Dog Park

Nicole G · Jun 13, 2016

Hope everyone and their babies are enjoying summer, lol! It's Ellie's first and she's not a huge fan. Neither am I, so it works!

We are building a literal dog park for her and the two boys (mostly her, lol) in our backyard. We have an enormous yard, so might as well put it to good use! It's currently dirt, with a fence around it. I went a little crazy and am trying to find some tunnels and stuff for her to play on

. So I think she's going to get a kick out of it.

However, trying to find something to put in there flooring wise...I don't know. Our dirt is incredibly dusty - I'm not a fan of Ell breathing that in. She's allergic to grass, I worry about her eating outdoor flooring...The only thing I thought was: mulch (the non-treated stuff of course)?Ella is a stick and grass eater (is there anything Frenchies won't eat is a better question - even the other day when we were on a walk she found a piece of bacon outside the diner that someone had left. That made me laugh and she gave it up without a fight.

) But I worry about her eating the mulch when I'm not looking. Any ideas?

Jakeyjake · Jun 13, 2016

What about fake grass?

Nicole G · Jun 14, 2016

[MENTION=600]Jakeyjake[/MENTION] It would be great, but she wants to eat that too. I thought maybe untreated pine chips? I'm so worried that these items are going to be toxic to her that I don't know what to use. Plus we don't go to actual dog parks often - what do they use?

davidh · Jun 14, 2016

If she is like ours, she will eat the mulch too. The only thing I can think of is pavers or concrete blocks, but that can get expensive, or rock, but that can be rough on the paws.

Nicole G · Jun 14, 2016

[MENTION=4]davidh[/MENTION], Just out of curiosity, did you guys use pavers? If so, do they still seem to enjoy playing on them?

blushy · Jun 15, 2016

My boy is a fan of eating rocks... If there is a loose pebble he WILL pick it up and carry it around. Luckily he knows it's a rock and will spit it out (literally like shoot it out of his mouth) once I point at him...

You could lay those rubber square pavers? Close-out stores usually have them cheaper than big box stores if you have any stores like that around. Like here in Ohio we have Marc's and Ollies... They have them every summer for 50% less than Home Depot or Lowes.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Squishy Walnuts · Jun 15, 2016

That's an excellent idea! I would love to see pics once it's all done and set up!

I like the idea of the rubber square pavers. A bit easier on the feet if it's rubber.

Nicole G · Jun 15, 2016

We've been looking into all options. I can't help but wonder - when I clean her paws when she comes inside, she doesn't break out in spots. Would real grass work if kept short and if I were to clean her up afterwards? I know that probably sounds like a stupid question but my reasoning on that is that a family member's grass has no weeds or flowers in it and she is fine in that (they don't use weed killer either), but ours is full of little flowers and such and that is the one that bothers her.

Plus the town has certain regulations when it comes to building structures (I didn't think of that) and I'm assuming they have a problem with certain materials, lol. What a pain.

Jakeyjake · Jun 15, 2016

Nicole G said:
[MENTION=600]Jakeyjake[/MENTION] It would be great, but she wants to eat that too. I thought maybe untreated pine chips? I'm so worried that these items are going to be toxic to her that I don't know what to use. Plus we don't go to actual dog parks often - what do they use?

The one in our neighborhood is fake grass.

davidh · Jun 17, 2016

[MENTION=1690]Nicole G[/MENTION] I don't have the pavers, but a friend of ours just installed the pavers for theirs. Not sure how the kids do on them, but I would think OK. It might be a little rough on the paws though. I would think the rubber ones would be better, but slick when wet.

Joeturbo26 · Jul 14, 2016

There are so many ideas of materials you can use.

First, I can't offer much advice on rural dog parks... But here in the NYC dog parks either use gravel, mulch, or dirt...

Thinking about the three different parks I have in mind, I have to say, the mulch, makes me the most uneasy feeling. Something about the porosity of wood and urine makes me want to gag.... It's also too much like a stick to not be appealing and I've noticed every dog at the "mulch park" eats the mulch.

Dirt, is great, but very dirty... Ones the water goes and the saliva starts flowing... You literally need to bring dog shampoo with you! Not a fan.

Gravel is my favorite of the bunch, when there are lots of dogs there... They are too busy to worry about eating gravel rather they are playing with each other. Even Rico who is so young but loves the dog park... Hasn't even tried eating a piece of gravel with all the other stimulation that goes on! Try telling him not to eat gravel on a walk is a totally different story.

Now being that this is a more private dog park and will not have lots of dogs to distract yours from eating gravel that may afford him the opportunity to "gravel graze".

If I were taking on this project... I'd think about doing it in poured polished concrete—this way you can also incorporate areas of built in Astro turf etc. also when not in use, you can make it a nice patio.... It will also be nice and cool!