# Dog Run Substrate



## CoalB (Mar 25, 2010)

Not sure if this is the place to post this one, but here goes...

I'm wanting to build a dog run for my two dogs. One's a Lab/Rot mix and the other's a Great Dane. If it weren't for my Dane, no run would be necessary...but that's another story. The problem I'm running into is what should I use as a substrate? The run will be about 44'x11'. I don't want to use concrete for many reasons, more specifically when I sell this house in a couple of years, I'd like to make it so if a non-dog owner purchases it, it will be easy to convert back to sod. I looked at astro turf, but it's a bit cost prohibitive. So...I'm left with either bark/mulch, gravel, or pea gravel. Any advice would be helpful as I've never much believed in dog runs or kenneling for that matter (just the way I was raised), however my Dane is still in his destructive mode and it's doing a number on my back yard. Let 'em run free in a fenced in back yard is my motto!

I've got everything else figured out for the run except this part. Any help would be appreciated.


----------



## K9 Wolf (Jan 31, 2010)

We got bark/mulch for around our trees and garden, and we found out that dogs love it A LOT!!! So I would go with bark/mulch, because it's natural and dogs love it.


----------



## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Gravel of any sort is nearly impossible to remove and if I was a non-dog owner looking at a house, a backyard that had a lot of gravel mixed in the with dirt would be a big turn-off.

Mulch will eventually compost into the soil and in the meantime, at least if someone bought the house, they could till it into the soil and still get grass/plants to grow in that area.

You could do a portion of it in paving stones (16 in x 16 in is about $3 each), although doing all of it would be costly. 

Not sure why not just leave the dirt and grass as is? If your dane is a digger, you can use buried chicken wire to cut that down. Even though a surface less likely to turn into a mudbath would have advantages, most surfaces are going to affect the re-sale.

Anything you do, you're probably going to have to sod that area when you go to sell the house.


----------



## CoalB (Mar 25, 2010)

To be honest, I don't want to go with leaving the dirt and grass only because of cleanliness. My boys have always spent a lot of time inside the house and I want a substrate that won't muddy up every time it rains. Also, my other big thing is safety for my dogs. Whatever substrate that will not hurt the dogs is what is most important to me. 

I guess the best question to ask would be...does anyone have any personal experience with a particular substrate that did/didn't work out well for them in their dog run? Thanks again everyone.


----------



## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

Use sand! My dog run at my old place I was renting was 40'x10' and we had about 4 inches of sand in there. You never get mud because it filters water so fast, you can bleach it with one of those attachments to spray feeder on the laws, it wicks urine away plus it makes raking the poo a breeze. it also exercises the paws with the irregularities in surface texture and unlike gravel it won't get stuck in paws, doesn't stress the feet, become too hot, and if you don't get the fine stuff doesn't track in the house either. We paid $170 for 2 tons I think it was from the gravel pit. Plus with gravel you never kow if you're getting limestone in there or marble or quartz chips all of which can either cut paws or (with limestone) can be toxic/harmful if absorbed into the paws or swallowed. If a dog eats sand they're more likely to pass it because it's so light it just binds with the poo unlike gravel which will settle in the gut.


----------



## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

Cattle mats over pea stone will work as will stone dust under cattle mats. The runs are pretty large so that is a consideration (cost). 

If you dig out the run area (go down about 2-3 inches) so it is not a mound, you can fill with gravel or pea stone and put patio pavers around the edge where the kennel fence sits. If the next home owner does not like this, the pavers are not a lot to remove and the pea stone can be covered with top soil and grass planted.


----------

