When you have a plush green backyard garden attached to your house, it definitely increases the overall aesthetic value of your home. But if you have one or more fluffy canine companions along with it, maintaining the beauty of your green grassy carpet can be a bit challenging at times.
The most important thing that can damage the grass of your lawn is the urine of your dogs which contains a considerable amount of nitrogen and salt. These two elements are the main culprits behind your green grass turning yellow and brown as they result in the burning of the lawn.
If you do not take proper care, sooner rather than later, your dream garden would turn into an unhygienic space with dead patches all around and some tall vigorous growth, scattered here and there. Proper maintenance along with some necessary protective measures can help you keep the greens of your lawn intact and also make it a comfortable chilling space for your fluffy and friendly companions.
Here are a few dog-friendly backyard tips to preserve the natural beauty of your backyard garden and prevent your dogs from making a mess of it:
Make Use of Hardscape
First and foremost, dogs and lawn grass are never the best of friends. Therefore, it is sensible to make the switch from a grassy expanse to a hardscape that consists of non-living landscaping materials like bricks, stones, and concrete pavers.
Innovative hardscape solutions are also much easier to maintain compared to grass as they do not need extensive and laborious care for trimming or watering purposes. If you are a dog owner, stone and masonry will be much more useful to you, especially if you scatter them in small areas, because dogs could not cause natural wear and tear to them by constant digging or urination.
You can also make extensive use of stone mulch. If you live in a sunny area, you can use drought-resistant plants for your stone mulch as the stone gets extra hot in summer. So, even if the heat is unbearable, it won’t be able to damage the plants in any way.
Dilute the Dog’s Urine
If you are tired of seeing your green plants and grass being constantly getting damaged by your dog’s urine, a little vigilance on your part can prevent it by a long extent.
The moment you see your dog urinating, you need to rush to the garden hose and turn it on. This may seem a bit tedious every time, but a little urgency on your part will help you save the expensive costs of replacing your grass when it gets yellow or brown with the nitrogen and salt that are present in your pet’s urine.
The moment you move your hose to the area where your dog just urinated, you can douse the grass gently and thereby, flush and dilute the harmful elements that will inflict damage on your lawn.
Add Fences to Your Yard
This is a surefire way to protect your loving plants from getting damaged by your dog’s movements. Fencing your garden can add a little more charm to your backyard by giving it a courtyard feel and it can also keep your dogs in their own place.
It is important to remember that fencing should be done properly in a way that does not restrict your dogs completely from playing in the garden, but it should be done in a way that your pets have their designated free space for all their fun activities.
Wooden-picket fences with some beautiful perennial flowers behind them can help you take the look and charm of your backyard to the next level while giving your dogs a safe and secured space behind them for their running, playing, and roaming activities.
Deal with Digging
Dogs do dig and some species dig more than others. This digging is not always done for the purpose of harm, as most dogs dig to create a cool place for themselves or to hide a bone from others.
In order to prevent your fluffy friend from digging at your favorite plants, you can simply add chicken wire or boards at or below the soil line. When you install chicken wire or small wooden stakes in an upright manner just below or right at the soil level, it makes the job of digging pretty uninviting for your dog. A natural dense planting along a fence line can also do the job for you.
However, it is important for your dog that you create a designated digging space for them in your garden with some stones and gravel. You can always take the help of some toys or treats and reward your dog when it digs at that spot, without damaging the other areas of your lawn.
Create a ‘Potty’ Corner
A spotty yard is a dreadful dream for all lovers of outdoor spaces. But if you have a dog, you have to deal with it in some way or the other as there is no way around it.
The best way to prevent your dog from spoiling every blade of grass in your garden is to have a designated corner in your yard with some mulch or gravel where it can perform its natural chores. More often than not, dogs need privacy for these kinds of activities. So, to encourage them more in using that designated corner, you can add some tall shrubs to that area that will give them the natural privacy and security that they need.
When it is done in one spot, cleaning becomes a lot easier. Make sure the corner is away from the house so that odors can be avoided and do not forget to clean the debris regularly. Also, always water it periodically to prevent rodent infestations.
Avoid Toxic and Thorny Plants
If your backyard is not properly maintained and contains a lot of diversity, there is a high chance that some poisonous plants are growing right under your nose without you having the knowledge of it.
Some plants may look totally harmless but their leaves or berries can be highly toxic to your pets and make them seriously ill if you are not vigilant enough. Until and unless you are absolutely sure that your dog will listen to you and keep away from those plants, make sure there are no poisonous plants in your garden at any cost.
For fertilizers and pesticides as well, try to avoid the cheap chemical ones and go for the organic varieties. The healthier the grass of your lawn is, the less chance there is for your pets to fall ill by playing or simply lying on it. Avoid plants and weeds called foxtails that have sharp fibers in them which are enough to pierce the skin of your dog.
Since you can’t always keep your dogs under the watch, it is better to make the outdoor environment as safe and secure for them as possible.
Conclusion
Living in landscape harmony with your pets can be the most satisfying and relaxing thing, only if both your yard and dogs stay friendly to each other.
When you have some long-term fluffy friends or you have just gotten a new pup, beauty and functionality should be the two most important things in your mind – if you are looking to transform your backyard space in a natural aesthetic way that will also include your dogs in a seamless way.
Once you have some simple preventive measures in place, you need not worry constantly about how your dog is damaging the grass of your lawn by playing or running hard. You can relax and enjoy more when you know that your cute dog is not running into any trouble with any trees or plants in the garden and it has ample amount of space to play and run safely.
Following these tips will help you immensely in keeping the brown and yellow spots away from your beautiful lawn and you can definitely delight your dog along with your family with the best outdoor lives in the soft, green lush of your backyard.
