Question for people with multiple dogs

allwildgirl

allwildgirl

Cathlete
*sigh* Is it at all possible to have a decent lawn with more than one dog in the household? Mine was fine when we just had one, but now we have two and my back yard is a complete disaster. Even the flower beds are destroyed where they run through them. Forget about lawn... all I have is dirt with some bits of patchy grass.

Anyone have any secrets for making a yard look nice when you have two or more beasts running around?
 
Sorry Shelly, no ideas for you but I understand your frustration. We have two Bernese Mountain dogs that love to run through the landscaping smashing everything, doing their business everywhere (and let me tell ya, it's BIG business) :-( , and every plant (silk or otherwise) has been destroyed. And........they just turned one year old! :eek: I can't imagine how things are going to look after another year.
 
I LOVE Bernese Mountain dogs! That's a breed I've been thinking about getting, but I'm a little nervous about their health. I've read that they're prone to cancer.

Anyway - take your dogs away from your home for their exercise. Take them for a long walk to burn off their energy. Just be sure to bring poop bags.
 
Hello Shelley

Yes I had a similar problem. I have a Springer Spaniel and a Golden Retriever. They are the greatest dogs ever, but dogs and nice gardens unfortunately don't go together. Especially lawns. Female dog urine seems to stain grass more than male. So in the end we had our garden completely redone with block paving and decorative garden tiles. All vegetation is now in pots.

The garden is much better and we can hose down the area much easier. However its a costly venture and not always available to people.

Sometimes dogs can be trained to toilet in specific areas but that takes time and its not easy with more than one dog.

Sorry I can't suggest any better alternatives.

Cheers
Laura
:)
 
Shelley,

I feel your pain. I have always had two dogs and my backyard is not exactly beautiful. I have a couple of suggestions. When I see any patches of dirt, I put the piles of cut grass in that area. The smell seems to repel the dogs. I also but rabbit wire around baby bushes so that they have a chance. I have had good luck with lilac bushes because the dogs seem to leave them alone. I am considering buying some of the stuff you feed female dogs which prevents their urine from killing grass. My biggest problem is that my male dog is a Husky and has always dug holes; it is in his nature. I have found that moldy grass keeps him from digging.

Good luck chickie!
 
We are fortunate enough to have a dog run - I little area of the backyard - well, it's actually like a mini backyard - that is covered in small pebbles with a patch of grass at the back where the dog can run around and then do her business.

The run was installed by the previous owner, who had multiple dogs.

Would that be a possibility for you?
 
Sorry, but from my experience you can either have a beautiful lawn or you can have multiple dogs. I have two dogs and an 8 year old, so our lawn doesn't look fabulous but it is greatly enjoyed by all who use it. You can, however, build a dog run in part of the yard which would allow you to have the majority of your lawn still look nice. I don't do that so my whole lawn makes it obvious that I have 2 dogs.
 
Thanks for your input, everyone. I guess I'm going to have to get used to the eyesore.

Donna - my dogs gets walked several times a day, but it doesn't make a difference. They love running around the backyard and fighting with each other (playfighting of course)

The female is also a digger. My yard is far too big to do any sort of hardscaping on the whole thing. Maybe I should consider a dog run.
 
Good - I was yelling at my sedentary sister last night because she was complaining about her little Toy Fox Terrier's behavior issues. When I asked if she walks him everyday, she came up with several excuses as to why she doesn't. All of which could be solved if she DID walk him. Guess I'm in the "go walk your dog" mindset.

Our yard doesn't seem to get destroyed by the dogs. But it's very wet right now, so the pee probably isn't hurting it. And there's 3 acres - with probably half of it woods - so there's lots of space for them to spread out.
 
I feel your pain!!! I have five dogs (what can I say, I do rescue?!?!?!) and while they don't dig up plants or anything, the running through the yard has left me with more dirt than grass (and in Georgia, all that "dirt" is red clay!!!). They have a doggie door, so they can go out whenever they want. We keep trying things (like pine straw, etc.), but I think we are coming to the realization that the back yard will look crap. It's frustrating, but they are so worth it. I would rather have my babies than a nice backyard (but it would be great to have both!)

Lorie
 
Nothing that I know of. I've resolved myself to the fact that my backyard will always & forever just be a giant toilet.
 
Lorie - both my dogs are rescues! The first guy was a good boy when it was just him and I still think he avoids making trouble, but the female.... she's a scoundrel!:p She's lately taken to eating books and last week I came home and she'd devoured and entire package of pencil crayons! But she's adorable and had such an awful start to her little life that I can't be mad for long.
 
We have two large dogs, a Great Dane and Great Pyrenees/ Lab mix

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http://i9.ebayimg.com/02/i/07/34/79/cf_1.JPG

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<Sorry, but from my experience you can either have a beautiful lawn or you can have multiple dogs.>

I think I agree with this. I only have one dog, a beautiful Springer Spaniel who, in his youth, could eat an entire small bush over the course of a summer. I learned some crafty ways to fence off my flowerbeds since lawn & garden centers offer all kinds of fencing materials, but they're not always foolproof. If the dog wants that chipmunk bad enough, he'll jump those little wire fences! Now that my dog is 11, he's not as destructive as he used to be, so it might get easier with age.
 
I have four dogs (yeah, I know, don't even get my DH started :)) and let me tell you, they DESTROYED the yard in the first few months. No kidding, I mean the yard was Destruction Central!!

It wasn't until I started increasing their exercise, doggie park in the morning, plus daily walks on top of agility training a couple of times a week that my backyard started to recover. They are just to tired to do anything in the yard. A tired dog is a good dog }( :D

Even my grass is coming back and looks fairly decent, well, aside from the yellow urine stains here and there.

The dog run sounds like a good idea, if your yard is big enough.

Carola
 
Thanks Bill and Carola. Carola - problem is I'm not home during the day and my SO isn't always there either, so on those days, they have lots of energy to burn off. Now that the weather is nicer, I will be taking them to the park more and letting them run.

I think one of the things I need to do is figure out the pattern of where they run and put some kind of paths in. Of course, once I do that, they won't use the paths:p
 
We have a dog run and it has been a lifesaver because we can enjoy a nice yard and the dogs have a place of their own. Plus it makes cleaning the yard much easier because the dog poop is all in one area! Goodluck!
 
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