Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 May 10, 2010 8:57 pm We are in a new house in Adelaide and are yet to establish our garden. We hope to have a puppy which will mostly be indoors but need to have suitable outdoor areas in our small backyard for him to roam and toilet. We are not fans of grass and don't own a lawn mower. Is there a ground cover that is dog-friendly and tolerant of dog urine etc? Soil here is clay bisque. Thanks Re: Dog-friendly ground cover 2May 10, 2010 8:58 pm Concrete? Deemaree Kyndylan Capers: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46852 My blog: http://www.sufficientlysufficient.blogspot.com/ Re: Dog-friendly ground cover 3May 13, 2010 10:00 am We are planning on having a paved path alongside the house and under the washing line, fruit trees and ground cover primarily. With a herb garden in one area. Weren't really planning on having any spare concrete. I have read about some hosing off concrete and it working for them and their dog/s. Others mentioned about some wood chips in a section specially designated for dog's business. That way they can change it periodically. And a stump for a male dog to lift his leg. Just trying to consider all our options and the pros and cons of each. Re: Dog-friendly ground cover 5May 13, 2010 11:02 am Whatever you choose, you want something that you can rotate periodically to eradicate the smells, and also for visual amenity. Woodchips should be OK, sand is probably another option? Perhaps not such a good idea if you have kids though. Screenings would drain well, but perhaps not so good on the dog's feet. Or an area filled to about 10cm depth with kitty litter? Whatever the case, it is probably the training of the dog which is more important. Built a Tribeca 44 with the Big M Sales Accept 15/06/09, Contract Signed 24/09/09, Site Start 23/11/09, Slab 11/12/09, Frame 12/01/10, Roof 20/01/10, Lock-up 30/03/10, Fixing 30/04/10, Handover 27/08/10. Re: Dog-friendly ground cover 6May 13, 2010 6:20 pm My DH collects the dog deposits every weekend in a plastic bag-dogs will toilet in an area set aside for them if trained to. Grass is really important for them to chew and rollon/in. Deemaree Kyndylan Capers: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46852 My blog: http://www.sufficientlysufficient.blogspot.com/ Re: Dog-friendly ground cover 7May 13, 2010 6:27 pm Concrete wouldnt work; a dog needs a soft surface to scratch around and poo in - we have a side area of barkchips and plants , dog can access that thru laundry flap door and the poos dont really smell if on an organic surface with plants as well - they decompose without any problem. At least, one little dog we have isnt a problem. We dont let her out into the back yard on her own as she is prone to digging holes in the lawn if unsupervised - sometimes she does poo on the lawn when we are out there - just collect with plastic bag or glove and dispose into bin. I dont think you have to have a lawn with a small dog. Re: Dog-friendly ground cover 9Jun 16, 2010 11:54 pm Deemaree My DH collects the dog deposits every weekend in a plastic bag. Most people would just collect stamps or sporting memorabilia Re: Dog-friendly ground cover 10Jun 16, 2010 11:56 pm Try natural mulches from your local tree guy. Much nicer on your puppies tootsies Lawn x Ground cover x Just cover with uncomposted mulch You'll need to wash the area in summer so it doesn't smell to much. Re: Dog-friendly ground cover 11Jun 17, 2010 7:41 am Heheh-glad you haven't lost your sense of humour Fu! Deemaree Kyndylan Capers: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46852 My blog: http://www.sufficientlysufficient.blogspot.com/ Re: Dog-friendly ground cover 13Jul 06, 2010 7:06 pm Maybe this? I have seen it here somewhere. http://www.k9grass.com/ edit - a pic edit again - on 2nd thoughts, I bet it gets really hot in Summer. Maybe not such a good idea. http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg89/leah6363/home2.jpg www.themaxbuild.blogspot.com forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=20717&start=300 www.leahspaperpassion.blogspot.com Re: Dog-friendly ground cover 14Jul 06, 2010 8:23 pm It's quite easy to house train a dog to a mulched area. We did that to our dog as we didn't have lawn when we first got a dog. We were not doing it on purpose at the time. We house trained him to newspaper in the laundry and s we moved him outside we used the newspaper to restrict him to an area of the garden. We had also been using newspaper under some sugar cane mulch so he transitioned to the mulched garden beds very easily and quickly. He rarely poo'd anywhere except for the mulched gardens until recently when his age has meant he doesn't always get to where he usually goes in time. I was also told if there are certain areas you don't want your dog using for pooping on then scatter dry dog food around as dog's don't generally like to poop where they eat. Re: Dog-friendly ground cover 15Jul 07, 2010 9:00 am Our dog is manly indoors. She NEVER wees or poos anywhere except her own backyard. Even when she is walked she won't do it. When we moved into our new house with no lawn and we had all sorts of troubles. She wee'd twice in the house because she was so full she actually *leaked* wee rather than we on the dirt outside. Eventually she did but we had to be really vigilant and take her out and sit out there with her. She is very smart and perhaps too smart, because she knew that it ws not HER backyard, as such, so therefore didn't want to wee. We made it a priority to get the lawn down for this reason, and of course to stop the tracking of dirt. When we put the turf down, we had not even put down one row and she was rolling and scratching her backing and lazing in the sun on the new soft turf. I think dogs just love it. Taking your feelings about the turf into consideration, perhaps yellyak, you could just lay a narrow strip say, two rolls of turf wide and make it long, so that it would be easy to mow with a hand push mower or at very worst, maybe you could whipper snip it (borrow one or a push mower) when it gets too long? In my opinion I really think it is best to have some sort or turf even if its a small square or a narrow trip, so that the dogs can use it and also lie on it for coolness etc comfort? etc. I am not a dog expert at all it's just what I think. Just a teensy bit of grass for the puppy maybe? teensy weensy bit? www.themaxbuild.blogspot.com forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=20717&start=300 www.leahspaperpassion.blogspot.com Re: Dog-friendly ground cover 16Aug 11, 2010 12:00 am A dog friendly ground cover idea would be to cover the area in some cats. Can I say that? Oh No!!!!!!!! Re: Dog-friendly ground cover 17Aug 11, 2010 6:44 am What about a pet loo http://www.thepetloo.com/index.php Might be exactly what you are after Just get a second roll of grass so you can swap it when one is drying etc I went outside once. The graphics were alright, but the gameplay sucked! Settlement:22nd June Slab:27th August Frame:16th Sept Bricked:21st Oct Roof:24th Nov Linings HANDOVER23rd March! Re: Dog-friendly ground cover 18Aug 11, 2010 11:41 pm mecha-wombat What about a pet loo http://www.thepetloo.com/index.php Might be exactly what you are after Just get a second roll of grass so you can swap it when one is drying etc What? Like this one? (you need to look in the back ground) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Her dog seems very well toilet trained Re: Dog-friendly ground cover 19Aug 12, 2010 11:40 am Oh Fu that is GOLD I went outside once. The graphics were alright, but the gameplay sucked! Settlement:22nd June Slab:27th August Frame:16th Sept Bricked:21st Oct Roof:24th Nov Linings HANDOVER23rd March! After some ideas on making our patio kid friendly . Currently we have exposed aggregate. The patio faces west and is always in sun even though it has a shade directly… 0 3610 2 10985 Excellent, thanks for the tip ... not in Sydney, but I might give the Dy Mark a try, cheers 2 1345 |