Lawn Care/Reseeding

CraftyLefty

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Ok, I have a 95lb Doberman Pinscher. I also have a yard that is mostly covered in shade. I have been having trouble keeping my lawn from being turned into a dirt patch.

The issue is that whatever grass is back there isn't really for shade or high traffic. I'm in Nebraska so I need something that can withstand high summer temps with bitter winter cold. I need a high traffic, high to medium shade, self repairing grass to reseed my lawn with. The soil here is more clay based than sandy.

Anybody have any tips?
 
I have this same problem. I never did find anything to grow. I wound up putting my putting green there and landscaping around it. I put flag stone in the high traffic areas and pine straw everywhere else. Our dogs have been sticking to the flagstone areas for the most part. I planted rose bushes where I didn't want them to go. I gave up on the grass growing here a long time ago.
 
try titian tall turf fescue
 
I, too, have a problem with my lawn. I have 'puppy', a 135 lb. male rottie (see avatar), and a 85 lb. female rottie mix. They love running back and forth playing. I have thought of putting up temporary fencing (like orange plastic fencing) to section off parts of my back yard to let the grass get healthy. I am going to look into the titian tall turf fescue.
 
Have you tried Zoysia? It grows in real thick. Golf courses use it. Goes dormant early and comes back later than "regular" grass. Our Zoysia is still brown in our yard.
 
The problem I have is when the two dogs pee on the grass and kill it. Ive spent a lot of dough trying to keep the back yard nice only for frick and frack to pee and kill it all. Ive re-seeded, paid tru green for a couple years, put down sod you name it. They just keep killing it. Someone needs to invent something that makes them pee plain water instead of the toxic grass killing stuff they normally do. Then I could let them out to "water" the yard for me.
 
Have you tried Zoysia? It grows in real thick. Golf courses use it. Goes dormant early and comes back later than "regular" grass. Our Zoysia is still brown in our yard.

I have not. I'm looking at going with a red creeping fescue/bluegrass mix but I'm willing to try anything.

I might consider this http://www.fieldturf.com/dog-grass/ if I can't get it going this summer. It's really bugging the crap out of me.
 
Have you tried Zoysia? It grows in real thick. Golf courses use it. Goes dormant early and comes back later than "regular" grass. Our Zoysia is still brown in our yard.

I tried Zoysia seeding but it didnt take too well. Did you put down sod or did you seed?
 
The problem I have is when the two dogs pee on the grass and kill it. Ive spent a lot of dough trying to keep the back yard nice only for frick and frack to pee and kill it all. Ive re-seeded, paid tru green for a couple years, put down sod you name it. They just keep killing it. Someone needs to invent something that makes them pee plain water instead of the toxic grass killing stuff they normally do. Then I could let them out to "water" the yard for me.

that is one funny post, and I know exactly what you are talking about! My back yard has brown spot at brown spot from my dog
 
that is one funny post, and I know exactly what you are talking about! My back yard has brown spot at brown spot from my dog

You know I actually found some stuff on 1800petmeds.com that you can give your dog that is supposed to make it not as toxic, I guess. But Im chicken to give to my dogs lol. Theyre already crazy enough.
 
I think the only way to keep them from not messing up a yard is if you go with the field turf stuff. Its expensive, but thats probably the only way to have a completely green yard without a dog tearing it up or killing the grass.
 
I have this same problem. I never did find anything to grow. I wound up putting my putting green there and landscaping around it. I put flag stone in the high traffic areas and pine straw everywhere else. Our dogs have been sticking to the flagstone areas for the most part. I planted rose bushes where I didn't want them to go. I gave up on the grass growing here a long time ago.

This is an interesting proposal, I've got an area that's back in the yard next to some landscapping that grass won't seem to grow, it might be a good area for a little practice green. Thanks for the idea.

As for the rest of this thread, I'll be reading every single post, I've got the same dog problem!!!
 
We hired some guy who used to work with my wife to take care of the lawn last year... The guy never showed up when he said he would. He had no idea what he was doing and when he tried to overseed our lawn he realized that his seed had gotten wet and started to rot. I think he did more hurt than help....

I've wondered about those dog pee pills and I think that I should probably start giving them to my Dobe. If it helps in the smallest bit it still helps.

I just want some freaking grass back there!
 
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I tried Zoysia seeding but it didnt take too well. Did you put down sod or did you seed?

I actually did neither, Kevin.

About 35 years or so ago, my next door neighbor used zoysia plugs and year by year it slowly crept into my yard. Mom hated it, but I loved it (I bought the house I grew up in). And now my whole side yard that butts up to his yard is Zoysia, as well as most of my back yard. It hasn't gotten to the other side yard or the front yet. I keep saying I am going to get plugs for the parts of the yard that it hasn't taken over yet, but I haven't done it yet.

BTW, mom hated it because it grows so thick and she hated mowing it. But that was before we got a self-propelled mower.

Everyone I know that has Zoysia used plugs.
 
You know I actually found some stuff on 1800petmeds.com that you can give your dog that is supposed to make it not as toxic, I guess. But Im chicken to give to my dogs lol. Theyre already crazy enough.

I'm always a little leery of stuff like that. The last thing I need is by 75 lb lab on steroids. She kicks my butt as it is
 
We hired some guy who used to work with my wife to take care of the lawn last year... The guy never showed up when he said he would. He had no idea what he was doing and when he tried to overseed our lawn he realized that his seed had gotten wet and started to rot. I think he did more hurt than help....

I've wondered about those dog pee pills and I think that I should probably start giving them to my Dobe. If it helps in the smallest bit it still helps.

I just want some freaking grass back there!

Im giving the dog pee pills some serious thought now that the grass is starting to grow again. Its mainly the bigger dog as she pees a lake each time and I end up with some form of a black, dead cesspool of a spot.
 
Our 2 dogs have serious beef with the neighboor dogs ever since their shepherd mix jumped the fence and attacked them. Our lab has the back corner down to a mud pit from where she turns to come charging back up the fence line. I have it blocked off right now to grow grass back again.

I like to break up the ground with a tiller, then put down seed & 10-10-10 and then give it a quick rake to get everything just below the surface. I'll probably keep it quarenteend off most of the summer to allow the grass to really establish itself. I also usually overseed about this time every year to reinforce the yard because the dogs are hard on it. The key to overseeding is after you put down seed, you need to go back over it with a grass rake to really ensure that the seed reaches the ground or do it the day before it rains so the rain washes it down to the dirt.

My other issue is the same neighbor with the dogs, has a massive sandbox that everytime we get a huge rain leaks sand down into a spot of my yard. So that kills my grass there and I have my very own sand bunker. I think its about 2" deep right now. Very annoying.
 
Our 2 dogs have serious beef with the neighboor dogs ever since their shepherd mix jumped the fence and attacked them. Our lab has the back corner down to a mud pit from where she turns to come charging back up the fence line. I have it blocked off right now to grow grass back again.

I like to break up the ground with a tiller, then put down seed & 10-10-10 and then give it a quick rake to get everything just below the surface. I'll probably keep it quarenteend off most of the summer to allow the grass to really establish itself. I also usually overseed about this time every year to reinforce the yard because the dogs are hard on it. The key to overseeding is after you put down seed, you need to go back over it with a grass rake to really ensure that the seed reaches the ground or do it the day before it rains so the rain washes it down to the dirt.

My other issue is the same neighbor with the dogs, has a massive sandbox that everytime we get a huge rain leaks sand down into a spot of my yard. So that kills my grass there and I have my very own sand bunker. I think its about 2" deep right now. Very annoying.

What's 10-10-10?
 
What's 10-10-10?

Its an all purpose fertilizer and it's dirt cheap. HD Linky goodness. I've also had really good results from the Pennington Signature tall fescue blend seed which is like $13 at Lowes. It has proven resilient to drought and my dogs (60lb black lab & 30lb boarder collie mix).
 
Its an all purpose fertilizer and it's dirt cheap. HD Linky goodness. I've also had really good results from the Pennington Signature tall fescue blend seed which is like $13 at Lowes. It has proven resilient to drought and my dogs (60lb black lab & 30lb boarder collie mix).

I have been looking at the Pennington Signature Fescue/Bluegrass blend too.

Thanks for the info!
 
Great thread everybody. I'm definitely going to try some of the suggestions. My little female at 80 lbs actually causes more damage to the lawn than my 135 lb. male because she just runs and runs back and forth across my back yard. She can play all day with a big, big hard rubber ball and a small tire. Both of them just toss them in the air and play keep away from each other with the toys.

And, I'll admit that my dogs do their fair share of fence fighting when people walk their dogs on my side of the street! It's just a muddy mess there!
 
I am not very familiar with varities of grass as I skipped the turf class in college...wish I wouldnt have though....

But what I can tell everyone here that the BEST fertilizer I have found for grass is 15-15-15 and I am sure most dont make this mistake but spread once....water immediately after and then spread again and water again...if you dont water then the fertilizer will burn the grass

THen dont mow until the grass has filled in the dead spots so you do not disrupt the root growth from the presure on the grass...this is probably the second most crucial point to follow after watering

I am a hybrid guy so i think anything that is mixed tends to be really good especially bluegrass mixes
 
The golf course has been laying sod around the greens and some other spots that need it. The other day Jacqui and I took some trash up to the dumpster and there were seven strips of sod laying on the pavement (from when they picked up the pallets and they fell off). Jacqui asked the superintendent if she could have them, and he rolled them up and put them in back of her truck.

So I am going to hope it will work at the bottom of the steps of the deck. Neighbors probably think I am nuts for watering now, hahaha.
 
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