Artificial grass - thoughts?

Caroline_a

Well it's been fitted!! And damn fine it looks too. The guys who did it levelled the uneven parts of the garden, removed the rubbish and it looks brilliant. Left it overnight to make sure it had fully settled, then let the dogs out on it today....

and they absolutely adored it!! Lots of initial sniffs, then charged round like a pair of loons, playfighting, rolling and generally having a good time.

So far? Rating = 20 out of 10!!

NeverEnough

Agreed, its excellent stuff and hard wearing. Plus you just wash it down if doggydoo makes a mess on it, also in hot weather to get rid of the urine smell a good idea to hose it down thoroughly. Its durable and drains well as well, excellent product for pet owners with small gardens.

Caroline_a

Bit of an update on this one for those who are interested. The lawn is still fantastic. Dogs, all 100kg of them have spent most of the summer chasing around like a pair of loonies, favourite game appears to be chasing each other round the pond, changing direction and going the other way. In my eyes, that's heavy usage with claws scrabbling to turn, and it's usually followed with lots of wrestling and rolling around.

The lawn hasn't budged or moved at all. Still looks brilliant. I've now got lots of pots scattered around on the patio and also fences/walls, which gives colour. The recent torrential rain left it untouched too, apart from slightly damp on the top, but of course it was all clean!

Dust in the house is less, kitchen floor stays clean for ages... I sound like a salesman, but I have to say I'm a real convert! Best thing I ever did!!

chris_n_tj

We are on our 8th summer with our Astro Turf. It looks as good today as it did when it went down, we love it as well. x

tiggerbodhi

Same here, seven years of "Good as Grass" between 5 and 10 dogs on it and still good as new.... have to hoover it every so often as the fluff from de stuffed dog toys sticks to it, but no muddy bits!

Caroline_a

Goodness, was that 5 to 10 dogs all at once? Most I've had (so far) is 3 Shepherds with a Spinone....

lisajane8482

My sister has artifical grass as their dog just tore up their back garden when it was really wet. They've had it now for a couple of years and it still looks brilliant... the neighbours think she's a little crazy though when she's out there hoovering her lawn:rotfl:

Spikefan

I had artificial turf laid this year - best thing I have done. I have two retrievers. Wee soaks through, they do have a toilet area but also use the grassed area. We had new real turf laid 2 years ago and what with dogs, kids and bad winters it was a barren waste land very quickly. I can 'sniff' other peoples freshly mowed lawn whilst I have a coffee in the garden. Price wise go for the best you can afford and make sure the ground is prepared well. It cost me as much to have a proper lawn laid as an artificial one. No more mowing. May need to dress it with sand occasionally (and perhaps hoover the dog hairs lol)

Tescodealqueen

This sounds too good to be true! We have a 14 month old retriever and he is a digger. He also pulls up chunks of grass and eats them but he eats everything! Anyone any experience of artificial grass with a daft dog like this?

Caroline_a

Going by my own experience, dogs will happily destroy any garden they can, particularly when they are young. The more beautiful the (natural) garden, the more they go on a mission...:rotfl:

I have had lawns (dug up, wee'd on, grass destroyed, etc etc), gravel (dogs charging round ensures the machine gun effect as they go past, more digging stuff, etc) and believe me, this artificial stuff has stopped all of that. They seem to think it's a sort of very soft paving so don't try to dig, destroy etc. The added bonus of course is no mud, dirt, etc.

As you can tell I am a true convert...