Try this Easy Fix for Muddy Dog Paths in Your Yard.
Our German Shepherd Remi loves running with the neighbor dogs at full speed along the fences in the backyard.
When it rains a lot or the snow melts, those fence-lines turn into muddy highways and Remi always gets drenched in mud. Good times for her but a what a mess for me!
To make it even more annoying, in late winter and early spring (before the outside water gets turned on) the only way to clean up “Ms. Muddy Pants”, is to tie her to the porch and rinse her off with jugs of water. Then I towel dry her the best I can before hustling her upstairs for a FULL bath – bummer.
But last year, my boyfriend came up with a brilliant idea!
See, we live in a small rural town surrounded by farms, which means we drive past horses, cows, goats and other farm animals grazing in fields everywhere we go.
He pointed out that farmers put straw in the animal’s stalls to keep the ground warmer and dry for them. It might also work to soak up some of the water along our muddy fences – hmmm… interesting idea.
He checked the local big-box home and garden centers, where bales cost around $14-$16 each – yikes! Not exactly cheap but they were easy to find and we were desperate, so he bought 4 bales for two fence-lines.
When he got home, we unloaded the truck and took them to the backyard where I cut the twine holding them together and we spread them along both fences – 2 bales per fence. Surprisingly, they’re extremely dense, even though they’re very lightweight.
After the next rainstorm, Remi was out running with her buddies at the fence – and guess what – it worked great!
No visible mud, just wet feet – whew and yay!
This year, we looked on FB Marketplace for “Straw Bales for Sale” in our area and found lots of listings charging anywhere from $5 to $7 a bale – a much better price than the big box stores from last year. Even if I lived in the city I’d drive out here to get it at that price… plus you get a nice little drive in the country.
Although the neighbor to the east moved out and the new people don’t have dogs, we bought 5 bales. This time we used 3 bales exclusively along the south fence for thicker coverage and kept two in reserve for later.
One nice feature that I’ve noticed about the rectangular bales, is that the bailer smashes them together in such a way that when you cut the twine they’ll separate into sections approximately 3” to 4” thick or so.
This makes it handy for gauging the area you need to cover before you pull them completely apart to spread. They really do fluff up!
A few days ago, we finally had to use those two spare bales to upgrade the southern fence before winter sets in.
We also added more straw at the front gate where she loves to dance around while watching the action in the front yard.
Anyway, for two years now the results have been amazing!
Bonus: Remi rarely tracks any straw into the house other than a piece or two here and there.
Most importantly, there are no more “Ms. Muddy” moments when she plays with her friends on wet days – only wet feet.
So if you’re having “muddy highway” issues in your yard, give it a try and let me know if it worked for you.
Woof!
Views: 12
