One thing I am curious about... I've worked with animals my whole life and have repeatedly been told cedar is bad for animals respiratory health. I don't recall if pine was ever considered an issue. Has your pup ever had any issues being around it?
I watched this video a month ago and thought I’d try it out. My backyard was BAD. So bad my fiancé and I couldn’t figure out what to do with the dog when we were at work for 8-10 hours a day. I ran to tractor supply and picked up a bunch of these pine flake packs. I layered it over the problem areas and let the dog out. The difference between before and after using pine flakes was astounding. Do it people. It’s cheap and worth it. It’s been about a month exactly since I did this. Pine flakes are mostly still strong. They’ve started to degrade and they also have a tendency to blow around. I might lay down a few more packs soon. But it’s so cheap so who cares.
yep, i was at the end of my rope. i layered it about 3" deep. works really great and so much cheaper than tilling and seeding and watering. my backyard is small and it's only for the dogs anyway. glad it worked out!
I was wondering how they did over time. Thanks for sharing. My goldendoodle find the few muddy spots I have and I end up having to mop the house 2x a day, ha.
How does it work when they potty out there? I’m just wondering if poo would be able to disintegrate and would the shavings hold any odor. Do you take out and re-do or do you add to what’s there?
@@stacielawhon2930 No more odor than with grass, and probably a little less odor. It's easy to pickup their waste and I don't replace since only a few chips might come with the pickup. I do this once a year or as needed. The chips last about 5 months and just disintegrate away.
I just wanted to thank you for posting this.. my wife and I have spent about 5 muddy fall seasons looking for a solution for our backyard mud problem with our animals.. THIS has BY FAR been the best solution we’ve come across. 🙏🙏🙏.. thank you again so much
Thank-you for the promotional benefit - we really appreciate your support of our product/brand. Our Guardian Horse Bedding products have been used for a variety of moisture control applications for decades. This is a great video. We appreciate the whole family is involved, including your beautiful, playful pup!
thanks so much! thanks for reaching out. a lot of people have placed orders after seeing this video. i love it and it solves the problem. i'll be getting another 15 bags in the spring, which will last till fall.
Bless you for this video! I have a 14 month old standard poodle and a pit mix, and they're about to drive me insane with the mud they track everywhere. I had already planned to go to tractor supply and pick up some pine shavings, but wanted a proof of concept. This is perfect!
Hi Jess! So glad this helped! It works perfectly and the flakes last about 4 months...they just dissolve over time. I do this each spring since much of the grass dies and it's a mud swamp till I reseed.
@@ROTTERtube I laid 15 bags down in my yard yesterday after writing this, and I couldn't be happier! I'm really hoping it gives my poor grass some hope to grow, since I live in a tropical zone. But it's an absolute lifesaver! Thanks again, man
@@patsybarker-jz2xe surprisingly, it's the worst when it's dry. The only issue I've had thus far is when my poodle's hair gets too long, she tracks it in the house. But it's much easier to clean than mud.
I too was looking for something cheaper than gravel. We have a large area in the backyard to let our dog run. The best part of the video is how you let your kids help. You're a good dad!
Thank you so much! I did this 2 days after I watched your video and it is working fantastic. I just ran to Ace hardware, they have a bulk price if you need alot. 5 Dogs , 3 pibbles that play hard. Ive gone from sweeping the entire house of sand 2 times a day and getting several full dustpans worth to nearly no sand. I waited a couple days to sweep after putting in the pine shavings and when I swept, it was not even 1 /2 of a dust pan. Anyone dealng with sand and mud, this works great. Im in Florida. Start of flea and bug season now, so hopefully it repels some. I did notice a decrease in red ant hills, but its only been a few weeks since i leveled the yard and laid it. I laid it thick too ,lol .
@@shoniquemanning56 No , I don't smell anything . I just use a popper scooper to keep it cleaned up . Since I posted that comment , I've only had to add 2 bags as it degrades. I'll probably have to add more soon but it's been very reasonable .
I used a similar product before seeing this video. I have a rather small dog area for 2 very large dogs (one is a Great Dane) and two medium sized dogs. For years I used straw but switched to cedar shavings this year. It's a life saver! My back door opens to a deck and the surrounding "dog yard" and now the dogs can run out for some outside time and come back in with clean feet! The yard smells better and clean up is so much easier.
I was just thinking what I was going to do for my dog yard. I have the same problem you have "Bad Dirt". I bought a couple of 50 lb bags of grass seed last spring that did nothing. Now I have weeds and mud. Your video was the first I looked at. Wonderful idea. Thanks!
thank you so much for this video!!!!! we have been searching for a fix and i stumbled upon your channel.....I cant say Thank you enough!!! i have made 2 trips to Tractor Supply and gotten cedar and its been wonderful. no more muddy paws!! I also found cedar pellets and they swell up and you can put the pellets down first and the cedar shavings on top and it keeps the shavings dry a little bit longer! Yay.
Thank you for this video.. we did the same today with the guardian horse bedding! So tired of cleaning our dog every time he comes in.. just went to get a few more bags, our dog seems to like it!
I saw your video; it's great! Don't worry about growing grass; it will come up right through the flakes, and new seed will have something to stabilize it--better than straw by far! I used to use straw; it turned to mush and created a compost that the dogs want to eat, and it didn't hold up. Plus, the straw included wheat berries/seed that are bad for dogs both digestively and wheat contributes to allergies, so straw is out! The pine or cedar flakes last so very much longer than straw and though it will eventually compost, dogs don't want to eat it. The flakes will also slowly feed your grass...
My video here, "Remedy for a Muddy Yard," shows what the pine or cedar flakes look like after they have matted down. ruclips.net/video/PtLNM-by6n4/видео.html
Cedar flakes will last a little bit longer than the pine flakes. I have used cedar, but pine is cheaper. The cedar odor will keep fleas and ticks at bay for a while [which is why it's sometimes used as fill for dog beds], but it will repel bugs until it degrades. When it degrades, it will support the soil microbes.
thanks for the great tips! i wanted to put seed down but it's still really cold in chicago, like upper 20s...so i just put the flakes down. not sure how much work i want to put into the yard. we'll see as the flakes degrade, what is left. not sure if the grass is coming back or not. the soil is really bad construction soil. lot of our neighbors have the same issue with not growing anything.
Tractor supply Co sells fine shavings and large flake bags for about $6/ea, i recommend the flakes vs shavings as it's way easier to sweep up in the house than shavings but both options are way better than having to mop all the time lol... and my GSD comes/goes at will via a dog door in a secondary storm door i installed. So yes, i recommed seeding (like pre-emergent), then sanding (for leveling), then maybe a little light top soil, then adding the flakes on top
I had to lay bark in my garden as my female dog destroyed my newly laid turf,love dogs but they can be a pain in the arse sometimes.... lol.... cool video dude 👍👍
yeah man. the yard is hard to keep with the crap excuse for soil the builder laid down. nothing i do works to keep the grass each year and the dogs make it worse....but....since it's such a small yard i don't care. i may wind up getting some of the astroturf yard stuff and nailing it down.
I am going to do the same to my back Porch. Estelle my 60 lb puppy brings about 10 lbs of dirt onto the back porch daily. Yesterday she ate my lawnmower. Yup! That's gonna be expensive to fix. Barely looks like a Snapper anymore. Great video and thanks for sharing.
57 people here have to be Karens or something. Seriously, who down votes these kind of videos. I have a German Shepard with a similar problem. This video helped. Thank you.
I used cedar chips from Menards at my previous house- it's like kitty litter for dogs LOL. The horse bedding, though, is a fabulous idea! I will be trying it out VERY soon, as "poop mud season" is upon us...
6 months later it was back to dirt.....so i added more bags. i do this because the ground will not take seed too well....it's bad soil. i have tilled it, added manure, did everything. tired of it so i do this for half our backyard. $80 a year and 30 minutes work. i can justify that.
Greetings from the UK, I have this problem, too. With two malamutes, the yard never gets enough time to grow strong grass/weeds and then comes the rain and the mud. I'm seriously thinking of doing away with the grass/weeds and switch to this. Regards, Christos
If you switch to this, know that it will disappear in time so you'll have to keep adding it every 5 months or so. For part of the yard, I added smooth rock about 2" in diameter like the kind you find at the bottom of a pond. The dogs walk on it, with no issue, but it's less to worry about. I actually will go to the store tomorrow since some of the grass died and there is some mud. Need to cover that.
@ROTTERtube , 3 times every year is more than acceptable. It beats mud every day when rain starts even for a few hours. How are you doing with rain, how does this material fare with it? Regards, Christos
This video is almost 4 years old and still a banger! haha. I have a few muddy spots where grass won't grow (under deck and where my zero turn mower turns) and my dog goes straight to those spots every time I let her out. I'll be trying what you did this week. I may post a video also...stop by if interested.
I did this with my dogs a while back before this video came out it is good for a little bit I had to replace in every 2 weeks my dogs like to dig and roll
I thought the same but that's only the case if you have bushes near the house. there are termites in the ground in most places. this pine won't cause any issues.
Going to try this. I have two GSDs and just moved to a new house. Already have some hay down but I am going to try this once all the leaves are down and the hay is gone from raking leaves.
sure, after about 6 months?.....the cedar is gone and i have the mud patches where the grass seed didn't take. i put grass seed on top of the mud and cover with the cedar about 2-3" deep. i have been doing this each year for about 3 years now...once a year. works great! my yard is small so i fill the entire yard with the cedar. the dirt in the backyard is construction dirt and not good for growing grass really. the yard also gets hit by much shade so there isn't much sun....home are very close and they create shadows. i was tilling the soil with sand and even some manure to get it to grow grass. each year it comes back dead....so this is great for me. i usually put it down in early spring with the ground thaws and it lasts until mid summer. this year i put a few more bags down since the ground hasn't frozen yet. warm winter!
Thanks! I live in central Ohio so i understand the weather. I’m fostering 2 large dogs over the next 4 to 5 months and they arent going easy on my yard. Theres a couple patches that are flooding out so im wondering how this will do at keeping them out of the flooded parts and keep them cleaner.
@@ROTTERtube I think it would be worth adding this information to the description or a pinned comment. A follow-up video would be amazing, but I understand the extra investment in time that takes.
Might end up with a splinter every now and again but absolutely genius! And it makes scooping a breeze, like with a kitty litter box! Eventually, you will have a good layer of composted material built up and you should be able to plant her a good carpet of a urine resistant plant.
Not sure how this is working out for you but I tried this and it spiked quickly. I have now started to use the horse bedding pellets. It works like a dream! You can go longer before needing to change it and it breaks down to a semi solid for a really good dog run.
Adding sand to your garden if there is clay will eventually create an impenetrable mud…I didn’t do it with mine but I think the previous owner did. An in-law stupidly put all my straw bedding out over the top of the liquid slop mud and turned it into a type of Adobe mud so now it’s definitely like the ground is solid with liquid slop unable to dry. Keep forking, aerate it regularly.
@@psmith990 awesome! I churned some of the mud with some new seed and put the cedar over it so in the spring hoping for new grass. I do this every early winter.
This is a good idea. I tried hay but I think my 2 german shepherds are allergic to it. I live in a mobile home park. I have the biggest yard which is a good size for them to play in but the yard is so muddy here in Maine. It was muddy almost all year this year becauae of the rain and by yhe time I'm done just about bathing them 4-5 times a day, after they go out, my back is screaming at me! I looked at astro turf but that stuff has gotten expensive! Thanks for the tip!
Great idea, laid some down today. Little confused on the grass growing part. You mention several times in comments that the grass grows through the shavings for you but also u mention you can't get any grass to grow at all.
The grass grows perfectly through the shavings. I meant to say the grass doesn't stay. A big part of the grass dying end of summer is that the soil sucks! It's garbage.
Thank you so much for this video. We now have a male Rottweiler in addition to our female and that has been the turning point to our yard, giving us a mud pit this winter. After seeing your video, I loaded up on pine shavings and that has made all the difference. In following the thread, I have not seen what is recommended for seeding a yard with large dogs. I have read about St Augustine and Bermuda grass with addition of a fescue (grasses with stronger roots) may be optimal, but I have no experience. If you don't know, perhaps this message might find someone with experience here. Thank you again !
I've seen some kennels use small rounded stones about 3 ft in from the fence line they run along. I don't know if anything can grow when the dogs are tearing it up.
you can do whatever you want. I just lay seed down right over it then water it. it works very well. of course if the dirt is hard you may want to pitch fork it first.
Yes the willow tree does get quite large, but it takes 20 plus years to get that big. So in that time the tree drinks Hugh amounts of water plus they can be trimmed to make a great shade tree.
I have the same issue bigger yard n rain omg my dogs get muddy paws 🐾 and dirty I have to bathe them. I watch this video makes sense . That was my next question was does grass come back ??? Adorable kids ...
yes the grass comes back. currently all the cedar is gone and the yard is full grass. after the winter there will be dead patches again...soil isn't too good around here....and i will do the same thing again. so much cheaper and faster than re-seeding every year.
I just rake up straw and sprinkle it so my 2 shep husky pups don't track dirt in the house. I cover holes they do with the stuff and that works as well. Need to monitor that often for re-digs. I also put a cheap rug ($10 at Dollar General) on the kitchen floor and block them from the rest of the house until checking them. That all helps so much! I just don't see me using cedar shavings. I would think pinestraw or hay would be much better.
HI Guys, Thought I would kick this out for your consideration. There is an additional benefit to using cedar shavings/chips over using pine shavings or even straw or hay. (More so if u happen to have trees in yard) 1. Cedar will last longer and won't decompose as quickly. 2. It also helps repel fleas and ticks where pine and hay won't. The only downfall really to using wood chips or shavings depending on geographical location can attract unwanted pests at times like ants (carpenter or fire) termites and maybe moles but more and likey that wouldn't be all that comon to happen and agree this is a great DIY way to help muddy or non grass area's. Great vid!
We did this about 4 months ago. We love the idea but our 3 Golden Retrievers track the shavings into the house. We also put chicken wire down before the chips to prevent digging. Our puppy found it a lot of fun to pull up the wire. LOL Any suggestions for eliminating the tracking in of chips will be greatly appreciated.
our shepherd doesn't track anything in but a few pieces. that's it. chicken wire? man i would get rid of that....wait till they tear their paw pad on it....brutal! i never did that and never will.
They should both work but I wasn't sure how the straw would affect their paws....are their sharper straw bits? This is one reason I used cedar. Straw would work as well. Cedar will dissolve into the ground after 4 months or so, which is another reason. I can put seed under it, then it dissolves, and I have grass....until after winter again.
After this video, will definitely consider cedar horse bedding. I think cedar, also, doesn't cause termite issues. We use to lay down lots of hay in our lg dog kennel to try to keep dogs warmer in winter. What a mess!! Poop and urine mixed in with hay - trying to keep clean areas, and during heavy rains...yuck. Thanks.
this stuff works great! it soaks up everything so it should be better for you. our dogs are inside all the time but i got tired of the mud so i did the entire backyard, as you can see. all the cedar is gone now....i put it down 4 months ago....but the grass is mostly grown back, so i only do it in the spring when the grass is half gone.
it turned out great. I buy 3-4 bags each spring. I was thinking of rocking the yard but the dogs can't run then. If I didn't have the dogs I would rock the yard or use pea gravel
@@ROTTERtube Thanks Man so far so good 3 Dobermans didn't do it complete Yard but did about 5 bags about half.I thought the dogs would go crazy like snow but they don't and it doesn't stick to the paws.Thanks for putting this out there.👍🏻👍🏻
I follow your channel well for reef tank stuff. So was thinking about getting fake grass for my dogs due to the dust they make my back yard gets full sun almost no shade so I think fake grass will get to hot for them. I do a search for other options and boom your channel pops up. Going to give this shot. We have alot of wind here but hell if helps with dust I'll give it a try.
I think you'll love this idea. I looked at fake grass too but to do it right, with leveling the ground, irrigation and the fake grass, it was a lot of money. I may still look into it in the future....or something else.
it did in spots but since I have a german shepherd running around all the time, the grass doesn't have a chance. i reserved myself to know i will be doing this once a year. it works GREAT!
Thank you for posting this...my sweet gsd passed just over a year ago and this brings back memories. I had been using cedar chips from menards in part of my yard that was muddy for him to go and lay on as it was in the shade and I wanted a nice cozy, non muddy spot for him. I am now taking care of my daughters 2 gsd. They are very active and after 2 months have torn up my grass and have small mud runs as well. I think I will go out to farm and fleet and do a combination of chips and shavings. My question is, do you think I should toss out grass seed first then lay out the cedar shavings and chips?
so sorry for your loss! losing an animal is the worst pain and if it's a GSD, it's even worse. I put seed down on the mud, then put the shavings on top of it. shavings disintegrated after 4 - 5 months, leaving grass in its place. there are a couple patches of mud from her taking off so i'll add cedar .... just a bag will do it .... then add more cedar to cover the entire yard again in the spring if needed. i'd rather do this than reseed the entire yard and hope it comes back each year. our backyard has bad dirt that never grows much of anything.
Wouldn't this kill the grass underneath completely and end up with just dirt patch with the shavings on top kind of like mulched garden? I guess it's good if you don't want to have grass.
*Hey great video friend! Do you know if termites are attracted to the pine flake? I'm thinking of doing the same for our backyard. We have the exact same problem, just like everyone else in the world who lets their dogs out the back yard lol.*
Duuuuude! I need this bad! I have 3 dogs that run around like crazy and its always a pain having to wipe their paws when they come in. This week its rained like 5 days straight and it's been such a headache. We have a cocker spaniel puppy (our 1st long haired dog) and damnit, his paws are the worst to clean. I really have been stressed out with what we could do with the yard because growing the grass back I think is a lost cause and a waste of $ since the dogs will just rip it up again. I really want to try this now ...after reading through comments I think this is a dumb question, but will the dogs try to eat it? My puppy puts EVERYTHING in his mouth like a baby!
The dogs have never tried to eat it and it doesn't get messy at all when it rains. Like you, I got fedup and thought of this. it works great! I do it once a year mainly in the spring and it lasts about 4 months. I also lay grass seed down first then cover with this...prevents birds from eating the grass seed.
Did the grass come back after I got a board collie he runs circles around my garden this would be great for the winter if the grass comes back after that
the grass came back, but for areas where there was no grass i put seed down with 3” cedar on top of it. grass grew no problem...until the dogs run and tear it up again. i try to not let them run back there much for this reason. dog park instead
very cool! the yard has about 1/4 of the cedar left in various areas so now it's mostly grass or muddy. the ground hasn't frozen yet so i need to buy a couple more bags. i do this once or twice a year since the yard can't grow grass well. terrible construction dirt.
yes, every year. every spring when the ground is muddy. i also just put down 3 more bags a month ago since the ground wasn't quite frozen yet. this cedar lasts about 5 months before deteriorating into the ground, which is good for the ground and grass. cedar helps keep ticks away if you have them. it's soft like hamster cage material so it doesn't hurt their paws.
That's a great idea...does it work in the front of a home that's muddy and floods when it rains and can you put decorative rocks on top to help with the water absorption due to the area flooding...
Coming to the party pretty late, but I have a question if you have time: Looks like a great solution - I tried this with straw initially and we has a mess of dirty straw bits in the house for days after. Do you end up with shavings all over the house when your dogs come in?
Thank you for this! Muddy paws have finally been greatly reduced. When they potty on it, do you clean out and replace the shavings like the packaging recommends?
Here is what you do, something I've done before. You cedar chip the full yard in the winter, then rake half the cedar chips up and fence off. Place grass seed down on the fenced off side and spend 6-8 weeks regrowing that side. Then cut the other side in half, move the fence to the new border, and repeat. Then take the final spot and add the wood chips. Now you have grass and a wood chipped area. For bare spots that won't grow grass, such as tree lines, add sand. When you seed the area, seed the crap out of it and then add a dusting of dirt over top of that. If you think there is too much seed, add more. Grass grows fast in the Pacific Northwest, where I live, in spring and fall. Took me three years of owning a GSD to figure out how to have a yard.
thanks SO MUCH for the tip! before the GSDs, the yard still would die and become HARD DIRT. it's bad construction dirt. i used to roto till the small yard, adding sand and good soil to the mix. still nothing. i will do what you suggest. i have added a lot of seed. i will add a lot more. was wondering if the cedar over the see would prevent the sun from getting to it. guess not. thanks
If it's hard to grow grass, I might suggest you do one side per season. Really let one side take root. Part of my yard just doesn't grow grass so it's sand and wood chips. All that matters is you're caring for your GSD and you're clearly doing that. Note: I live PNW, so grass grows very easily.
Thats a good fix. If you want grass to grow, though, you will need to lime the soil, as the pines and cedars are acidic and will mess with the soil ph.
Hi my dogs like to dig holes in my backyard and I'm trying so hard to get them to stop have been trying everything so if I put this down on the ground what if my dog eats it
sure that would be great. would soak up any water and the cedar also keeps pests away. i love this stuff and use it on the entire yard every spring. i will usually sprinkle grass seed in the mud, then put this on top of it by a couple inches. it lasts 5 months and lush grass remains.
it held up for around 4-5 months. worked like a charm. smelled great and they loved running around in it. no more muddy paws. when it breaks down, it's also good for the soil. i seeded the entire yard and most of the yard returned. i plan on doing this every year. i read the hay doesn't break down like this stuff. the yard looked odd filled with cedar but it smelled great and soved the issue. i have maybe 1 square foot of cedar left after about 6 months of filling the entire yard.
Love your shepherd, looks just like my Hans we lost before Christmas!! Oh and a great idea as well. I have "corners" that need to be turned into gerbil cages!!
My issue with this was my 100lb lab would have it matted down and mixed in with the mud in a day or two. I might try some type of mulch product that’s not as rough as the cheap stuff at lowes. Idk
I've got 3 dogs, and a fenced acre. There are some spots down at the low areas of the lawn along a fenceline where my three dogs run with the neighbors dogs. How did this end up working out after a few months?
It's great. After a few months it breaks down into the ground...just goes away. I add more as needed in the spring. I always need more in the spring since the ground doesn't keep grass....it's bad soil...construction soil.
My lab/huskey mix has my whole backyard x3 that bad... all the grass ripped up from it being shallow rooted and then the winter repeated freeze thaw... feel like Im in a horse or cattle barn area than a back yard. Might try this out in a section. He gets himself all splashed up on his lower half with dirt.
@@ROTTERtube thankypu for the response. I just got 2 bale's and had them sitting for a few days, it's been raining. I was going to spread it today. My whole yard is a mess and now looks like a horse's yard lol. I never had a dog that runs and rips up the yard like she does but we love her soo much so we are going to try this and see how it goes. Yours came out looking nice and inspired me more to do it. I appreciate you very much, have a nice day!
Not the best option for windy days iv done that before and my neighbor as well as own drive way got covered with that stuff, but still worked well the first couple days before the wind
Odd, I never had an issue with it except for a handful blowing to the sidewalk on really windy days. you can fix that by going over it with the hose briefly.
hi, you could do it either way. i put a little grass see down under the cedar and that worked well. i did most of it when the cedar was gone, about 6 months later. totally worth it to do this every year. it worked so great!
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Bedding options:
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More shavings (get the large flakes)
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I do this too
One thing I am curious about... I've worked with animals my whole life and have repeatedly been told cedar is bad for animals respiratory health. I don't recall if pine was ever considered an issue. Has your pup ever had any issues being around it?
I watched this video a month ago and thought I’d try it out. My backyard was BAD. So bad my fiancé and I couldn’t figure out what to do with the dog when we were at work for 8-10 hours a day. I ran to tractor supply and picked up a bunch of these pine flake packs. I layered it over the problem areas and let the dog out. The difference between before and after using pine flakes was astounding. Do it people. It’s cheap and worth it. It’s been about a month exactly since I did this. Pine flakes are mostly still strong. They’ve started to degrade and they also have a tendency to blow around. I might lay down a few more packs soon. But it’s so cheap so who cares.
yep, i was at the end of my rope. i layered it about 3" deep. works really great and so much cheaper than tilling and seeding and watering. my backyard is small and it's only for the dogs anyway. glad it worked out!
I was wondering how they did over time. Thanks for sharing. My goldendoodle find the few muddy spots I have and I end up having to mop the house 2x a day, ha.
How does it work when they potty out there? I’m just wondering if poo would be able to disintegrate and would the shavings hold any odor. Do you take out and re-do or do you add to what’s there?
@@stacielawhon2930 No more odor than with grass, and probably a little less odor. It's easy to pickup their waste and I don't replace since only a few chips might come with the pickup. I do this once a year or as needed. The chips last about 5 months and just disintegrate away.
I was thinking saw dust from a saw mill might work also but this looks better may last longer
I just wanted to thank you for posting this.. my wife and I have spent about 5 muddy fall seasons looking for a solution for our backyard mud problem with our animals.. THIS has BY FAR been the best solution we’ve come across. 🙏🙏🙏.. thank you again so much
that's great! I got fedup and was desperate so I did this. I thought it was silly. best thing ever.
Thank-you for the promotional benefit - we really appreciate your support of our product/brand. Our Guardian Horse Bedding products have been used for a variety of moisture control applications for decades. This is a great video. We appreciate the whole family is involved, including your beautiful, playful pup!
thanks so much! thanks for reaching out. a lot of people have placed orders after seeing this video. i love it and it solves the problem. i'll be getting another 15 bags in the spring, which will last till fall.
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Bless you for this video! I have a 14 month old standard poodle and a pit mix, and they're about to drive me insane with the mud they track everywhere. I had already planned to go to tractor supply and pick up some pine shavings, but wanted a proof of concept. This is perfect!
Hi Jess! So glad this helped! It works perfectly and the flakes last about 4 months...they just dissolve over time. I do this each spring since much of the grass dies and it's a mud swamp till I reseed.
@@ROTTERtube I laid 15 bags down in my yard yesterday after writing this, and I couldn't be happier! I'm really hoping it gives my poor grass some hope to grow, since I live in a tropical zone. But it's an absolute lifesaver! Thanks again, man
But when it rains it would be a mess.
@@patsybarker-jz2xe surprisingly, it's the worst when it's dry. The only issue I've had thus far is when my poodle's hair gets too long, she tracks it in the house. But it's much easier to clean than mud.
I too was looking for something cheaper than gravel. We have a large area in the backyard to let our dog run. The best part of the video is how you let your kids help. You're a good dad!
Thank you!
I was looking at doing pea gravel but I'm afraid it will hurt their paws. I kind of like this solution better
Thank you so much! I did this 2 days after I watched your video and it is working fantastic. I just ran to Ace hardware, they have a bulk price if you need alot. 5 Dogs , 3 pibbles that play hard. Ive gone from sweeping the entire house of sand 2 times a day and getting several full dustpans worth to nearly no sand. I waited a couple days to sweep after putting in the pine shavings and when I swept, it was not even 1 /2 of a dust pan. Anyone dealng with sand and mud, this works great. Im in Florida. Start of flea and bug season now, so hopefully it repels some. I did notice a decrease in red ant hills, but its only been a few weeks since i leveled the yard and laid it. I laid it thick too ,lol .
I can't wait to try this but will it leave a smell if my dog pees on it?
@@shoniquemanning56 No , I don't smell anything . I just use a popper scooper to keep it cleaned up . Since I posted that comment , I've only had to add 2 bags as it degrades. I'll probably have to add more soon but it's been very reasonable .
I used a similar product before seeing this video. I have a rather small dog area for 2 very large dogs (one is a Great Dane) and two medium sized dogs. For years I used straw but switched to cedar shavings this year. It's a life saver! My back door opens to a deck and the surrounding "dog yard" and now the dogs can run out for some outside time and come back in with clean feet! The yard smells better and clean up is so much easier.
Thanks for sharing!
Awesome! I'll be doing the same after watching this video and seeing your comment.
OMG "I don't know what that means". I'm right there with you! Thanks for making me laugh.
I was just thinking what I was going to do for my dog yard. I have the same problem you have "Bad Dirt". I bought a couple of 50 lb bags of grass seed last spring that did nothing. Now I have weeds and mud. Your video was the first I looked at. Wonderful idea. Thanks!
Good luck! I buy a few bags every spring. They last about 4 months until breaking down into the ground.
@@ROTTERtube Thanks! I'm thinking of adding some mulch to the mix
This has truly been a Godsend, Thanks for me getting my sanity back. I have 2 Australian Shepherds that were destroying the place.
Glad it helped
thank you so much for this video!!!!! we have been searching for a fix and i stumbled upon your channel.....I cant say Thank you enough!!! i have made 2 trips to Tractor Supply and gotten cedar and its been wonderful. no more muddy paws!! I also found cedar pellets and they swell up and you can put the pellets down first and the cedar shavings on top and it keeps the shavings dry a little bit longer! Yay.
welcome! i love this fix! most of my grass has grown back so i won't need as much next time.
A good load of Sandrock will last along time ,plus it’s easy to clean up poop ,unless you’re planning on growing grass . Nice video.
What is sand rock? Nothing is showing up for that in google
Thank you for this video.. we did the same today with the guardian horse bedding! So tired of cleaning our dog every time he comes in.. just went to get a few more bags, our dog seems to like it!
great! yep just did the yard again since ice has melted and it's a mud swamp. no more muddy feet.
Great video, I’m getting tired of cleaning my pup’s muddy paws! I have a very small yard area and this may be an ideal solution. Thanks!
I saw your video; it's great! Don't worry about growing grass; it will come up right through the flakes, and new seed will have something to stabilize it--better than straw by far! I used to use straw; it turned to mush and created a compost that the dogs want to eat, and it didn't hold up. Plus, the straw included wheat berries/seed that are bad for dogs both digestively and wheat contributes to allergies, so straw is out! The pine or cedar flakes last so very much longer than straw and though it will eventually compost, dogs don't want to eat it. The flakes will also slowly feed your grass...
My video here, "Remedy for a Muddy Yard," shows what the pine or cedar flakes look like after they have matted down. ruclips.net/video/PtLNM-by6n4/видео.html
awesome! thanks for the great tip. i heard about the berries part. glad i didn't use straw. not sure if my grass will come back but we'll see.
It will come back and it will be supported by the flakes. The new grass seeds will also benefit.
Cedar flakes will last a little bit longer than the pine flakes. I have used cedar, but pine is cheaper. The cedar odor will keep fleas and ticks at bay for a while [which is why it's sometimes used as fill for dog beds], but it will repel bugs until it degrades. When it degrades, it will support the soil microbes.
thanks for the great tips! i wanted to put seed down but it's still really cold in chicago, like upper 20s...so i just put the flakes down. not sure how much work i want to put into the yard. we'll see as the flakes degrade, what is left. not sure if the grass is coming back or not. the soil is really bad construction soil. lot of our neighbors have the same issue with not growing anything.
Tractor supply Co sells fine shavings and large flake bags for about $6/ea, i recommend the flakes vs shavings as it's way easier to sweep up in the house than shavings but both options are way better than having to mop all the time lol... and my GSD comes/goes at will via a dog door in a secondary storm door i installed. So yes, i recommed seeding (like pre-emergent), then sanding (for leveling), then maybe a little light top soil, then adding the flakes on top
When watching this I swear I was looking at my backyard and my German Shepherd that is my exact problem, and I love it. I am going out to get some.
;)
I had to lay bark in my garden as my female dog destroyed my newly laid turf,love dogs but they can be a pain in the arse sometimes.... lol.... cool video dude 👍👍
yeah man. the yard is hard to keep with the crap excuse for soil the builder laid down. nothing i do works to keep the grass each year and the dogs make it worse....but....since it's such a small yard i don't care. i may wind up getting some of the astroturf yard stuff and nailing it down.
Was an astro turf or just regular grass. Thinking of putting AstroTurf down
I am going to do the same to my back Porch. Estelle my 60 lb puppy brings about 10 lbs of dirt onto the back porch daily. Yesterday she ate my lawnmower. Yup! That's gonna be expensive to fix. Barely looks like a Snapper anymore. Great video and thanks for sharing.
57 people here have to be Karens or something. Seriously, who down votes these kind of videos. I have a German Shepard with a similar problem. This video helped. Thank you.
Welcome
I used cedar chips from Menards at my previous house- it's like kitty litter for dogs LOL. The horse bedding, though, is a fabulous idea! I will be trying it out VERY soon, as "poop mud season" is upon us...
i just added the pine flakes to the yard last week, works SO WELL! need to do the other half of the yard this weekend.
"Poop mud season"!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Love it! 👏🤣🤣🤣
That looks like wholesome family fun.
Good job...cedar also repels fleas too!
thanks! forgot to mention that
Oh yeah?! Nice! Thanks for the info
Can you do an update video? Would love to see what it looks like 6 months later.
6 months later it was back to dirt.....so i added more bags. i do this because the ground will not take seed too well....it's bad soil. i have tilled it, added manure, did everything. tired of it so i do this for half our backyard. $80 a year and 30 minutes work. i can justify that.
@@ROTTERtube Maybe do some rock instead?
@@cturboaddict rock would not be dog friendly i wouldnt think. this is perfect for dogs to play in.
@@re1gnr1ps why would you say that?
@@cturboaddict no particular reason, i just think this seems softer to play in than rocks hah. i could be wrong.
Greetings from the UK,
I have this problem, too. With two malamutes, the yard never gets enough time to grow strong grass/weeds and then comes the rain and the mud. I'm seriously thinking of doing away with the grass/weeds and switch to this.
Regards,
Christos
If you switch to this, know that it will disappear in time so you'll have to keep adding it every 5 months or so. For part of the yard, I added smooth rock about 2" in diameter like the kind you find at the bottom of a pond. The dogs walk on it, with no issue, but it's less to worry about. I actually will go to the store tomorrow since some of the grass died and there is some mud. Need to cover that.
@ROTTERtube , 3 times every year is more than acceptable. It beats mud every day when rain starts even for a few hours. How are you doing with rain, how does this material fare with it?
Regards,
Christos
This video is almost 4 years old and still a banger! haha. I have a few muddy spots where grass won't grow (under deck and where my zero turn mower turns) and my dog goes straight to those spots every time I let her out. I'll be trying what you did this week. I may post a video also...stop by if interested.
Absolutely LoVe what you did! Took me back to when our boys were young and playing with our dogs. Your a good Daddy.
thanks Mimi!
I did this with my dogs a while back before this video came out it is good for a little bit I had to replace in every 2 weeks my dogs like to dig and roll
I have a small back yard and 3 German shepherds. I feel your pain!!
I went and got 10 bags of the same stuff today! I love it!❤ thank you for the video
At least you don't have 24 chickens. Now my yard looks like a pig pen.
I’ve always feared wood chips near the house because people say they attract termites. Looks cool.
I thought the same but that's only the case if you have bushes near the house. there are termites in the ground in most places. this pine won't cause any issues.
Going to try this. I have two GSDs and just moved to a new house. Already have some hay down but I am going to try this once all the leaves are down and the hay is gone from raking leaves.
Can you do an updated video on what your yard looked like throughout the year after doing this?
sure, after about 6 months?.....the cedar is gone and i have the mud patches where the grass seed didn't take. i put grass seed on top of the mud and cover with the cedar about 2-3" deep. i have been doing this each year for about 3 years now...once a year. works great! my yard is small so i fill the entire yard with the cedar. the dirt in the backyard is construction dirt and not good for growing grass really. the yard also gets hit by much shade so there isn't much sun....home are very close and they create shadows. i was tilling the soil with sand and even some manure to get it to grow grass. each year it comes back dead....so this is great for me. i usually put it down in early spring with the ground thaws and it lasts until mid summer. this year i put a few more bags down since the ground hasn't frozen yet. warm winter!
Thanks! I live in central Ohio so i understand the weather. I’m fostering 2 large dogs over the next 4 to 5 months and they arent going easy on my yard. Theres a couple patches that are flooding out so im wondering how this will do at keeping them out of the flooded parts and keep them cleaner.
@@ROTTERtube I think it would be worth adding this information to the description or a pinned comment. A follow-up video would be amazing, but I understand the extra investment in time that takes.
Might end up with a splinter every now and again but absolutely genius! And it makes scooping a breeze, like with a kitty litter box! Eventually, you will have a good layer of composted material built up and you should be able to plant her a good carpet of a urine resistant plant.
Been doing this for about 5 years with never a splinter. The cedar is so fine and bendy. It dissolves into the soil in about 4 or 5 months or so.
Hi, I have the same issue, same breed of dog ( big paws ) similar size yard with about 2 feet of top soil then hard clay, did it work ?
Yes, it worked great. I put grass seed under it and grass grows through. Cedar lasts about 4 months or so....perfect for when the grass comes up.
What a beautiful malinois!😍 Thanks for the vid!
She looks like one doesn't she? She's actually a shepherd.
Not sure how this is working out for you but I tried this and it spiked quickly. I have now started to use the horse bedding pellets. It works like a dream! You can go longer before needing to change it and it breaks down to a semi solid for a really good dog run.
I'll look into the pellets. the cedar works great for me
@@ROTTERtube How is it with urine smell etc. How often do you need to rake it all up & replace it
Adding sand to your garden if there is clay will eventually create an impenetrable mud…I didn’t do it with mine but I think the previous owner did.
An in-law stupidly put all my straw bedding out over the top of the liquid slop mud and turned it into a type of Adobe mud so now it’s definitely like the ground is solid with liquid slop unable to dry.
Keep forking, aerate it regularly.
Thank you so much. I was gonna buy mulch. Gonna do this today!!
I just did it again yesterday since the ground hasn't frozen yet and there's a lot of mud.
It actually worked, I mixed it with hay and now I can walk without the mud sucking me and the dogs in!!
@@psmith990 awesome! I churned some of the mud with some new seed and put the cedar over it so in the spring hoping for new grass. I do this every early winter.
Wow actually looks good and that pine smell must be great
it works really well and the pine smell is nice. not too strong
Your larger pup looks like my Norwegian, Skyr. Beautiful coat
thanks...just got a 2nd German shepherd puppy....Black and Tan...now we have 3.
Thanks for this I plan to do this in the areas of my yard ruined by my dog constantly trampling the ground the death.
let me know how things went for you
My exact problem. Thanks for the tip.
Nice! I got a giant gsd and theyre building a tractor supply near me lol
I have 2 kids and 2 German shepherd/great Danes and a back yard full of mud that used to be grass....I should try this?
it works great
This is a good idea. I tried hay but I think my 2 german shepherds are allergic to it. I live in a mobile home park. I have the biggest yard which is a good size for them to play in but the yard is so muddy here in Maine. It was muddy almost all year this year becauae of the rain and by yhe time I'm done just about bathing them 4-5 times a day, after they go out, my back is screaming at me! I looked at astro turf but that stuff has gotten expensive! Thanks for the tip!
welcome! you'll love the cedar.
Great idea, laid some down today. Little confused on the grass growing part. You mention several times in comments that the grass grows through the shavings for you but also u mention you can't get any grass to grow at all.
The grass grows perfectly through the shavings. I meant to say the grass doesn't stay. A big part of the grass dying end of summer is that the soil sucks! It's garbage.
We have been doing the same thing for a few years now. Just be careful when it rains as it tends to float
thanks. luckily there are no low areas where water can collect
Thank you so much for this video. We now have a male Rottweiler in addition to our female and that has been the turning point to our yard, giving us a mud pit this winter. After seeing your video, I loaded up on pine shavings and that has made all the difference.
In following the thread, I have not seen what is recommended for seeding a yard with large dogs. I have read about St Augustine and Bermuda grass with addition of a fescue (grasses with stronger roots) may be optimal, but I have no experience. If you don't know, perhaps this message might find someone with experience here. Thank you again !
I've seen some kennels use small rounded stones about 3 ft in from the fence line they run along. I don't know if anything can grow when the dogs are tearing it up.
Love that you had all the family work together. Now, what if I want to plant in that spot in the spring. Do I need to rake it first.
you can do whatever you want. I just lay seed down right over it then water it. it works very well. of course if the dirt is hard you may want to pitch fork it first.
Yes the willow tree does get quite large, but it takes 20 plus years to get that big. So in that time the tree drinks Hugh amounts of water plus they can be trimmed to make a great shade tree.
When spring comes, your grass grows back?
yes, mostly
does it get stuck between her paws? and tracked into the house?
great question. nope. it's soft. barely any gets in the house. whatever comes in gets vacuumed up....few pieces.
I have the same issue bigger yard n rain omg my dogs get muddy paws 🐾 and dirty I have to bathe them. I watch this video makes sense . That was my next question was does grass come back ??? Adorable kids ...
yes the grass comes back. currently all the cedar is gone and the yard is full grass. after the winter there will be dead patches again...soil isn't too good around here....and i will do the same thing again. so much cheaper and faster than re-seeding every year.
I just rake up straw and sprinkle it so my 2 shep husky pups don't track dirt in the house. I cover holes they do with the stuff and that works as well. Need to monitor that often for re-digs. I also put a cheap rug ($10 at Dollar General) on the kitchen floor and block them from the rest of the house until checking them. That all helps so much! I just don't see me using cedar shavings. I would think pinestraw or hay would be much better.
we leave a large towel on the floor when they come in. cedar works great and hay would work well too.
HI Guys,
Thought I would kick this out for your consideration. There is an additional benefit to using cedar shavings/chips over using pine shavings or even straw or hay. (More so if u happen to have trees in yard) 1. Cedar will last longer and won't decompose as quickly. 2. It also helps repel fleas and ticks where pine and hay won't.
The only downfall really to using wood chips or shavings depending on geographical location can attract unwanted pests at times like ants (carpenter or fire) termites and maybe moles but more and likey that wouldn't be all that comon to happen and agree this is a great DIY way to help muddy or non grass area's. Great vid!
Love this!! You're a life saver
So glad!
Would you recommend this over wheat straw
I'm not sure what the difference would be but people have had great luck with straw.
We did this about 4 months ago. We love the idea but our 3 Golden Retrievers track the shavings into the house. We also put chicken wire down before the chips to prevent digging. Our puppy found it a lot of fun to pull up the wire. LOL Any suggestions for eliminating the tracking in of chips will be greatly appreciated.
our shepherd doesn't track anything in but a few pieces. that's it. chicken wire? man i would get rid of that....wait till they tear their paw pad on it....brutal! i never did that and never will.
Rotter Tube Reef Yes we plan on removing it. It was suggested by someone on another site to control digging.
What did you do in the spring? Rake it up?
It dissolves into the ground after 4 months or so.
Which is better to use cedar shavings or straw?
They should both work but I wasn't sure how the straw would affect their paws....are their sharper straw bits? This is one reason I used cedar. Straw would work as well. Cedar will dissolve into the ground after 4 months or so, which is another reason. I can put seed under it, then it dissolves, and I have grass....until after winter again.
After this video, will definitely consider cedar horse bedding. I think cedar, also, doesn't cause termite issues. We use to lay down lots of hay in our lg dog kennel to try to keep dogs warmer in winter. What a mess!! Poop and urine mixed in with hay - trying to keep clean areas, and during heavy rains...yuck. Thanks.
this stuff works great! it soaks up everything so it should be better for you. our dogs are inside all the time but i got tired of the mud so i did the entire backyard, as you can see. all the cedar is gone now....i put it down 4 months ago....but the grass is mostly grown back, so i only do it in the spring when the grass is half gone.
I like the idea of using this and laying down seed first then putting the cedar chips on top.
Lol, looks like the whole family can have fun on it.
haha it is different
Do you have a follow up? How did it go? How did it last? Regrets?
I do this every spring. No regrets. works great. it lasts for about 4 months or so
hey! how did this turn out in the long run? I have the same problem and was going to rock the whole yard. curious how this turned out
it turned out great. I buy 3-4 bags each spring. I was thinking of rocking the yard but the dogs can't run then. If I didn't have the dogs I would rock the yard or use pea gravel
@@ROTTERtube awesome man...thanks for getting back to me....headed to tractor supply this weekend to pick up some cedar shavings
So how is it now what does after time do to the shavings did if smother your grass and stay mud under?
It's fine. They disintegrate after a few months and the grass is fine.
@@ROTTERtube Thanks Man so far so good 3 Dobermans didn't do it complete Yard but did about 5 bags about half.I thought the dogs would go crazy like snow but they don't and it doesn't stick to the paws.Thanks for putting this out there.👍🏻👍🏻
I follow your channel well for reef tank stuff. So was thinking about getting fake grass for my dogs due to the dust they make my back yard gets full sun almost no shade so I think fake grass will get to hot for them. I do a search for other options and boom your channel pops up. Going to give this shot. We have alot of wind here but hell if helps with dust I'll give it a try.
I think you'll love this idea. I looked at fake grass too but to do it right, with leveling the ground, irrigation and the fake grass, it was a lot of money. I may still look into it in the future....or something else.
How does it look now? Did your grass grow through it?
it did in spots but since I have a german shepherd running around all the time, the grass doesn't have a chance. i reserved myself to know i will be doing this once a year. it works GREAT!
Thank you for posting this...my sweet gsd passed just over a year ago and this brings back memories. I had been using cedar chips from menards in part of my yard that was muddy for him to go and lay on as it was in the shade and I wanted a nice cozy, non muddy spot for him. I am now taking care of my daughters 2 gsd. They are very active and after 2 months have torn up my grass and have small mud runs as well. I think I will go out to farm and fleet and do a combination of chips and shavings. My question is, do you think I should toss out grass seed first then lay out the cedar shavings and chips?
so sorry for your loss! losing an animal is the worst pain and if it's a GSD, it's even worse. I put seed down on the mud, then put the shavings on top of it. shavings disintegrated after 4 - 5 months, leaving grass in its place. there are a couple patches of mud from her taking off so i'll add cedar .... just a bag will do it .... then add more cedar to cover the entire yard again in the spring if needed. i'd rather do this than reseed the entire yard and hope it comes back each year. our backyard has bad dirt that never grows much of anything.
Does that get tracked in the house when dogs come in?
great question! nothing stays on the shepherd at all. there might be a few pieces everyday but i vacuum every day...literally a few pieces if that.
@@ROTTERtube that's more tolerable then mud! Thanks for the quick response!
Wouldn't this kill the grass underneath completely and end up with just dirt patch with the shavings on top kind of like mulched garden? I guess it's good if you don't want to have grass.
The grass grows through it, no issues.
*Hey great video friend! Do you know if termites are attracted to the pine flake? I'm thinking of doing the same for our backyard. We have the exact same problem, just like everyone else in the world who lets their dogs out the back yard lol.*
I've never had an issue with anything like that. Cedar detracts from certain insects.
@ *Awesome! Thanks Bro!*
Duuuuude! I need this bad! I have 3 dogs that run around like crazy and its always a pain having to wipe their paws when they come in. This week its rained like 5 days straight and it's been such a headache. We have a cocker spaniel puppy (our 1st long haired dog) and damnit, his paws are the worst to clean. I really have been stressed out with what we could do with the yard because growing the grass back I think is a lost cause and a waste of $ since the dogs will just rip it up again. I really want to try this now ...after reading through comments I think this is a dumb question, but will the dogs try to eat it? My puppy puts EVERYTHING in his mouth like a baby!
The dogs have never tried to eat it and it doesn't get messy at all when it rains. Like you, I got fedup and thought of this. it works great! I do it once a year mainly in the spring and it lasts about 4 months. I also lay grass seed down first then cover with this...prevents birds from eating the grass seed.
Did the grass come back after I got a board collie he runs circles around my garden this would be great for the winter if the grass comes back after that
the grass came back, but for areas where there was no grass i put seed down with 3” cedar on top of it. grass grew no problem...until the dogs run and tear it up again. i try to not let them run back there much for this reason. dog park instead
Brilliant I think I’m going to try this it’s a absolutely night with uk in lockdown again trying to get out thank u
Wonderes if you sewed more graas the next spring and if it was gealthyer than normal?
always the same each year. the dirt isn't the best for growing grass and it's in the shade a lot as well.
Love your video! I have a GSD that looks EXACTLY like yours! I would love to see a video or pictures on how the yard is right now.
very cool! the yard has about 1/4 of the cedar left in various areas so now it's mostly grass or muddy. the ground hasn't frozen yet so i need to buy a couple more bags. i do this once or twice a year since the yard can't grow grass well. terrible construction dirt.
Good idea how much for 1?
depends where you get it. check the link. I got mine on amazon.
Does the grass grow okay in spring through it?
yes perfect
Hey so i know you tried this out, but is it still working for you? I’m thinking of doing this.
yes, every year. every spring when the ground is muddy. i also just put down 3 more bags a month ago since the ground wasn't quite frozen yet. this cedar lasts about 5 months before deteriorating into the ground, which is good for the ground and grass. cedar helps keep ticks away if you have them. it's soft like hamster cage material so it doesn't hurt their paws.
That's a great idea...does it work in the front of a home that's muddy and floods when it rains and can you put decorative rocks on top to help with the water absorption due to the area flooding...
Great idea
Coming to the party pretty late, but I have a question if you have time: Looks like a great solution - I tried this with straw initially and we has a mess of dirty straw bits in the house for days after. Do you end up with shavings all over the house when your dogs come in?
Nothing gets in the house at all. Of course if you have a little dog with hair like cotton...maltese, that would be a different story.
Thank you for this! Muddy paws have finally been greatly reduced.
When they potty on it, do you clean out and replace the shavings like the packaging recommends?
no, I never clean or replace where they go pee. it never smells. when it rains, it gets rinsed I suppose, but it dissolves after 3 or 4 months.
Here is what you do, something I've done before. You cedar chip the full yard in the winter, then rake half the cedar chips up and fence off. Place grass seed down on the fenced off side and spend 6-8 weeks regrowing that side. Then cut the other side in half, move the fence to the new border, and repeat. Then take the final spot and add the wood chips. Now you have grass and a wood chipped area. For bare spots that won't grow grass, such as tree lines, add sand. When you seed the area, seed the crap out of it and then add a dusting of dirt over top of that. If you think there is too much seed, add more. Grass grows fast in the Pacific Northwest, where I live, in spring and fall.
Took me three years of owning a GSD to figure out how to have a yard.
thanks SO MUCH for the tip! before the GSDs, the yard still would die and become HARD DIRT. it's bad construction dirt. i used to roto till the small yard, adding sand and good soil to the mix. still nothing. i will do what you suggest. i have added a lot of seed. i will add a lot more. was wondering if the cedar over the see would prevent the sun from getting to it. guess not. thanks
If it's hard to grow grass, I might suggest you do one side per season. Really let one side take root. Part of my yard just doesn't grow grass so it's sand and wood chips. All that matters is you're caring for your GSD and you're clearly doing that.
Note: I live PNW, so grass grows very easily.
Thats a good fix. If you want grass to grow, though, you will need to lime the soil, as the pines and cedars are acidic and will mess with the soil ph.
thanks for the tip! i think what i'm moving towards is the astro turf. i'll do it myself to save tons of money. it's going to be a big job.
How does this hold up over a long period of time?
Hey Shawn, most of it held up for about 8 months. I had about 3" down. A solid year and all was gone, worked great.
Hi my dogs like to dig holes in my backyard and I'm trying so hard to get them to stop have been trying everything so if I put this down on the ground what if my dog eats it
they won't eat it. I have 3 dogs, 2 of them German shepherds...they all could care less.
Are the shavings safe for puppies? I feel bad when they have to walk around in wet mud.
Yes they are. Not sharp at all.
Would you recommend putting this inside of an outdoor.kennel that has ground flooring with an elevated dog house?
sure that would be great. would soak up any water and the cedar also keeps pests away. i love this stuff and use it on the entire yard every spring. i will usually sprinkle grass seed in the mud, then put this on top of it by a couple inches. it lasts 5 months and lush grass remains.
@@ROTTERtube Does home depot sell this,& how much does each bag cost( one or two would do). My German Shepherd loves to play in the mud!🤣
How does it hold up after a good rain?
Really well. They just get wet and stay there. Like wet leaves but not slippery.
Does it hold up for a while ?
We used hay before but makes our backyard look like a farm.
Thx !
it held up for around 4-5 months. worked like a charm. smelled great and they loved running around in it. no more muddy paws. when it breaks down, it's also good for the soil. i seeded the entire yard and most of the yard returned. i plan on doing this every year. i read the hay doesn't break down like this stuff. the yard looked odd filled with cedar but it smelled great and soved the issue. i have maybe 1 square foot of cedar left after about 6 months of filling the entire yard.
Love your shepherd, looks just like my Hans we lost before Christmas!! Oh and a great idea as well. I have "corners" that need to be turned into gerbil cages!!
so sorry for your loss.
My issue with this was my 100lb lab would have it matted down and mixed in with the mud in a day or two. I might try some type of mulch product that’s not as rough as the cheap stuff at lowes. Idk
I had some matted down patches as well. I just added more, so it was 3"-4" in areas.
I've got 3 dogs, and a fenced acre. There are some spots down at the low areas of the lawn along a fenceline where my three dogs run with the neighbors dogs. How did this end up working out after a few months?
It's great. After a few months it breaks down into the ground...just goes away. I add more as needed in the spring. I always need more in the spring since the ground doesn't keep grass....it's bad soil...construction soil.
My lab/huskey mix has my whole backyard x3 that bad... all the grass ripped up from it being shallow rooted and then the winter repeated freeze thaw... feel like Im in a horse or cattle barn area than a back yard.
Might try this out in a section. He gets himself all splashed up on his lower half with dirt.
yeah i feel like i have a horse barn as well but there is no more mud or water or splashing. it's night and day. i don't care.
How does this hold up if it snows on top? I'm at the end of my rope with the mud on the paws.
no issues at all. snow covers it and it will dissolve over time, few months or so.
When you do the tilling and reseeding in the spring, how long do you keep the dogs off that part of the yard to allow the grass to grow?
I don't keep them off at all and things are fine.
How does this handle rain or snow that accumulates on top of it? How often did you need to add more?
No issues with rain. It dries. I added more after it decayed into the earth, about 4 months...as needed.
Did your grass ever grow back? I am having the same problem my yard is muddy from her running on it.
yes it does and for the areas that don't since my dirt is bad, I re seed.
@@ROTTERtube thankypu for the response. I just got 2 bale's and had them sitting for a few days, it's been raining. I was going to spread it today. My whole yard is a mess and now looks like a horse's yard lol. I never had a dog that runs and rips up the yard like she does but we love her soo much so we are going to try this and see how it goes. Yours came out looking nice and inspired me more to do it. I appreciate you very much, have a nice day!
@@ROTTERtube how long did that straw last you? Until it got pressed into the ground.
Does the pine shavings work just as well ?
yes
Not the best option for windy days iv done that before and my neighbor as well as own drive way got covered with that stuff, but still worked well the first couple days before the wind
Odd, I never had an issue with it except for a handful blowing to the sidewalk on really windy days. you can fix that by going over it with the hose briefly.
@@ROTTERtube you can fix the muddy dog by going over it briefly with a hose lol
Cedar also repels fleas! Great idea. Did you throw grass seed down before you laid down the chips or after they had dissolved into the soil?
hi, you could do it either way. i put a little grass see down under the cedar and that worked well. i did most of it when the cedar was gone, about 6 months later. totally worth it to do this every year. it worked so great!
Nice! No issues with the cedar irritating your dog?
@@ROTTERtubedoesn’t dog track in chips?