Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Artificial grass….how to train dog not to toilet on it?

214 replies

NewMeNewUs · 04/04/2024 20:44

We are having our garden renovated in a couple of weeks which included artificial grass being laid.
the gardener has advised me to train the dog (1 year old Labrador) not to toilet on the fake grass, she can do it on the patio instead.
my question is how do I teach this!? Many thanks

OP posts:
butterflymagic · 09/04/2024 11:13

youngones1 · 08/04/2024 15:06

The average household mows their lawn once a week, invariably on a Saturday morning when their neighbours are trying to sleep. No annoying the neighbours when you have an artificial lawn.

Least their garden looks pretty and it's friendly for the bees 🐝 (who really need help!) and insects 🐞 🌹 🌷

butterflymagic · 09/04/2024 11:17

RafaistheKingofClay · 07/04/2024 20:27

There’s a house on my walk to work where the small square of lawn was replaced with plastic grass last spring. The weeds already growing through it make me smile every day.

Nature fighting back.

Suspect without more effort than I put into my grass these things don’t look ‘good’ for long.

Totally agree.

Artificial grass looks cheap and chavy.

I hope it gets banned for environmental reasons.

Springisintheairohyeah · 09/04/2024 21:18

I've got beautiful artificial grass, in a beautiful garden filled with lots of other lovely things for wildlife, including trees, a pond, resident toads, frogs, nesting birds, a little mouse that occasionally pops his head out from under the flower pots, and last year we had tree nesting bees move in as well, so until the artificial grass haters can demonstrate that they are living a life free of environmental impact themselves alongside attracting an equally diverse range of wildlife to their own gardens, they can quite frankly naff off.

Anyway now I've got that off my chest, I came on here to say that I have two dogs, who wee and poo on the grass, and I've never had a problem. I think the trick is first to get good quality grass, but how you lay it makes a massive difference. If it's not too late, once the ground is prepared you should ask for the weed membrane to be installed first, then the sub base/aggregate on top, then a granite dust layer before levelling and adding the grass. Done like this we have zero problems with drainage and smells. All I need to do is pick up poos promptly and if they're messy ones occasionally give it a swoosh over with the watering can.

Doing it like that may be more expensive but worth exploring if you can as it will last much longer and cause you less hassle in the long run.

BTW I have successfully trained my dogs to stay off certain borders in the garden by teaching them the word off (indoors first using the sofa and a reward for off), then I picked a few days straight of nice weather where I had time off and could be out in the garden constantly supervising to translate that to the flower beds. Trying to do it for the whole lawn though sounds like an impossible task

Good luck with your new garden

Sensitivesituation2424 · 09/04/2024 21:57

Springisintheairohyeah · 09/04/2024 21:18

I've got beautiful artificial grass, in a beautiful garden filled with lots of other lovely things for wildlife, including trees, a pond, resident toads, frogs, nesting birds, a little mouse that occasionally pops his head out from under the flower pots, and last year we had tree nesting bees move in as well, so until the artificial grass haters can demonstrate that they are living a life free of environmental impact themselves alongside attracting an equally diverse range of wildlife to their own gardens, they can quite frankly naff off.

Anyway now I've got that off my chest, I came on here to say that I have two dogs, who wee and poo on the grass, and I've never had a problem. I think the trick is first to get good quality grass, but how you lay it makes a massive difference. If it's not too late, once the ground is prepared you should ask for the weed membrane to be installed first, then the sub base/aggregate on top, then a granite dust layer before levelling and adding the grass. Done like this we have zero problems with drainage and smells. All I need to do is pick up poos promptly and if they're messy ones occasionally give it a swoosh over with the watering can.

Doing it like that may be more expensive but worth exploring if you can as it will last much longer and cause you less hassle in the long run.

BTW I have successfully trained my dogs to stay off certain borders in the garden by teaching them the word off (indoors first using the sofa and a reward for off), then I picked a few days straight of nice weather where I had time off and could be out in the garden constantly supervising to translate that to the flower beds. Trying to do it for the whole lawn though sounds like an impossible task

Good luck with your new garden

I done the same in my garden lots of people use mot1 and also sand plus the weed membrane under the layer of grass . That's does not work to well as mot1 is not the best for draining. Sand also holds onto wet . Then the membrane on the top pools the dog wee . (Eventually) it drys out but it crystallises and then it holds the smell and it get very strong.

I dag about 18 inches or so . Weed membrane first . Then I done limestone. Used wacker plate . Then granite dust . Wacker plate again . Then the grass .that's non latex/plastic. On the bottom. Done it completely 0n my owm was really pleased myself 🤣

Your garden sounds lovely. Mines not as busy as yours but its small. I do get birds , butterfly's bees etc.

fungipie · 09/04/2024 22:00

Maneandfeathers · 04/04/2024 20:52

100% don’t get it if you have a dog. It honestly stinks as soon as they wee on it no matter how well it’s laid. Been there and done that. It’s impossible to stop them unless you fenced it off from the patio.

Real is much nicer for the environment. I’ve noticed a huge increase in birds and insects since we removed ours.

Friends spent a lot of money on artificial grass and had to remove it months later at huge cost (to the environment also!!!) due to the stink or wee, never mind poo stuck in it. Disgusting stuff in so so many ways.

fungipie · 09/04/2024 22:04

Sensitivesituation2424 · 09/04/2024 09:45

Up keep of a garden moving etc is completely different to walking a dog. I don't understand why it's Been compared.

Not much difference really! Pushing a modern lawn mower is no harder then walking a dog properly.

K0OLA1D · 10/04/2024 06:31

fungipie · 09/04/2024 22:04

Not much difference really! Pushing a modern lawn mower is no harder then walking a dog properly.

I couldn't mow the lawn or walk my dog. The dc and dp do that.

fungipie · 10/04/2024 10:22

K0OLA1D · 10/04/2024 06:31

I couldn't mow the lawn or walk my dog. The dc and dp do that.

Sorry to hear- but as long as someone does it, all good.

youngones1 · 10/04/2024 12:22

Well drained artificial grass will smell no more than a real lawn which dogs have peed all over. Quite frankly, it's best practice for dogs to do their business away from the house or garden when they have a walk.

NoBunnyHome · 10/04/2024 13:19

Best practice for who?

Not the dog. Or the public.

SpecialistAdviceNeeded · 10/04/2024 13:24

Simple you have two options:

  1. don’t get artificial grass if you want your dog to pee in your garden
  2. take the dog outside to piss
fieldsofbutterflies · 10/04/2024 14:12

youngones1 · 10/04/2024 12:22

Well drained artificial grass will smell no more than a real lawn which dogs have peed all over. Quite frankly, it's best practice for dogs to do their business away from the house or garden when they have a walk.

Why is that "best practise", exactly? Confused

DforDogWoof · 18/04/2024 13:15

We have fake grass because grass doesn't grow in our garden. It has been amazing. Much better than paving. I have no idea why this person has said don't let the dog pee / poo on it. Why? Pee and poo both hose off the fake grass so easily because it is porous. It is perfect for that. It is much harder to clean pee and poop from a hard surface like concrete or paving. Strange advice you got there, I think.

Springisintheairohyeah · 18/04/2024 21:41

Sensitivesituation2424 · 09/04/2024 21:57

I done the same in my garden lots of people use mot1 and also sand plus the weed membrane under the layer of grass . That's does not work to well as mot1 is not the best for draining. Sand also holds onto wet . Then the membrane on the top pools the dog wee . (Eventually) it drys out but it crystallises and then it holds the smell and it get very strong.

I dag about 18 inches or so . Weed membrane first . Then I done limestone. Used wacker plate . Then granite dust . Wacker plate again . Then the grass .that's non latex/plastic. On the bottom. Done it completely 0n my owm was really pleased myself 🤣

Your garden sounds lovely. Mines not as busy as yours but its small. I do get birds , butterfly's bees etc.

I wish I had your DIY skills! :-)

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread