i share you pain, i thought i had it made, last spring put down tons of compost and overseeded, in the fall leaf compost & overseeded it looked great, our yards are similar.

i'm putting straw down now to deal with the mud & overseeding with the next rain/snow.

i think it is an endless task until we build up enough of a root system AND we keep them off of it when it is wet

i'm going to create a temp kennel for them with one of those prefab deals from tractor supply - going to use patio squares for the base....that ought to get me through spring

Your back yard isn't big enough for two big dogs. Like garycinchicago said the grass will never be right for those dogs. What is the point in having 2 big dogs in a yard that tiny? I can imagine what the neighbors think about the barking. Yea, I know, it's your yard and you can do whatever you want more or less. I'm just glad I don't live in the city. Click the link and listen.

Here is a link that might be useful: Who let the dogs out?

I have a similar problem with my lawn from my two dogs. Is there a type of sod that is more resistant to heavy traffic from the dogs that someone can recommend?

In short, no grass can stand up to the abuse that one or two large dogs will give to a small area. Dormant lawns can be badly damaged in a season. A new seeded or sodded lawn will never get going.

You will have to keep them off the lawn area for several months until it recovers. Swapping them from one part of the lawn to another - like cattle between pastures - may help.

A yard that size, and dogs as big as the paw prints would suggest, try keeping it mulched with hard wood mulch. My city operates a chipping site where they use a tub grinder to make mostly coarse mulch. And its free. It will keep them out of the mud.

I have a bigger yard and smaller dogs and could usually keep decent grass in most of it (not the heaviest use areas) by putting up a temp fence and keeping them off the new grass while it got established, then doing it again the next year. But, unless you have a lot of yard the pics don't show, there is no grass or cultural practice that will hold up.

I have a similar problem with my lawn from my two dogs. Is there a type of sod that is more resistant to heavy traffic from the dogs that someone can recommend?

I know this will sound snotty but you should read the previous posts before asking a question that repeats the original question. The answer is NO. There is no grass that will withstand two big dogs.

2-6 inches of shredded bark mulch is one alternative that I like.

Mulch...Oh yea, that would be nice. Sure... One giant backyard kitty litter box. The dog poop would be impossible to see or take care of. What a nightmare. You have 2 alternative solutions. None of them is popular. Get rid of the dogs. Have a mud/dirt backyard.

Mud and dirt have the same disadvantages that rdaystrom does not like. Part of the beauty of mulch is that it is organic and critters live in it. Some of those critters are the ones which devour dog poop. If you want to pick up the poop, it is pretty easy to see sitting on top of the mulch. If you want to leave the poop alone, the critters will decompose it for you in 3-4 days.

My dogs have always pooped as far away from the house as they can get (daily walks to the green belt). But when they get old or get sick, they go in the yard. I've never picked up poop in my yard. At most there are the most recent 3-days worth of poop piles visible. The rest have literally melted away back down into the grass due to the action of pill bugs and some gnat-looking things. It is an amazing process to watch if you're a little odd. My in-laws, on the other hand, never seemed to have any of the poop-eating critters. They might have piles in the yard for weeks and months. Of course I attribute that to their use of synthetic chemicals in the yard but rdaystrom will disagree with that. It could also be they mowed way too short.

An alternative such as ground cover may be a better solution. You'll still have 'green' in the yard, and there are some that tolerate foot traffic-

Here is a link that might be useful: lawn alternatives

I use all kinds of chemicals in my yard dchall and yes I disagree. My dog does her business her and there and just like in your yard it goes away quickly. Amazing.

>"Posted by dchall_san_antonio 8 San Antonio (My Page) on
Wed, Mar 10, 10 at 13:23"

I've never picked up poop in my yard."

That .... that .... well, that is .... that's just being a plain old fashioned, class 'A', number one LAZY PIG!

Shame on YOU!

I agree, about not picking up poop. I have a huge yard and the dog always goes out on the permeter BUT, she RUNS on the perimeter so she is very likely going to step in her own poop unless I pick it up . AT LEAST once a week at the minimum.
As far as your yard. A small yard and big dogs is hard on you and unfair to big dogs that need to run and exercise.
But, one thing I do like at the bottome of my steps on the deck where she constantly pounces her 65lbs on that one spot to where it was wearing the grass. I put sticks in the ground and put grass seed there, now, she slows down and goes around them. PERFECT! I now have grass there and constantly monitor it to see if i need to put sticks there to slow the traffic.
On a bigger area, I put a stringed fence rectangluar in size about 1.5 feet high held up by metal rods and she could jump it but she avoids it. I am going to work on that area this next summer and keep her off until it is thick again. My biggest problem is the deer knocking it down.

rdaystrom, if I have not mentioned it before, I do value your opinion. It is especially interesting when your experience differs from my experience and what I read in the forums. These forums are not perfect in that some people become intimidated easily and will not want to disagree with the frequent writers. You make me think about things I thought I had already thought about.

dchall, I grew up in a family where almost every sit down meal with my parents and brothers was like a world class debate on whatever subject came up. Being the youngest of four boys I developed a competitive personality that I can't turn off even after all these years. I'm analytical to a ridiculous degree. My writing style offends people all the time but it is not intentional. Anyway, thanks for the positive response. It's good to know that some people actually get it. By the way it goes without saying that I do value your opinion as well.

Sounds like we had a similar background - no other boys but my father was argumentative. My assertive writing style has offended people for years, too, so now we've finally found each other ;-)

As much as I can I will try to recall the reasons for my opinions as I believe them. When I joined this forum I was in transition from chemicals to organic. In college my wife to be was studying ornamental horticulture so I took some classes with her. Back then they were 100% chemical and I lived by the Sunset Lawn and Garden book (our lawn textbook at school). Things did not work perfectly for me using that book. It is very California oriented, so when I moved to Dayton and then to San Antonio the Sunset plan didn't work. Reading these forums and others helped me relearn gardening. Now probably 90% of what I used to believe has changed. I still have the Sunset books on the shelf just to refer to so I can do the opposite of what they say. You are much more in the Sunset camp and have found ways to make it work for you.

Anyway just so I can say something about the topic, our dog parks here in San Antonio are thick with mulch. We're getting one in my neighborhood in a few months. I think they will leave it natural, but it is in a green-belt area so the floor is already deep mulch there.

Nathan, if your lawn is in full sun, then you have two ways of handling the problem of not growing a lawn; leave it mud and let the dogs romp, or put down something that, given a chance to grow, will stand up to them.
White clover.
Speak to a nurseryman about whether clover will grow in your Texas climate and if so, plant it. Clover stands up to dog urine, stays green, never needs fertilizer because it fixes nitrogen right out of the air, needs less watering, doesn't need as much mowing but will only grow in full sun.

Goren,

Have you had success with maintaining a clover lawn used by larger dogs? I don't mean to sound skeptical, but...well, I'm skeptical.

Synthetic grass??

k9grass.com looks interesting

You can stimulate your dogs so they dont tear up the lawn everyday, mental stimulation is more tiering then physical basic obedience everyday, frozen kongs full of food , snuffle matts, lick mats, food puzzles hand feed your dogs their kibble once an awhile doing onedience. when dogs use their brains they get super tired they dont have to be playing in the backyard all day good luck :)