Pet Friendly

No grass seed is dig-proof. A dog that runs the same track along the fence line every day will wear a patch in any lawn, the right variety recovers faster and copes better with urine, it doesn’t make damage impossible.

For a dog that runs and digs, Kikuyu is the toughest, fastest-recovering warm-climate option, or Sports Turf Perennial Ryegrass and RTF Tall Fescue for the same wear tolerance in cooler climates. For a softer lawn dogs (and kids) can actually lie on, Buffalo Lawn Blend and Zenith Zoysia have a finer, gentler leaf underfoot, though Zoysia is slow to establish so keep pets off it for longer while it fills in. Couch varieties (Bermuda, Queensland Blue) are tough and warm-climate friendly but coarser underfoot, a better fit for a dog that plays hard than one that lounges on the grass.

Before you buy:

No variety is fully dig-proof or urine-proof, the right choice recovers faster, it doesn’t prevent damage
Keep dogs off new seed until it’s been mown two to three times, seedlings pull out easily
For softness underfoot choose Buffalo or Zoysia, for maximum toughness choose Kikuyu or Couch
Watering a urine spot straight after matters as much as seed choice for preventing brown patches