But, excessive amounts of nitrogen will “burn” plants, and, in the case of your lawn, this will cause patches of grass to turn brown and die. First of all, you should regularly patrol and clean your yard, as a build-up of pet waste can cause a number of very serious health problems for your dog and your family (as well as potentially attract coyotes).

You may want to put his dog house or tie-down stake in these areas, or you could simply try to confine play to these barren areas. Annual ryegrass needs at least six hours of full sun each day for growth, but will tolerate partial shade. During its brief lifespan, it's quite tolerant of drought and disease, and it withstands foot traffic very well. If you are using it to overseed a warm-season lawn, it's best to plant the ryegrass in the fall. In northern climates, it can also be planted in the spring. But once temperatures start to rise into the 80s, expect to see the ryegrass begin to yellow and die off. It will also die if temperatures fall below freezing for more than a few days. Perennial Ryegrass and Fescue grasses do well in the shade. So if you’ve always struggled with a patchy, uneven lawn in shaded areas, make sure to buy a grass mix which contains these varieties.People find this mix works well for them because of the ease of establishment and high quality lawn that is created. What’s in the mix? Like urine, dog poop is also full of nitrogen. This can create the same types of problems that frequent urination does. Try to Encourage Your Dog to Enjoy the Full Yard Lily Anderson is a writer at Bauer Media, where she tests products for titles such as Heat, Closer, What’s the Best and Mother&Baby If you require a finer quality lawn seed mixture, you can browse our range of high quality mixtures here.

Texas Tough Bermuda Grass Seed is used for pasture grazing and hay production in the warm climates and transition climates of the United States. Texas Tough is a mixture of Giant, Common and turf type Bermudagrass seed. Texas Tough was developed for its drought tolerance, insect resistance, high forage and hay yields. This seed has a more varied mix than some others featured here, with 43% Dwarf Amenity Ryegrass, 40% Creeping Red Fescue, 12% Chewings Fescue and 5% Browntop Bent. It’s a varied combination, intended to produce a lawn that can cope with excessive rain as well as drought, and everything in between. For this reason, it’s the best grass seed for the UK’s varied conditions. Often, you’ll notice that grass seed isn’t made up of just one species of grass. In general, several different variations are combined to improve the overall properties of your lawn. Planting: Care must be taken not to cover the seed with too much soil—no more than 1/4 in. of soil covering the seed is recommended. Effective methods include broadcasting by hand or using seed spreaders, followed by light roller or dragging. Because of the high seed count of Texas Tough per lb., the seed should be mixed thoroughly with dry sand at a ratio of 5 parts sand to one part seed, and the spreader opened only 1/16 to 1/8 in. He adds, "You can have the best soil in the world, but if you don’t start with the right seed, your lawn is not going to be as healthy and green as you want it to be. Apart from choosing the best species of grass to grow, you need to carefully select the best cultivars that will perform well for your lawn's conditions. And timing is everything. The next step to growing a healthy green lawn is to know when to plant. As with any plant, that depends largely on where you live and the type of grass you plan to grow."According to All Creatures Healthcare, "The reason that grass seeds can be dangerous for dogs (or even cats) is that they can easily penetrate their outer skin in multiple areas. If left untreated, this can be incredibly painful – in worst-case scenarios, the internal damage it may cause can even be fatal." Best results are achieved by following the instructions closely, which can require scarifying the lawn before beginning – the results can be impressive if all of the pre- and post-application steps are completed, so it’s worth putting in the extra time.