Mud where grass should be

kev van

Hey guys a couple of years ago I got some grass seed and seeded my lawn. All was fine until Oct time when the main area my 2 dogs would play on ended up pretty much mud. I've sectioned that off and now another bit has done the same and looks like ive let cows in and not got 2 dogs. Any advice?

 My partner has already told me that I can't close the grass off to the dogs even though I asked how do I manage to repair it. No surprise I got no answer.  I'd like to slab or gravel it to save mud being everywhere but I like grass

I'd upload a picture but I need to resize and no idea how to do it on my phone. Plus the photo doesn't look as bad as it is in real life

Dave Humby

Dogs and lawns are never great bed fellows and if you can't keep them off while it has a chance to get established then I think you'll always be struggling. It would be a shame to lose the lawn in favour of hard landscaping but sometimes practicalities of life take preference. I wouldn't normally advocate artificial turf but on this occasion it might be worth thinking about rather than paving or gravel. Depends what you and the family (and the dogs!) need from your outdoor space. 

kev van

I defo want grass when it was growing last year looked good even if the rest needed sorting out. I'm not a fan of fake grass and would prob rather the slabs if I'm honest.

 I could get away with sectioning the half of the grass that's bad but is there some tough grass seed out there that would work well in the south west?

AnniD

I'm guessing you would need something with a high proportion of ryegrass  (but that really is a guess). If you could slab half the area for the dogs and grass the rest for them to maybe use in the summer that would be a compromise,  but if you can't section it off to at least allow it to grow  and recover, l'm a bit stuck to be honest. 
@glasgowdan may have some suggestions 

Dovefromabove

Dogs put a lot of wear on a small lawn, especially in wet and wintry weather.  It’s the same as if a football pitch were played on every day for several hours, instead of just for 90 minutes once or twice a week ... and that’s without all the work that a pitch groundsman puts into it every day. ☹️ 

Topbird

I definitely wouldn't advocate artificial grass for dogs to play on unless you're prepared to hose down every time they relieve themselves - otherwise it will soon become a smelly unhygienic mess.

Did you say the grass was ok before October? We need to remember that probably 90% of the country has had an exceptionally wet autumn and winter which means that lawns and ground have become waterlogged and particularly prone to damage.

If the grass was ok before the rains came it might be worth redoing the lawn with grass intended for play areas in the spring. For speed I'd opt for turf but it's more expensive than reseeding. Either way you'll have to keep the dogs off it for weeks while it establishes.

You'll also need to keep them off next autumn and winter or whenever the ground gets really wet. I agree with Annie that a part hard landscaped and part grass garden might give the best compromise.

kev van

Thanks guys. Only thing I might be able to do is reseed with tough stuff and close off the seeded area for 8-10 weeks. Then also cut the grass on the other area and sprinkle some seed on top to try help that. 

Topbird

....but if you don't keep the dogs off it whenever the grass / ground is very wet & muddy the chances are you'll be reseeding year after year...

Obelixx

You could also try longer walkies or more frequent walkies so they don't need to run around so long on your lawn.  Better drainage will help too so try the spiking and aerating advised above.