Maintaining a perfect lawn with a new puppy in the family can be a challenge, even as your dog moves through its life stages from adolescence to adulthood, your lawn may be the victim of digging and burning.
So what type of grass is going to work best for both your furry friend and your family? Below are what we see as the pro’s and con’s in the synthetic vs real grass debate!
Synthetic Grass
The promise of low maintenance worry free living gets a lot of people wondering – should we just go fake?
The Pro’s of Synthetic Grass are:
- Clean, safe, durable & visually appealing
- Doesn’t require as much care e.g. water, sun, fertilisation etc
- Dog’s urine doesn’t stain the grass
- Harder for your dog to dig up
- Will not get muddy during winter/wet months as it has a specially designed inbuilt drainage system
- Dog unable to ingest the synthetic grass
On the Con side:
- More expensive to install – considering the cost will most likely include excavation of your current lawn
- Needs a sublayer for drainage to be most effective
- Need to regularly clean the surface of the grass
- Gets very hot under the summer sun, causing discomfort to you and your dog.
Real Grass
Many people prefer the feel underfoot of real grass and in terms of your property value, it may be what more people expect to see when you eventually go to sell.
The Pro’s of Real Grass are:
- Cheaper to install
- Stays cool throughout the year
- Easily breaks down
- Not likely to trap smells or stains
On the Con side
- More work to maintain
- Dogs urine may burn the grass
- Dog can easily dig it up
- Will need to block off the are if new grass seeds are laid down as they can be fatal
- Fertiliser is poisonous to dogs
- May cause an allergic reaction to the dog
A word on grass seeds
It is not a commonly considered fact, but did you know trying to “infill” or thicken your grass with grass seed can be potentially fatal do your furry friend?
Grass seeds are tiny, generally 1-2cm in length, and are shaped in such a way that it can be difficult for one to escape from the body once it has made its way inside.
Grass seeds can cause a variety of problems with dogs as it can get caught in their fur and easily embed itself into their skin. Grass seeds quite often carry bacteria, which causes infections when the seed is embedding into the skin of your pet. Once the grass seed has penetrated the skin surgery is required to remove it. Other major problems that can arise are:
- Abscessed
- Lung infections
- Pneumonia
- Eye removal
If you do make the decision to use grass seeds, ensure you cordon off the area and ensure your dog has access. Also, dust off your boots before leaving the area to avoid any cross contamination into other areas.
When it all comes down to it, often the choice between real versus synesthetic is a personal one depending on how you use and enjoy your leisure space. If your dog digging is the real issue behind you exploring new options… it might be time to give us a call.
