Artificial grass for dogs
Artificial grass is often chosen because of a dog: no mud through the house, no bare patches worn down to the soil, no lawn returfed every spring. It works well, but only when the lawn is chosen and installed with the dog in mind, because the two things that ruin an artificial lawn are standing water and trapped odour.
This guide covers what actually matters: how a dog lawn drains, how to clean it, how to keep odour in check, and how the installation differs from a lawn in a garden with no pets. All prices on this site are shown per square metre excluding VAT.
The lawns we mark as pet friendly are flagged on their product pages, and their backing and drainage specifications are listed there too, so a lawn can be checked against this advice before you order.
Lawns in the range
Our lawns are listed below, with the backing and drainage specifications on each product page where a dog lawn should be judged.
Pile 35mm
A dense, lifelike 35mm lawn with a full, seductive charm.
Pile 36mm
A silky soft 36mm lawn with a fresh green colour that brightens any garden.
Pile 50mm
An extremely soft lawn with fine fresh green blades for a wild, spring look.
Pile 52mm
A tall, dense 52mm grass-green lawn built for intensive use by children and pets.
Pile 52mm
A tall, full 52mm summer-green lawn with sun-tanned blades, ideal for gardens with children and pets.
Pile 42mm
A tall 42mm lawn with a natural, sun-kissed summer look.
Pile 30mm
A short, tight 30mm lawn that feels soft underfoot with a fresh green spring look.
Pile 30mm
A classic 30mm lawn with a sleek yet playful grass-green look.
Pile 35mm
A full, sleek 35mm lawn that suits gardens with children playing.
Pile 36mm
A freshly cut 36mm lawn with an airy, playful look for ornamental gardens.
Drainage decides how the lawn behaves
A dog will urinate on the same patch several times a day, every day. Artificial grass does not absorb any of that liquid, so it has to pass through the pile, through the backing and into the sub-base underneath. If it cannot, urine and rainwater stay near the surface and the lawn starts to hold both.
That is why the sub-base matters more than the grass in a pet garden. A lawn laid on compacted hardcore with no fall will pool, no matter which product is on top. A lawn laid on a permeable sub-base, compacted in layers, with a fall away from the house, will drain as fast as the weather allows.
- Choose a lawn with a permeable backing, wherever the manufacturer offers one
- Allow for a permeable sub-base, typically 60 to 80mm of compacted crushed stone for a domestic lawn
- Set a fall of about 1 in 100 away from the house and any boundary that holds water
- On clay, add a drainage layer or drainage cells before the sub-base
- Rinse the lawn through with a hose once a week, which pushes residue down and out
The cleaning routine that keeps it fresh
Most complaints about dog lawns are really complaints about cleaning. Solid waste should be lifted as soon as it is noticed, not left until the weekend, because the residue left behind is what smells. Weekly, hose the surface down and brush the pile back upright while it is still damp.
Strong disinfectants and bleach do more harm than good. They can discolour the yarn and degrade the backing, and they leave a smell of their own. A mild detergent in warm water, or an enzyme-based pet cleaner, does the job without attacking the product.
- Lift solids daily and rinse the area afterwards
- Hose the whole lawn weekly in warm weather, fortnightly in winter
- Use a mild detergent or enzyme cleaner for the patch the dog uses most
- Avoid bleach, strong disinfectants, pressure washers on a narrow jet, and solvents
- Brush against the pile to lift flattened patches and keep the surface draining
Managing odour
Odour comes from urine residue that has not been flushed out, and it gets worse in warm, still weather when the surface dries quickly and the residue stays. Dilution is the answer: plenty of water, regularly, rather than a stronger cleaner occasionally.
Where one patch takes most of the traffic, an infill such as silica sand or a zeolite-based product can help by absorbing residue at the base of the pile. It will need topping up over the years. In the worst cases, a heavily used section can be lifted, cleaned and relaid rather than replaced.
- Rinse the favoured patch more often than the rest of the lawn
- Consider an absorbent infill for a single heavily used area
- Do not seal or cover the lawn: it needs air and water to stay neutral
- Keep the surface free of leaves and debris that trap moisture
Choosing a lawn for a household with dogs
A dog lawn needs to recover from running, turning and digging at the edges, and it needs to drain. Denser, slightly shorter piles tend to recover better than very deep ones, and the backing specification is what decides whether water ever leaves the surface.
Colour is a practical decision too. Lighter, multi-tone blends show less marking and hold their appearance better through the year, while very dark lawns can look patchy when damp.
- Start with the lawns marked pet friendly on their product pages
- Check the backing and drainage fields on the specification table
- Look at the warranty, but weigh it against the sub-base you are prepared to build
- Order a sample before committing to a whole garden
Digging, chewing and puppy damage
A new lawn is interesting to a dog: fresh texture, fresh smells, and a surface that moves slightly underfoot. Digging at edges and corners is common in the first few weeks and usually settles once the novelty passes. Chewing is more often boredom or teething than a problem with the product.
Damage is repairable. A lifted edge can be re-fixed to the restraint, and a torn patch can be cut out and replaced with a spare offcut if one was kept from the installation. Keeping the offcuts is the single most useful thing to do on the day the lawn goes down.
- Give the dog an alternative place to dig, well away from the lawn edges
- Fix the perimeter properly so an edge cannot be pulled up
- Keep offcuts for future repairs
- Supervise a puppy on a new lawn for the first few weeks
Heat underfoot
In direct summer sun an artificial surface will be warmer than soil and grass, because it does not evaporate moisture to cool itself. In the UK this is rarely an issue for more than a handful of days a year, but on those days the lawn can be uncomfortable for paws.
A quick test with the back of a hand tells you what a paw will feel. If the surface is too hot to hold a hand on, give the dog shade and water, hose the lawn down, and keep walks off it until the sun moves off the garden.
- Test the surface with the back of your hand before letting a dog out on a hot day
- Hosing the lawn down drops the surface temperature quickly
- Shade and water bowls do more for a dog than any grass specification
How a dog lawn is installed
The steps are the same as any artificial lawn, with more attention paid to the parts that decide drainage. This is the sequence our installers follow.
- 01
Set out and excavate
Mark the shape, then dig out enough depth for the sub-base plus the grass, typically 60 to 80mm of sub-base for a domestic lawn. Remove roots and soft spots rather than burying them.
- 02
Build the sub-base
Lay and compact crushed stone in two layers, not one, so it binds properly. On clay or heavy soil, put a geotextile membrane down first to stop fines migrating and blocking drainage.
- 03
Check levels and fall
Set a fall of about 1 in 100 away from the house. Check it with a straight edge and a spirit level before the grass goes anywhere near it, because this is the step that decides whether the lawn drains.
- 04
Fix an edge restraint
Timber, concrete or steel edging holds the sub-base in place and gives the lawn something to be fixed to. It is what stops a dog pulling the edge up and stops the surface creeping over the years.
- 05
Cut and lay the grass
Lay a weed membrane over the sub-base, then roll the grass out with the pile running the same way on every roll. Let it settle for a few hours before cutting in, so the fibres relax.
- 06
Bond the joins and fix down
Where two pieces meet, use joining tape and adhesive rather than butting them together. Fix the perimeter, then brush the pile up. Add an infill if the product or the household calls for one.
- 07
Plan for heavy use
In a garden with several dogs, ask for extra drainage provision, such as drainage cells or a soakaway, at the lowest point. It is far cheaper to build in during the groundwork than to retrofit later.
Installation across London and the surrounding counties is arranged after a site visit. See how installation works or read the aftercare guide.