With summer coming on, it is time to get the backyard ready for all the outdoor activities you are planning.

Preparing Your Backyard For A Dog

You’ve got barbecues and funfilled summer evenings planned in the back yard for this season, but just when you need your lawn looking its lushest, brown spots and holes begin to appear. It’s the sun, sure, but it’s also—the dog. And is that a poop pile that needs picking up?

Read on for some valuable tips to make the backyard work for both you and your dog. Most importantly: designate certain areas for digging and others for potty, and remember to keep dogs cool.

Dilute the Dog Pee

Inevitably in the spring when you are beginning to prepare your backyard for summer events, one of the first things you notice are the perfectly circular spots of brown dying grass. Urine contains nitrogen, which is actually a good fertilizer. However, too much in one spot creates brown patches. The bigger your dog, the more likely this is to occur.

Since it is easier to let the dog do its thing while you stay comfortably in the warmth of the house at the door, they have gone to the same spot over and over as dogs do. An easy solution? Keep your garden hose or watering can handy. Apply fresh H2O to saturate their favorite pee spots and help dilute the urine. Typically the grass will repair itself once you start doing this.

One thing that will help, notice the dog has a favorite spot to go. Use this to your advantage. With a little effort and planning, maybe some creative landscaping can hide the fairly small area from the rest of the yard. If you are starting out with a new furry member of the family, you can actually train them to recognize a specific spot as their favorite.

You can visit here for great tips on nitrogen, sodium, and diet supplements. EntirelyPets has all the dietary supplements for more solutions.

A Doggy Pee Post

A “pee post” is a designated spot for your dog to relieve himself. They come in all shapes and sizes, including, you guessed it, a fire hydrant. You can purchase these here or make them yourself. These can help when training your dog to use a specific area to do their thing.

Here is a great option for folks who have a limited backyard or no backyard at all. If you purchase one here from Amazon by clicking the image below the video, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. This helps me continue to research and provide information like you are seeing here.

The Digging Deterrent

If your dog has a favorite place for digging, it will be hard to deter them from it. One easy hack that will keep them away is to place chicken wire over the spot. You can also try large stones—these work best along fence lines. If you have a larger dog that is very determined you may pay close attention or find a more durable deterrent than chicken wire.

Another alternative that will allow them to enjoy their favorite past time, next topic!

The Designated Digger

Give your dog their own sandbox! If they want to turn a patch of lawn into a rolling, digging, and bone-burying haven, designate a space for doing just that. A dog sandbox can do wonders.

These are some of the simplest things to build and put together yourself. I have made them for my kids in the past and found the dog liked playing in it as much as they did.

It has been recognized that a majority of the time when a dog digs a large hole, they often lay in it. Thus proving this is also a good strategy for the following subject.

Homemade Shade

Digging can be caused by overheating. giving them their own sandbox may eliminate the desire to dig because they have a place to stay cool.

If a sandbox is not an option to help them stay cool, the coolest dogs on the planet are less likely to dig. Create a shady spot with a tarp, a sun sail, or other popup shade. Lots of options (color, size, etc) for a permanent option or portable one for those on the go.

Cooling Beds

A cooling bed is a great way to help hot dogs settle down (and do less yard damage). There are mats and options for purchase out there, I have found my dogs love the one I purchased from FurHaven.

 

A fun summer project for dog lovers might be a DIY project like the one featured in the video below. Some wood, PVC pipe computer fans, and ingenuity will produce an air-conditioned resting spot.

 

Preparing Your Backyard For A Dog

This can be good for you and your dog! It really isn’t too hard to do any of these tips. If you put in a bit of thought and effort you can have friends and family over for those wonderful summer evenings and not have to worry about what they might find that your dog left for them.

It will also make a more suitable habitat for your coolest dog on the planet!

Don’t forget to email me a picture with the name of your coolest dog on the planet and I will add them to the gallery!

You can get your GroomyDude Swag by clicking the image below!

I hope this helps!

Chad