous temperatures? Massive venues use them so they wouldn’t be able to if that was true.
Obviously in a perfect world everyone would do everything perfectly but if you’re honest with your lifestyle look around your home now and think of all the things that you have and do that affect the environment.
I am just sorting out all our clothes that aren’t needed for charity and recycling.

Your garden looks beautiful

It looks too artificial and sterile to me, but each to their own.

Where are the plants?

We bought this house in November 23, the garden was lovely. Our dog, although she does get walked, made it all patchy. We've spent hours and money trying to get the grass back with numerous different things. Nothing worked. All we want is somewhere nice to sit because at the minute it's a mess. The artificial grass will be minimal, might not be ideal but I really don't want a fully concreted garden

🤣Recyling clothes whilst doing the single most dreadful thing you can do for the environment. You clearly are not environmentally aware.

There are big health concerns about fake grass being used in sports venues.

Agreed, it looks awful.

a desert has more life
looks like a parking lot