My lab pit-bull mix loves to run around the lawn in the backyard but in a large north-facing high traffic area near the back of the house grass has stopped growing after an extended drought late last summer and it’s now all bare dirt. Besides calling a lawn care service, does anyone have suggestions on how to restore my lawn this spring? I tried Scotts Easy Seed a few weeks ago when we had highs in the 50s but I may have applied it too early because there is very little new growth. I have been using straw to try to prevent the area from becoming a mud puddle. I am thinking that the only way to do it will be to fence off the area where the grass needs to grow for a period of time.
Good luck. I’ve had similar issues with my dog in the past where she would constantly run the same line back and forth leaving a trench with mounds on each end. We ended up fencing off part of her track to fix the issue but she laughed at our efforts and simply made a new track following the perimeter of the new obstacles. That dog passed away but her track remains a year later as a reminder to of our feeble attempts. We have two new pups who are all about digging holes now, ankles be damned. You may be better off laying pavers in the bare area. As soon as they have access to that area again any effort that you put in on grass will be undone. Plus the pavers will help shave their nails down and if done right will prevent the muddy mess.
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Loosen the soil with a fork. Top seed and cover with a few bags of well rotted steer manure flung around. Over the summer I use Sunday brand products monthly, especially the one to repair urine burns.
I filled my area with extra garden soil, stomped it down, then overseeded the area with grass and clover. Then i put critter fencing over it to stop by dog from walking over it for about a month. It worked. Don’t forget to water it as well
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How some of it looked before and after. We had a lot of pee spots too. I scratched the area up before i added a thin layer of extra soil and a ton of seed
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IMO there will always be dead spots with big dogs. I just accepted that and it saved me a lot of time lol
Thank you @Nothing2crazy and @Melon for the replies. I appreciate it and will give these a try.
As a dog owner, I’m used to filling in low spots in the yard every year with topsoil so my ankle doesn’t roll over when mowing the grass. Hopefully I won’t have to deal with another drought situation this year.
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If in drought, i would make sure to water the grass a little bit with whatever extra water you have. For example, if you cook rice, use the washed rice water to do so.
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Thanks for the suggestion. I have been holding off for years from buying a sprinkler but may just have to bite the bullet. We went from the wettest spring on record to a severe drought in only a few months. That’s life in the Midwest, I suppose.
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Yeah unfortunately grass is not drought tolerant. Clover is though!
Yeah, grass is not drought tolerant, and if you want to keep it healthy with dogs you need to fertilize monthly and water regularly.
I wouldn’t say it needs fertilizer at all as long as you have good soil underneath it. I never fertilized my grass but i did throw some worms in it though.
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