@littlebug Zone 5 Missouri I should have mentioned that the river rock is 3-6" and the mocha is 1.5". We're not considering pea/marble sized anything. Trap rock would also be large (3").

ETA: we are also fairly new dog owners so the mulch problem didn't occur to us until we'd already done it. The kid is old enough now not to run around in it - I think....time will tell I suppose!

How big is your dog? Labrador size or Corgi sized? A big running dog can splay small rocks everywhere. And so can rambunctious little kids (ask me how I know). They love the throwable size.

We have a tibetan terrier but we play with neighbor dogs so it really depends. We plan on getting a 2nd tibetan this fall so I imagine most of the play will be between them. They are 25-30 lbs.

Rocks will be far worse than mulch in that situation. It can even be dangerous to your dog's paws and digestive system. I cannot tell you the number of times that my sister's Lab had to go to the vet for eating rocks. That is fairly common with mouthy breeds.

I think a larger bark, such as patio bark, wouldn't move around as much as mulch. We have it in our patio planter and, yes, it gets thrown up on the patio by digging squirrels (!) or very lively children, but stays tidy and sweeps right off.

Our dog has not attempted to eat the rock we currently have but has definitely eaten the mulch. I'm not concerned about that, especially if we're putting down 3-6" river rock. We're also not dealing with a lab, which are rather famous for eating things they shouldn't.

Not really concerned with the paws either - there's a whole yard to run around in so maybe the rock will be a deterrent instead of an invitation.

My big concern is aesthetic.

Honestly, I would keep the mulch . It looks great and I would tend to sweep the patio every couple of days anyway and before guests arrive. We had a river rock dry creekbed that our two dogs (one large, one medium-sized) scattered all over. Much worse than mulch!

We have river rock, ~1 1/2 sharp edged rock, and big sharp edged chunk rock and although our salukis do move them all the big sharped edge is the most stable. I doubt you can get that but the river rock is clean and very easy to sweep back into position so that would be my pick.

If you get enough rain that a drainage swale is always wet, the rock is going to be a pain in many parts of the anatomy. Keep the mulch for now, and start thinking about a nice groundcover.

The rocks will wash into the grass. Why not plant a low ground cover between the plants? Plants could also add some color and interest.

I voted river rock but... I really think you should remove the bed paralllel to the patio. Why do you want to walk through a planting bed to reach your lawn? Use the rock on the sides if you find it appealing.

I discovered shredded cedar bark is a great mulch for dogs. It stays put because of the fibers and mixed size pieces.

I got it because they use cedar in animal cages and so it's safe for pets. I was pleasantly surprised. I had it on the lawn because of muddy dog traffic...left it there and the grass grew through it nice and green. Did not kick up and does not track even wet. Nice and soft.

Shredded cedar bark...not mulch, shavings or chips.

What specifically are your patio pavers? i really like that look.

I vote for river rock, but could you also take out this part of planting bed and return it to lawn?

@richfield95 our pavers are from county materials. We did 16"x8" I think. They're discover pavers in vision with a black border.

As we just installed the planting bed I'm not very interested in ripping it out. We have stepping stones for people to access and once the grass grows up a bit it will form a border.

I used shredded rubber in the past. It does not fade, track or develop dust. Costco sells it.

Well, we wound up going with river rock. We are really happy with our choice. The pups tend to either jump over it or use the paving stones when they're tearing around the yard. We are happy with how it looks. Weather here is generally not too terribly hot outside of a few days in the summer so our plants should be fine - and we don't have that many anyway. Thanks for your help!

Perfect solution and so pretty. Thanks for posting.