New sod lawns take a lot of looking after in their early stages to enable them to take hold and root. Therefore, keeping on top of watering schedules, fertilizing, and avoiding running over it with the lawn mower for a while all play a part in the sod’s success. But what are you supposed to do about your dog that’s itching to get outside and check out the new grass? Well, your dog will have to have some patience because running circles around the new sod too early could create some problems. So, how long should you keep your dog off the new sod? Let’s take a look.
How Long Should I Keep My Dog Off New Sod? (The Short Answer)
To give your new sod the best chance of success, it’s vital to allow the roots to grow into the soil. Shallow roots will take around 2 weeks to grow and take hold of the soil, whereas deep roots will take around 6 weeks. Therefore it’s recommended to keep dogs off of new sod for at least 6 weeks.
Why Do I Need to Keep My Dog Off New Sod?
Basically, to give the lawn the time and space to grow enough to be able to withstand the normal usage of a grassy lawn. The cutting of sod weakens both the roots and the blades. Both need time and space to get growing again. Here are a few more specific reasons to keep your dog off new sod:
Give Time for Root Systems to Establish
If your dog just walked on the new sod, it wouldn’t be too much of an issue but dogs roll, run and play, and all that energy can rip up the new grass, flatten it, weaken it, and basically make it hard for the lawn to establish quickly. Dogs (and people) constantly walking and crushing that new sod underfoot can kill it or set it back so it takes a lot longer than two weeks to get going again.
Prevent Paths from Being Worn into New Grass
Dogs that run back and forth will wear a patch or paths very quickly in your new grass. A lawn that’s had time to grow and get established will take this behavior for longer. But if your dogs are going to create that path by running up and down the fence anyway, why not consider putting in bricks, gravel, chip, or a stepping stone path so it looks intentional?
Stop Urine from Doing Damage
Of course, dogs need to urinate and when they do, they cause the brown dead patches that you see in lawns. It’s hard enough for established lawns to recover and even harder for new sod that’s just started to get going. Urine on new grass is a real killer.
So When Can My Dog Walk on the New Grass?
Basically when it’s established and growing well! This is a bit of a “how long is a piece of string?” question and depends on factors like:
- How healthy your sod was when you got it.
- How wet or dry your weather is at that time of the year.
- The type of sod you chose.
- How much sun/rain/wind it gets while it establishes.
Healthy fresh sod placed onto fertile soil that is suitable for your climate will probably establish in a few weeks.
Sod that was a bit older, got too much or too little rain/sun/wind, and was placed on rocky or unfertile soil could take six weeks or more to get established.
On average, four weeks is going to be how long you’ll probably need to keep the dogs off the new sod to be sure that it’s fully established and ready for robust use.
How to Block Off New Grass from Dogs
As smart as your dog is, I bet they can’t read. And certainly won’t obey, a simple “Keep off the Grass” sign that your friends and neighbors would!
There are a number of ways to keep them off new sod, including:
- Physical barriers such as fences around the grass.
- Temporary relocation of the dogs to someone else’s house.
- Securing the dogs in other parts of the yard like the front, side, or patio.
- Keeping them inside and taking them to the doggy park or on long walks every day.
- A virtual or electronic fence.
Other Things to Consider with Dogs and New Sod
If your dog has been in the yard for years and years, you may have a build-up of salts and nitrogen in the soil so always aerate and add in soil enhancers designed for new grass before you lay your sod or sow your seeds. If you are worried about the quality of the soil before you lay the sod, it might pay to keep the dogs off the lawn for a few months (if you can!) and spend some time and money creating healthy soil for the new sod.
If you live in a wetter part of the world, putting in new sod is a good time to evaluate the way your lawn is used and a great time to add stepping stones, paths, and drainage.
If your dogs dig a lot, maybe give them a digging area that’s out of sight. Add a paddling pool for them and they can have their own patch of doggy heaven and you can have your lush-looking lawn. Intentional dog recreational areas will always look better than random holes and brown patches!
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