Due to a springer spaniel and a spanish water dog wrecking my lawn (my dogs btw!) I’m fencing off half the garden and planning to pave/gravel the half nearest the house (approx 40 sq meters) where access to the garden is through a large sliding patio door.

Just looking for a few pro’s and cons that I havent already thought about and a few q’s so any suggestions appreciated, the ones ive come up with already are –

nice paving slabs alot more expensive than gravel

ground work easier with gravel therefore quicker and easier to complete job

patio looks nicer than gravel though IMO

high border to prevent gravel from going on to lawn (sides protected by garden boundary wall so no issues of gravel escaping there)but planning to use pea shingle gravel if the gravel option is taken…will much of the shingle get taken in to the house by dogs as doors will be left open all day?

will it look ‘messy’ if shingle used and dogs on it all day? I realise a rake over each day will sort this out but will I be doing it constantly?

easier/nicer to grab a handful of gravel with dog mess than to remove from hard paved area plus dog wee wont stain gravel. Smells?

circular paved area in gravel for solid base for garden furniture maybe an option, best of both worlds?

I want pea shingle but Mrs SiB wants patio, I think this is the main problem/indecision!

Views and comments please (comments of growing a pair and going for my option of gravel also welcome!).

Or are there any other options I havent considered? Getting rid of dogs not an option and neither is training dogs not to go on lawn.

Any photos of similar projects for ideas also welcome.

Thanks

If the dogs are going to be crapping on it then it’ll surely be easier to clean it off slabs?

Gravel will attract cat poo. That’s a deal breaker for me.

How are your dogs wrecking your lawn? Is it the wee? If so this can be fixed pretty easily!

Patio would be better, it is easier to disinfect, clean and remove dog poo.

If you gravel it make sure its deep (3inches plus). We have a small gravel area and the dog only has to turn on it when running and she exposes the membrane beneath.

Why not slab it and leave a sand pit for the dogs to poo in?

Why not just re-turf the lawn.

With the dogs underneath it? 😈

Mrs SiB wants patio

decision made really.

Dog mess not a big issue as they tend to do it on walks but obviously there will be occassions.

Druidh….I would have thought (from my experience at the beach with sand!) that using poo bag and grabbing a big handful of gravel too is easier then removing it off hard patio? Hadnt thought about disinfecting though – obviously easier on patio than gravel.

Onzadog…they can f***ing well try!!

Milkie……yes, a few wee burns but not a big problem. Is it just a case of click and treat when they dont wee on the lawn so one day the penny will drop that they’re not too wee on lawn? They will be left to their own devices most days so maybe unpractical to expect them not to use lawn. Main propblem with lawn is the circuits of the garden they do and ripping up lawn as they do tight corners!!

phil w ……thats what I was thinking

deus….you’re probably right! I’d just rather use gravel to save time but most importantly save money so I can buy something shiney!!

How are your dogs wrecking your lawn? Is it the wee? If so this can be fixed pretty easily!

Please tell me how!!

The loose poo will be a pita to clear from shingle where as with patio you can wash it away easier.

Having slabs will also help to keep the dog’s claws down where as shingle won’t do this.

Shingle could get caught between a dogs paw pads causing discomfort until removed.

I’d go patio if it were me 😉

Looks like Mrs SiB wins. Again.

For wee burns, I can recommend dog rocks. They really do work, I was like “someone saw you coming!” and taking the piss for about a month… Until I noticed the burn patches were going away! It takes a month or so to take affect, and you really do need to do it to all their water supplys. Now we don’t have any patches! 😉

I’ve had all 3!

A paved yard – Used to get very smelly and needed Jays fluid on it to get rid of the smell, plus would need spraying down as poo appeared to stick to it!

Grass – No go, dog wee just kills it (although I think its a dogs preffered solution..)

Pebbles – Works for us. Doesnt smell half as much as Paved areas, I only Jays probably twice a year. Poo can be more difficult as if soft or rained it can be difficult to get up, then you have to just pick up a few pebbles too, or just washh in to the pebbles.

Pebbles is the best solution for us, but the dog only has an area about 3 x 3 metres.

Thanks FunkyDunc……maybe your post is the only one I’ll show Mrs SiB!!

Tenants covered our back garden with gravel and turned it into a big dog litter. Filthy.

Personally, I take my dog for a walk rather than letting it wreck the garden. I think the dog prefers it this way too.

Personally, I take my dog for a walk rather than letting it wreck the garden.

Personally, I take my dog for several hours of walks a day, and he still wrecks the garden as he is terminally enthusiastic about life

isn’t only bitches that burn grass?

also. my puppy eats gravel. he won’t eat paving slabs…

Personally, I take my dog for a walk rather than letting it wreck the garden. I think the dog prefers it this way too.

One of my dogs is a springer, a calm one mind, but as mentioned in the above post he too is enthusiastic about life!

Tenants covered our back garden with gravel and turned it into a big dog litter. Filthy

They hardly use the garden at all as do all their business on walks but I can see how it would become a nightmare if not managed correctly.

We’ve gone for a three level approach, grass, gravel and paving which seems to be working pretty well at the moment. Our dog wees on the gravel and if necessary poops on the grass and then uses all of it as a play area!

Here’s a couple of vids of here in action (playing that is not weeing and pooping!)