Dog with no lawn

[robstarzxc]

We recently purchased a home in the village with a fully enclosed fence, unfortunately there's no lawn for our yellow lab. My plans are to put artificial turf/carpet either over the concrete slabs or the gravel area. That being said both seem to have positives and negatives. Any help would be appreciated.

concrete: flat surface but has the epoxy paint, not sure if urine with go through it. Will the Florida heat melt the turf backing to the epoxy concrete.

gravel area: hard to lay carpet on rocky surface, thinking I would have to lay down sand and stake carpet down over it

[blueash]

How about removing some of the gravel and planting some grass?

[fdpaq0580]

How about a "sandbox" type thing filled with sand, dirt, turf (real or artificial), or your choice of filling. Dogs can be house trained where they can and can't go, so a small bit of grass in the gravel area could/should be enough.

[bmcgowan13]

Check out these solutions.

Google PORCH POTTY.

Then go from there. This will give you a general idea but if you search the web (and AMAZON) there are lots of commercial and home-made options.

[mrsstats]

Be careful with the artificial turf, that gets very hot in the sun and can burn their paws.

[villagetinker]

IMHO, I believe the artificial turf will be hard to clean and will have a significant odor. I do not have a solution for you.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

I would've - not purchased a home that didn't have a lawn. That would've been a deal-breaker if I had a dog. But since you went ahead and made that decision for yourself, my advice would be to tear up the concrete and put in a lawn. You can put in cheap bermuda grass, it really won't matter since it's for your dog to run around on and use as his toilet.

[Papa_lecki]

I lived in an apartment with a rooftop dog area. They had artificial turf, but they had an irrigation system that ran every day to rinse the turf. Also had to spray a deodorizer every day

Don’t put turf over concrete, there is no place for the urine and water to go.
If the gravel area is big enough, go there, but there is a specific sub surface you should put down.
Install irrigation too.

[Grinchie]

There are many district-owned grassy areas nearby. I have a grass yard for my dog, but she still needs to sniff the air, smell everything & have a walk (with doggie bag at hand).

[Velvet]

As long as you don’t consider “district owned” the part of lawns that the property owners pay and look after as their front lawn. They don’t do it so you can use it as a latrine for your dog. But if you mean dog parks etc I completely agree.

Personally, the easiest thing for me and my dogs with our fenced in yard, was a large sand box where the dogs were trained to go. I had a scooper and the sand could be changed too. I initially trained the dogs by hiding a little treat in the area which they could have after they did the “right” thing. Maybe the gravel part can be changed to sand?

[Cuervo]

My grandmother lived in a five-floor tenement building in N.Y. and taught her dog how to use the toilet.
I'm not saying you have to do that but there are products on the market that are designed for dog of all sizes that might take care of your issue.

[darkim]

I recently lived in Phoenix for 15-years. Dog are perfectly capable of relieving themselves on gravel rocks.

[Bay Kid]

I love my concrete dog.

[BrianL99]

I would've - not purchased a home that didn't have a lawn. That would've been a deal-breaker if I had a dog. But since you went ahead and made that decision for yourself, ....

Who should make those sorts of decisions? Is there a "Decision Board" in TV that can help people?

[Jewelz]

We have a courtyard villa with just cement and rocks and the dogs don’t mind using the rocks at all… And when it rains, it all gets rinsed away!

[TheWarriors]

No, there is just common sense.

[Lanieb]

[QUOTE=robstarzxc;2376360]:doggie::doggie:

Labs are large, they need a lot of excercise. Take it to one of the many doggie parks around.

[ChilePepper]

I bought my fenced-in villa specifically because I had a German Shepherd. I have no grass. Only rocks and concrete. Although, she had no problem using the rocks to do her business. I ultimately gave her away to a vet assistant because I didn't like her being in those conditions since we moved from a huge property in Alabama where she loved to run and dig. She now lives on a farm with other German Shepherds.

[yporter]

We recently purchased a home in the village with a fully enclosed fence, unfortunately there's no lawn for our yellow lab. My plans are to put artificial turf/carpet either over the concrete slabs or the gravel area. That being said both seem to have positives and negatives. Any help would be appreciated.

concrete: flat surface but has the epoxy paint, not sure if urine with go through it. Will the Florida heat melt the turf backing to the epoxy concrete.

gravel area: hard to lay carpet on rocky surface, thinking I would have to lay down sand and stake carpet down over it

For years (up north) I had a very large dog and a very small back yard grass area, and trained him to urinate on a gravel (several inches of sandy 9s, small gravel mixed with sand) over dirt area to prevent dead grass patches in the minimal lawn. I found that even with daily rinses and deodorizing regularly, I needed to remove and replace the first several inches of underlying dirt several times; don't remember if it was once a year, or every 2 or 3 years. This is obviously in combination with daily walks (yes, bags in pocket). I'm sure that the smaller the dog, the more successful this strategy. Astroturf over concrete would not have worked at all - the odor would have been staggering without the dirt under the gravel to soak into and disperse.

[dguerini]

We recently purchased a home in the village with a fully enclosed fence, unfortunately there's no lawn for our yellow lab. My plans are to put artificial turf/carpet either over the concrete slabs or the gravel area. That being said both seem to have positives and negatives. Any help would be appreciated.

concrete: flat surface but has the epoxy paint, not sure if urine with go through it. Will the Florida heat melt the turf backing to the epoxy concrete.

gravel area: hard to lay carpet on rocky surface, thinking I would have to lay down sand and stake carpet down over it


When we moved here about a year ago, we had a birdcage built that included an area of concrete and a raised bed. It's called a raised bed, but is just a gravel area for the dogs to do their business. We regularly spray the gravel to eliminate odor. Here's the product we use:

Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0714K3YX6?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1)

[DonnaNi4os]

We recently purchased a home in the village with a fully enclosed fence, unfortunately there's no lawn for our yellow lab. My plans are to put artificial turf/carpet either over the concrete slabs or the gravel area. That being said both seem to have positives and negatives. Any help would be appreciated.

concrete: flat surface but has the epoxy paint, not sure if urine with go through it. Will the Florida heat melt the turf backing to the epoxy concrete.

gravel area: hard to lay carpet on rocky surface, thinking I would have to lay down sand and stake carpet down over it

Dogs adapt quickly. I was concerned that my yard was stone. The breeder told me to look around. She didn’t have grass either. Mine uses the yard with no problems. Obviously yours is used to grass but in time he will get used to his new environment. Welcome to The Villages where our dogs are our kids.

[lucyemmi@icloud.com]

As per my concrete installer, back when I lived up north, dog urine on concrete will cause pitting and spalling. I found this out after the damage was done.

[RRGuyNJ]

Didn't someone recently get called on the carpet because they didn't "Kiss the ring" and get ARC approval for artificial turf? I would start with them to see if it's OK.

[kendi]

There are many district-owned grassy areas nearby. I have a grass yard for my dog, but she still needs to sniff the air, smell everything & have a walk (with doggie bag at hand).

Very nice except in bad weather or if owner is feeling too sick to walk to the grassy areas.

[bmcgowan13]

This is certainly a bit off-topic but it sort of relates to our weather this week.

I purchased a few of the cheap vinyl shower curtains from WalMart ($3 each). Today I will stop at Lowes on the way home and purchase two squares of sod. I place the large plastic liner in my garage (we park one car outside for a getaway anyway) and place the two squares of sod on top.

It took about two seconds for our dogs to sniff the grass and mark the sod in the garage. Now--we don't even have to go outside to relieve them when the storm is bad. We toss the liner--and we usually find a spot in the yard we can re-sod a bare spot.

It's only for a day or two at most and we haven't had any smells to deal with. We are out $6 per storm but that seems to be worth it for us.

Good luck y'all...

[TomSpasm]

Check your deed restrictions, they almost certainly prohibit artificial turf (mine do), even in the back yard. The issue is drainage, not aesthetics.

Go here to find your deed restrictions - http://https://www.districtgov.org/departments/community-standards/DistrictAdoptedRules.aspx

[Byte1]

We recently purchased a home in the village with a fully enclosed fence, unfortunately there's no lawn for our yellow lab. My plans are to put artificial turf/carpet either over the concrete slabs or the gravel area. That being said both seem to have positives and negatives. Any help would be appreciated.

concrete: flat surface but has the epoxy paint, not sure if urine with go through it. Will the Florida heat melt the turf backing to the epoxy concrete.

gravel area: hard to lay carpet on rocky surface, thinking I would have to lay down sand and stake carpet down over it

Just use your neighbor's lawn like everyone else does. No one minds...:pepper2:

[Sandy and Ed]

We have a courtyard villa with just cement and rocks and the dogs don’t mind using the rocks at all… And when it rains, it all gets rinsed away!
Ditto! We also have a CYV with zero grass. Our Lasa Apso has no problem relieving herself on the stone and we use “poop” bags to retrieve and discard. Urine soaks through. Really not a big deal. Even if your dog is use to grass, she/he will quickly learn to use the rock. Will also make it easier when you walk the dog since neighbors grass might be easier to avoid

[Velvet]

Just use your neighbor's lawn like everyone else does. No one minds...:pepper2:

They might not know you are being sarcastic…

[Bwanajim]

Get rid of the gravel and put down some grass!!

[Ltucker]

Wow, that’s pretty cranky!

[Road-Runner]

take up a large section of the concrete and plant a grass that rarely needs mowing like Zoysia. Let your dog do its business there then take it for a long walk. We purchased a house on a large corner lot so this wouldn't be an issue for our pups, but as joked about above some people think our side yard is some kind of 'public' space and walk their dogs there, NOT GOOD.

[fdpaq0580]

, but as joked about above some people think our side yard is some kind of 'public' space and walk their dogs there, NOT GOOD.

And that's why God invented guns! (Sarcasm!)

Stay off my lawn! Not Sarcasm!

[Blueblaze]

Just use your neighbor's lawn like everyone else does. No one minds...:pepper2:

My neighbor's dog doesn't seem to mind the rocks, either!

But ever since I caught my next-door neighbor on my game camera, walking her dog on a leash straight out her door to my side yard, just so her dog could poop on my rocks, she's quit doing it.

However, the rocks did present a problem. When she looked up and noticed she was on candid camera, she seemed to have a lot of trouble cleaning up the mess. So I guess my recommendation, if you go the "other people's lawn" route, is to pick a house with an actual lawn -- or at least, no game camera!

[walterray1]

We recently purchased a home in the village with a fully enclosed fence, unfortunately there's no lawn for our yellow lab. My plans are to put artificial turf/carpet either over the concrete slabs or the gravel area. That being said both seem to have positives and negatives. Any help would be appreciated.

concrete: flat surface but has the epoxy paint, not sure if urine with go through it. Will the Florida heat melt the turf backing to the epoxy concrete.

gravel area: hard to lay carpet on rocky surface, thinking I would have to lay down sand and stake carpet down over it

Trade the dog for a cat (or two). Problem solved. Now you can install a putting green like you always wanted to.

[Velvet]

Trade the dog for a cat (or two). Problem solved. Now you can install a putting green like you always wanted to.

You are killing me (with laughter). Family dogs, like children are not “tradeable”.