Substrate for a Dog Run?

[CohenCottage]

Hi ladies... Hope y'all are having a good weekend. I have a yard question for y'all. What do you think would be the best substrate for a 500 square foot dog run? We've used pea gravel in the past and it was smelly in the summer and the dogs like to try to eat it. Right now we are using mulch on top of landscape fabric (to keep the dirt out of the mulch), but they still track in a good amount of debris. Also, we have moles/voles, so there has been some digging. Now we can't leave them outside unattended and they get muddy feet when it rains. They also smell stinky like mulch and bring in sticks.

I've considered cedar or pine mulch or chips, but they can cause GI and neurological problems if ingested (which they would be).

We were thinking that some type of paver or flagstone might be good...maybe wide set with a sturdy ground cover (dwarf mondo grass?) or crushed stone in between rocks. It would require hosing occasionally, but they couldn't dig and they wouldn't track stuff in. It would allow us to leave them outside without worrying about digging too.

Thanks!

[memmey]

Awwwh my sweet sweet friend the connection has been made . Please don't forget that I am getting the late fifty crazies so Please don't hold it against me...please.
When I worked at the shelter it was concrete and they used a hose( I worked the cats). Maybe if you could put pavers but on a grade you know a tiny bit higher on one end. Then it would drain. Just a tiny bit. Hosing is not bad and also cool in the summer. It will be a job to do but really worth it. It will cause a lot less grief and extra work.:)

That little baby is getting big. It won't be long now. :D

[vintage girl]

I was going to suggest concrete also. When we had our large dogs we had a kennel in the back of our property and we had it on concrete. During the summer we had misters hooked up. It kept the dogs nice and cool and also kept the concrete from getting too hot:)

[ChapterTwo]

I looked on Google and everyone agrees with Memmey and vintage girl...concrete seems to be the way to go! :D

[Gigi]

I was also thinking concrete with a garden hose nearby....

[CohenCottage]

Thanks ladies...I'll check our planning requirements and see if we can do concrete. There is a limit for the amount of impervious surface you can have on your lot. If not, we may be able to do wide spaced pavers or stone with dwarf mondo grass or some other hardy ground cover in between.

I was also just thinking about this stuff we used to use at the barn that I managed. It's a geotextile product that is plastic with hexagonal spaces. It keeps the ground stable but is permeable to water...

here is a link: we used the plastic interlocking ones http://www.paversearch.com/permeable-pavers-benefits.htm

[yarborough house]

Looks good but wouldn't it still pose the mud problem?

[CohenCottage]

Not really b/c the pavers keep the soil from being disturbed by foot traffic and prevents them from digging. I've seen it used at dairy farms in their paddocks and high traffic areas.

Unfortunately, I think it is going to be prohibitively expensive. I'm calling a local place this morning to check prices...