Grass, Astroturf, Gravel yard for dog? (shepherd, shepherds, clean, poop)

[Snowdog-Mom]

We might be moving to AZ. I see only gravel landscaping in many areas but don't like that idea for my heeler. Has anyone here had Astroturf/synthetic grass installed in their yard for their pets?

[Dashdog]

I know the Silicon Valley Human Society in Milpitas has it in their large play yards for the dogs and have had it for several years now. Maybe you could look them up and send an email and see what they think of it and even get a brand recommendation. I would think theirs gets a lot of wear and tear but the time I saw it looked beautiful.

[Snowdog-Mom]

Originally Posted by Dashdog

I know the Silicon Valley Human Society in Milpitas has it in their large play yards for the dogs and have had it for several years now. Maybe you could look them up and send an email and see what they think of it and even get a brand recommendation. I would think theirs gets a lot of wear and tear but the time I saw it looked beautiful.

Thanks much, Dashdog! And no mowing/watering required!

[f5fstop]

I lived in SE UT and my yard was primarily sand, rock and pinion pine my malamute had no problem; so long as it was not too hot to walk on. I guess my problem with an astroturf would be cleanup after a potty run.
I now live with a grass (or snow covered grass) and have found that for clean up, the sand/gravel was a lot easier. Yes, the gooey ones come up with a lot of sand/gravel stuck to them, but in grass they smear (snow is not bad) and can only imagine how smeary it might get on astroturf. (And I won't even ask about the yellow marks that might stain the astroturf.)
Just thoughts from someone with two Malamutes who uses hundreds of doggie poo bags.

[arleigh]

Absolutely no on the gavel, did you ever try to pick up poop from gravel? and it's rough on the feet.
Astro turf is far easier to maintain than grass and dog's pee does not kill it, like it would grass.

[Dogmama50]

We stayed in a VRBO in Tucson with astroturf in the back yard. The dogs wouldn't pee on it and it got super hot in the sun.

[OPRFmama]

They make AstroTurf specifically for pets with drainage holes for the pee - not sure if it would get too hot in your climate. We put a small area down for our dogs where a landscaping bed used to be, and they use it without problem, but we are in Chicago and it’s shaded part of the day.

[f5fstop]

Originally Posted by arleigh

Absolutely no on the gavel, did you ever try to pick up poop from gravel? and it's rough on the feet.
Astro turf is far easier to maintain than grass and dog's pee does not kill it, like it would grass.

Since I had two different malamutes when living in Moab for six years, yes, I picked up poo on gravel. But I was always smart enough to wear shoes when doing the job (or when ever walking in the yard...duh).
As for pee, when it is gravel not sure I worried about pee killing those little weeds that grow in the desert.

[scgali]

We have astro turf in our dog run in San Diego. It does get smelly and we spray it weekly with Angry Orange enzyme. We had turf at our last house for the dogs as well but that was done by a specialized turf company and they installed the "pet package" with enzymes and it never smelled. At our new house a general landscaper did the turf and I know it was done right as far as the work goes but it does smell. If we were to do it over again I would only use a turf company and get the pet option.

So maintenance wise (we have 3 German Shepherds who get walked daily but are trained to do the rest of their potty on the turf and not the grass in yard), we clean it weekly, but the poop picked up throughout each day. A quick power wash, rake with a rubber rake (have leaves that fall on the turf) and spray with the orange enzyme. This keeps any files away and mitigates most of the smell.

[Teacher Terry]

We installed it 8 years ago in Nevada. Still looks like new. We got the pet version but my husband installed it. It has never smelled.