Sheppard-Valli Huskies Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 Ok, right now i live in a tiny middle of nowhere town...where no on cares about their lawn looks like...and we have really long winters and lots of snow. so most of the time it just doen't matter that my yard is just ugly dirt full of little holes(thanks to pups) with the odd patch of grass. BUT my husband and i are in the process of moving and to a really nice town, and the house we are buying has a nice fenced in yard and GRASS. I'm have this odd feeling that the grass wont last long... ...but i would like it to!! I want to which of you manage to keep herds of huskies and keep a nice yard and most importantly HOW?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravenwolf Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 In the place we bought we were lucky enough to have a sand box, so I taught the dogs to dig in the sandbox instead of the yard. This has worked for the most part, but in the learning process the lovely little garden boxes that decorated part of the yard were destroyed, and not a single juniper bush survived their marking. The grass is relatively intact, save for the trails that they have worn into it. My biggest problem is dandelions taking over my lawn! Tricks to keeping a healthy lawn in high traffic: - Dog-friendly fertilizer twice a year - over-seed with sports field grass seed - yearly or as needed (tall fescue, red fescue, kentucky blue grass or some combination therein) - aerate yearly, especially most frequented pathways Do as I say, not as I am - I don't have the time/desire to truly work up my yard to keep it beautiful, which is why it looks like shit. A gorgeous lawn really does take constant care! But for 6 years I worked for my town's Parks department, so keeping high traffic parks and playfields looking good was a big part of the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosemary Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 It is an ongoing battle to keep the lawn looking good. I only have two huskies, and the backyard is their domain. I have 'sort of' taught them not to dig the lawn up, but sometimes they do - just for fun, or they dig for creepy crawlies We have built them a large and very secure sand pit - that is their favourite place in the garden - they can dig to their hearts content, lie in the shade or play. It's a great place for them. If they do dig a hole in the lawn I fill it immediately, add some rich fertilized soil (I have a bucket full for that reason) and replant the strands of grass - and plenty of water. Within a week or two it looks great. I don't work, so it is easier for me to keep an eye on them 24/7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 That's a VERY nice looking back yard Rosemary! and being nice to the Husky's - giving them their own private play area - probably help to keep it that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutsibe Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 I'm fortunate enough to live on an acreage, and my neighbors don't really care, either, but my dogs have their own yard. I try to discourage digging, as I tend to stumble in the holes at times, particularly in the dark - and it makes for a bumpy ride when I mow! That said, they sometimes like to dig up and eat the soil - I suspect that it's rich in minerals and organic materials that perhaps have nutrients that they crave? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raindog Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 I want to which of you manage to keep herds of huskies and keep a nice yard and most importantly HOW?! We don't! Our first husky transformed our lovely garden into a reasonable facsimile of the Battle of The Somme - mud and holes! within 6 months of us acquiring him. Nowadays, the whole of our garden to the rear of the house (apart from a small fenced off area I use to grow vegetables) is concreted over and is the dogs' domain. The tiny front garden is "human" and (when I get time) it looks OK with flowers, soft fruit etc. The only way to ensure a nice looking garden and huskies, is to securely fence off a dog run where they can run free, and make sure that they are only in the "nice" area when supervised. Mick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 our grass is fenced off and for supervised play time only Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taiya Blue and Miko too Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 Our back is slabbed over - it does have a raised border at the back but i've long since given up on anything actually growing in it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow-Kodah-Drako Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 our garden is slabbed no need for flowers & grass thats more work i don't want:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Mekhdjian Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 Ravenwolf - no need to train them pal:) mostly dogs tend to dig because of boredom, however some do it for the minerals and richness of the soil. Rosemary - lovely huskies:) and your backyard looks great:) Mine use to dig for the first week we introduced her to the backyard with strawberries, blackberries, lemon, fig trees planted... however I put a stop to it via extended the walks, which did work at times. what I found to work for me was to put a dog backpack on Mya and fill the pockets with canned soup or something about 1kg each pockets. That made Mya focus more on the walks, so the 1.5 hr walk felt like 3 hrs for her, and she had used her excess energy and could not be bothered to dig no more:) Try using dog backpacks, they work so well.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheppard-Valli Huskies Posted October 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 lol... ok well then i guess grass is kinda hopeless then. (at least our yard is fenced and isn't too visible from the street ) then maybe i'll stick in a sand pit and some concrete- maybe make it look like some kind of a giant Zen Garden. (Just with CRAZY HYPER huskies running around in it! lol.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewbacca_&_me Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 Theres no such thing as being able to keep a herd of huskies and to be guaranteed to keep your grass, but I will say that eventhough mine love to dig, mine never dig in the grassy area of my yard, I think its just because thats where they prefer to do their business. lol, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheppard-Valli Huskies Posted October 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 Theres no such thing as being able to keep a herd of huskies and to be guaranteed to keep your grass,, I was pretty much thinking this- But iwas hopeing there was some magical way that someone else had figured out . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravenwolf Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 Ravenwolf - no need to train them pal:) mostly dogs tend to dig because of boredom, however some do it for the minerals and richness of the soil. In my experience, huskies mostly dig to get to the cool earth just below the surface and to create a soft place to lie down - my huskies are the only dogs I've ever had who "bivouac" to sleep. This is why the sandbox proved so successful in training them to dig only there - they would dig a hole to cool off, and when I got home I would smooth the sand over and repack it. The next day they would dig again and have a cool place again without making a hole any bigger or damaging my lawn. ...Though while we were away for 2 weeks of holidays Scout did manage to setup one permanent bivouac on the lawn in a very inconvenient place! I left it alone all summer, but now that they use the dog house again I'll be filling it in and overseeding it and hopefully preventing him from starting it again. Wyatt never dug from boredom, but Scout did. Again it was just a matter of showing him that digging in the sandbox pleases me, while nowhere else does. It's been a long time since he's tried to start a new hole on the lawn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Mekhdjian Posted October 20, 2011 Report Share Posted October 20, 2011 Every husky has its own personality and brain:) with my experience I stopped it with exercise and some leadership.. then again it could have been other way for me if I had a different husky:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.