Hi Everyone
I have a small backyard that is grass and 1 labrador she is retired now, I'm looking to get a pup, asking for ideas on how to keep it easy to clean up I was thinking maybe gravel it. What ideas have you done to make this workable.

Shoot the pup.

Scoop.

I have a big yard, but I still scooped when my Lab was still around. Put it in Doggy Walk bags and into the trash. I tossed it in the wild rasberry patch I allow to grow for the birds, but the trash works too, just like in parks.

Fine or pea gravel should work. Or course sand, tho that might track in too badly.

I have a lawn, 2 dogs, and hundreds of acres of woods around. You know where the dogs go, unless on walks.

If I scoop the poop within an hour or so, it doesn't do more than turn the grass deep green there. Much longer and it is a kill spot. At least with the 45 lb spayed female Lab-mix. The 8 lb male Dachsund pup has more time leeway, probably due to volume. Or hormones

I keep a small shovel (clam) and a plastic bag from 30 Lb water softener salt out there, so it only takes a minute or less. The bag of poop gets disposed of with other trash at need, when we go to the transfer station (big dumpsters that when filled, get taken to the land fill) every week or so.

I have not found that pee spots (dogs or mine) do more than introduce nitrogen (again deepening the green) without killing the grass. The lawn between dogs was a nice even green for 2 years - back to being mottled with dark spots, and a few kill spots.

By small, do you mean a typical town, suburb type yard? Our dogs prefer specific spots. If yours does too, maybe gravel or landscape those particular areas.

We have two miniature schnauzers. Pee just turns lawn a dark green. No kids in yard, so in the grass growing months, mulching mower does the trick. Winter time with no snow on the ground, frozen poop isn't much of an issue . Toss it in the trash like one does when walking the dogs.

Concrete and or pavers. Make sure whatever you do provide for drainage and grading before anything else. As well any underground work such as irrigation, electrical even if its just preplumbing or crossings for future projects.

As Dess said, start training the pup to go in one area from the start. All my Lab pups learned really quick that it was the spot that they were to use. Takes a little time but saves on having them use the WHOLE yard for a potty. My Bro-in-law has 3 Labs with NO training in any area and his whole yard is filled with land mines(yes, he is lazy about scooping)

Neighbors take their dogs on walks and use my yard
Our old female Heinz still roots like a bull. Keeping a manicured lawn and large dog dont go unless you have a dedicated run. I don't

The yard is 40 feet by 50 feet. and I scoop just thinking how much 1 dog goes now. Also I use quality dog chow the cheap brands go right through the dogs. I'm going to get a male lab and from past experience they use the same area.

40 x 50 feet ? Holy crap that's funny. Teach them to go in the neighbors yard, assuming they have one. I wouldn't even have a dog with a "yard" that small. Borders on animal cruelty.

It is my experience that it is not the poop that burns the grass (unless you leave it too long).

It's dog urine (especially females) that burns grass.

Look it up. They even recommend you give your female a bit of ketchup in their water.

Science, man.

Feed the best high protein food that you can find, and keep the dog at the low end of healthy weight.

That eliminates about half the volume of poop right from the start.

Male dog's urine will often 'burn' desired landscape shrubbery and flowers (if any) as well, usually eventually killing sections of a plant urinated on most frequently.

Kidding right? My yard in the back is about double that. With the 6ft vinyl fence I can shoot my bow 25 yards, my air rifle and teach my lab basic obedience and hand signals. 40x50 isn’t bad, how many serious dog owners have kennels outside anyway and take the dogs elsewhere for serious training.

My next dog will be a setter and I’m putting in a kennel for the days I have to leave her.

Gravel and lawn mowers - always a bad idea. Now and for years to come. I just scooped as needed. Pick a nice day - not that big of a deal.

Never had a problem with brown spots from males or females. But used Nutrasoft pelletized gypsum. Internet experts say that doesn't work. Honestly I don't know, but no brown spots.

get a bigger back yard.............

jeezly crow,

first world problem. Seems that yard should be plenty big enough for two dogs. Getting out and picking up after them every day or two isn't that big of a chore. If you don't like bagging and tossing it, get a Doggie Dooley septic deal, assuming your yard has enough percolation/drainage.

Enjoy the new dog, don't worry about the lawn, after all, it's just grass. You can always buy seed, or do like I do every spring and allow some to go to seed. Yep, I'm cheap, and free grass seed floats my boat.

Geno

PS, My "lawn" will never be featured in Sunset Magazine.

No I'm not kidding. My back yard is about 1.5 acres and there's thousands of acres of woods behind that with a 20 acre horse pasture to the side between me and the neighbors. My dogs are never tied or fenced in. I wouldn't have dogs with what amounts to no place for them to run.

My labs shît in my mother in law's yard down the road

After they vacuum up all her feral cats' food.

Some [bleep] likes to drink beer and then take a piss behind the Weber.


Major dead spot.

Drink more water. Never mind that fish bleep in it.

Someone around here just uses the compost heap a bit further out to keep the dead spots down.

Of course, that requires a longer walk from the barbie.


Geno

Geno, I get lazy when there is snow on the ground.

That and we live in town and the lack of tree leaves makes a guy be a little more selective!



Had to dig up and reseed last winter's pee spot.

Been sneaking in a random whiz next to the house lately.

That's why I like living out here.

Told my wife years ago I never wanted to end up where I couldn't pee off the porch if I so choose too.

After all, a man has needs and desires too.....................just not for high heels and stuff.

Geno

PS, yes, it was one of the things I did when we first moved in.

Geno, I am jealous!


We have a (quiet)paved street about 50' out the front window. A car drives by every 10-20 minutes....


Backyard whizzer here.



Rez dog by the back fence, poodle close. I never pick up their chit, but you wouldn't want to play a football game back there. Hit probably 10 turds today with the mower. Wet soggy turds....

Ok, put my dogs in the "wierd dog" thread then. I know what I see!

Tell you what. Leave your dog poop on the lawn for a month, mark all the urine spots, and get back to me.

You can't believe every thing on the innernet....

I have a gravel driveway.

It's usually about 20% humidity here, so the poo dries up quicker than it can burn the lawn I think. Lotta times it's so dry it just crumbles if it gets stepped on.

Dry enough I'll spread it around landscaping plants...................screw those Job's tree spikes! free nitrogen from the pooches.

Geno

That works when I pee off the other porch.

Geno

PS, can't remember which one I used when I christened our new property.

Sam,

I've got three houses past us until the road ends at the "school bus turnaround". Usually see the neighbor at the very end on her way to and from work every day, her husband the rancher in the flat bed with cattle dog, with or without horse trailer, on his way to and from every day, the closest neighbor on his way to and fro daily and sometimes his wife if she has to go to town and his daughter's school van 2x daily. Anyone else immediately arouses suspicion if not recognized.

Oh, UPS and FedEx comes out on occasion. The neighbor's wife must buy stuff.

Sorry you have to live in town, but it looks like you have a decent situation at least. I'm the type, because I'm up late, that might just pee of your front porch after midnight, just to say I did.

Geno

Well to each his own. You are blessed to live in the country, not all of us are so lucky. And I’m sure they are under complete control, never leaving your property to do damage or mischief. Good for you.

If I drink enough beer I can pee in the river from my deck....



As far as the dog poop goes.....you can just see the lower corner on my dog yard that's about 1/2 acre in the pic.

If you think I'm pooper scooping that steep SOB you're crazy.

I step lightly when I'm down there and let mother nature take it's course.

Geno, we talk about building a house outta town but this one is paid off plus it's easy living.

Town has its benefits.

Today we took the dogs to the refuge in town for our walk, then went to pick up a prescription for my wife, then went to the school field so the whippets could get a run in on a safe lawn like field, and by the time we got home I lost over 2 hours of the morning.

I prefer to go to town once a week or so.

But I'm not ready to live there yet, maybe one day when I can't split and stack my own wood, which I better get at.

Geno

A car just drove by.....grin




I hear you man.



We cut a little stash of stove wood the other day for the porch dog and cats.

but but the chick writer is an rvt !!

Keep the grass and pick up when they poop. When we had 5 dogs here you couldn’t find their spots.

Don’t listen to the aholes about yard size. Just be sure to walk/run/exercise your dogs plenty.

Have not seen a lab that don’t love a fetchit stick and tennis ball.

No they're not in complete control and there's absolutely no need for them to be. Sometimes they go down to visit the neighbors and play with their dogs and sometimes the neighbors dogs come up here to romp with mine. In the 12 years I've lived here there's never been a problem or complaint. The only exception is my German shepherd. She doesn't leave my property without me for fear she might bite somebody.

Just curious how do you know they aren’t running deer chasing cars or crapping on someone else’s property? I have to much invested to allow mine such luxury. Fences make good neighbors I guess.

They don't chase cars, never have. In fact they rarely go near the road at all. I'm sure they do crap on the neighbors property, just as their dogs do on mine. Neither of us cares. Never seen them chase deer and they're out here {deer} in the yard and pasture all the time. I'm not worried about it.

Puppy and a small backyard. Easy.

Teach the pup where to go. Each time they need to go, put them on the leash and take them to the spot you want them to go. When they do, praise them to high heaven.

I have a big fenced yard, 2/3 grass 1/3 woods pine straw.

I’ve taught 4 dogs to go in the pine straw in the woods. They run out every morning straight back to the that area. I rarely need to shovel anything on the grass. If they get lazy and I see them squat, I just yell and point and they sheepishly run to the spot.

Valsdad-
"It's usually about 20% humidity here, so the poo dries up quicker than it can burn the lawn I think. Lotta times it's so dry it just crumbles if it gets stepped on.

Dry enough I'll spread it around landscaping plants...................screw those Job's tree spikes! free nitrogen from the pooches."

I believe you are correct on the humidity /dog poop thing. It's pretty wet and humid up here. And it snows, which means if I miss a few winter turds, they produce dead spots in the lawn come spring.

To expand on my earlier post ( my wife was rushing me to go hiking) . I have had male Lab or mixes for over 40 years. Bare spots everywhere they pooped. So much for the "female urine" thing. 16 months ago I had a nice evenly green lawn, having been dog-less for over 2 years, and 6 of those years we (Tripper Lab and I) were here only once a month or so for a weekend..

In June 2018 I acquired Honey Half-lab, now 45 lbs, a spayed female rescue dog, who will be 3 sometime this month. I was doing poop-pickup about once a week or so at first, and was soon seeing dead spots started. I started daily poop patrols and the problem largely went away - especially if I got it within an hour or two (she poops 3 or 4 times a day- hence her Indian name, Poops-a-Lot. My wife calls her Honey Bucket)

And yes- she pees out there at least 6 times a day, and......not a dead spot at this time anywhere! Well except the ones my wife made, but that's another story.

The dead spots from 2018 are all grown in again, a very dark green, as well as others from this year where the poop sat for several hours before being bagged in humid conditions/rainy weather.

At one point late summer 2018, the dog had the runs for a couple days. Even tho I picked it up immediately, it still did a kill job, tho pretty mild. , obviously soaking the grass killing chemical into the ground on contact.

Chako is our nearly 7 month old male Dachsund. I have not noticed his turdlets making kill spots- probably a volume thing, tho it could also be at least partly sex related hormones, I suppose. And boy does he have them- humps everything! Typical Weasel-dog.

From my empirical observations, I consider that female dog urine killing grass theory to be entirely wrong.

I will stipulate that I spread my pee-off-the-deck spots around, having made a dead spot once by not doing so...... too much of a good thing!

If you've got a neighbor you don't like, just throw it over the fence. Win-win.

“Dry enough I'll spread it around landscaping plants...................screw those Job's tree spikes! free nitrogen from the pooches."


Bring your truck over. I got your free nitrogen right here!

]“Dry enough I'll spread it around landscaping plants...................screw those Job's tree spikes! free nitrogen from the pooches."


"Bring your truck over. I got your free nitrogen right here!
[/quote]

Yep - Mike is full-up with horse pucky. And he has dogs too.

Two dogs, (perhaps three later this year/next spring) a rooster, and 6 hens and I'll not be needing to go to AK for nitrogen.

Someday maybe for a fishing/hunting trip................but not for a load of poo.

You should find a nice patch of fireweed to fertilize.

Geno

Well, aren't you a real party-pooer?

Part of me not noticing yellow spots in the lawn is my lack of concern for a "Scott's" lawn chemical green lawn.

Our "lawn", such as it is, was planted over mostly native high desert soil, which is more like clay and volcanic rock, after they put in the septic system.I just water it as best I can in the summer, without running our well dry. In the fall and spring it gets watered more naturally, I've already drained the hose in that yard. Not AK, but as you guys know, the angle of the sun is decreasing drastically this time of year. That and the cooler temps decreases the evaporation/transpiration rate, so I haven't watered for a few weeks now, since our last rainstorm.

As you can see in the pic, taken at the height of summer in July, the left side of the yard is native, the "lawn" starts where Katie is lying. Might have an inch of topsoil built up from the earthworm activity and what I leave from the mulching blade a few times a year. And it usually gets a dose or two of Alaska Fish Fertilizer (gotta help you folks out up there, what with the low oil prices and all the stink over the yearly free money ).



Dying off some now from the nightly frost. With only about 90 frost free days a year, 12" of rain average, high desert low humidity, a well that gets low in drought years, and schitty desert soil you understand why I don't invest a lot of time and energy in a lawn, right? The dogs don't seem to mind, and they crap wherever they want back there so I don't mind either.

One day, maybe, I'll bring some soil over from the good part of the property, which is a flood zone and why they didn't put the house over there I think.

Geno

PS, the "green manicured weed free" ideal is propagated upon the American public by the Lawn Care Chemical Company Barons. They're as bad as the Car Wash and Polish Weekly Company Barons and the Razor Blade and Electric Razor Shave Every Day Company Barons too. They really don't care what your lawn, car, or face looks like, as long as they sell you schiedt you don't really need, in bulk quantities hopefully for them and their shareholders.

Man this thing ha sure gone off track lol I live in town because I'm an only dad no other family to help out with my kiddo.

Yep - Mike is full-up with horse pucky. And he has dogs too.
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Dog [bleep] doesn’t go in the manure pile. I’ve read it should not be mixed in w horse manure.
Doggie diamonds go in a reused feed bag and then to the transfer site.

My manure pile is pure!

Good on you for having dog(s) for your kid to play with, grow up with.

I'd worry more about the boy's health and happiness, and the dog's too, than I would some spots on the lawn. Those can be addressed easily enough, but it's muuch better to have healthy and happy kids and dogs than a green yard.

I'm thinking you'll do OK. And I wish you the best as an only parent, can't be easy.

Geno

Dog [bleep] doesn’t go in the manure pile. I’ve read it should not be mixed in w horse manure.
Doggie diamonds go in a reused feed bag and then to the transfer site.

My manure pile is pure!
[/quote]

Why not mixed in with the horse apples for compost? Will it be used on vegetables? That's one reason I know for not using it in the garden, there apparently are transferable pathogens, and if not "cooked" hot enough in the compost there is a danger of transmittal to a human. It's why I only use my doggie fertilizer spikes on landscaping plants and trees. A lot of mine gets collected in a Homer Bucket and brought out to place around my juniper trees to increase growth of my future emergency firewood supply. It never goes in the garden beds.

Geno

Man this thing ha sure gone off track lol I live in town because I'm an only dad no other family to help out with my kiddo.

You can say that again!

Hey, I see what you did there.

Geno