Depends a lot on how low the limbs are, does it get any sun? Also something which wouldn't mind having pine needles raked out of it, or do they leave them? Personally, I think leaving the pine needles would be a good solution for the puppy.

Vinca minor or ivy may work. I think vinca is softer and not as woody for the puppy.

Just remember the soil around a pine tree is very acidic due to the needles that why you don't see grass growing too close to the trunk of a pine.

Kathi, I wouldn't be concerned about the acidity of the soil. While pine needles do acidify the soil to some extent, our soil is so alkaline that it is really more of a case of it being "relatively acidic" instead of actually acidic. It takes a bit more effort to actualy acidify our soil here.

Going back to the problem at hand, there are several choices. I like Judy's suggestion of raking the pine needles around the tree. Just don't rake it up against the trunk. This is another case where a tree self mulches like in nature. Vinca, or vinca minor I think would work depending on how big the pine tree is (the bigger, the better). Lastly, try Japanese dwarf or superdwarf mondo grass ophiopogon japonicus, specifically sp. Gyoku Ryu, Fuiri Gyoku Ryu, and Torafu. These will become more drought tolerant as they are established and like the shade. It is a grass, but the tallest one grows only 6" high (one species is 1" tall), so mowing isn't even necessary and I don't think the dog will mind either.

I had been looking at these before and picked them out of a crowd of things I was considering for a groundcover underneath a tree. With more sun, a different type of grass could be planted like the zoysia we were talking about earlier this summer. Here is a picture again

{{gwi:421316}}

GL and HTH

Maybe it was just the quantity of pine needles from my neighbors tree that was always killing my grass. Thanks for the info. Kathi

Thanks ADR :)

I live in southern ontario and have austrian pine- for the last five years I have removed the needles dropped during the winter. My thought is that maybe it is better to leave them - they would act as a mulch keeping the moisture in.
Any response to this would be appreciated and help keep my back from aching.
thanx in advance

judywilk ---I was thinking the same thing, keeps the weeds down, just worries about fire hazard in the summer, did you find any other information at all

Lordy, started reading this and saw comments from Judy and KactusKathie and I said "are they back?" Then saw the dates. Wow.

Why are posts still alive when they were originally posted 10 years ago? I guess gardening information can never get outdated, while trying to help the original poster seems a bit silly. However, for anyone with similar situation, I would consider a thick layer of mulch and if the dog still likes to dig and get dirty, then the Vinca minor (if very shady) or Liriope spicata would be good alternatives.