Landscapers, i need help!

I used to have a beautiful little back yard.
It is long and narrow with an apple tree and a chokecherry.
We had always kept the grass real nice and the plants well kept.
A couple years back i poured a small patio and did some landscaping around it.

We have a female Border Collie that has always made keeping the lawn a chore, but not too bad. A few dead spots in the spring to deal with but nothing major. As some of you know last winter we got a Leonberger (on the left) which is a cross between a St. Bernard and a couple other big dogs. Now we have a real mess on our hands. Huge muddy paws in and out. Constantly cleaning them before they can come in. We have melting snow right now that is making for a huge mess. I am sure the spring will come and our poor yard will be in very bad shape. I thought about a dog run, but being a small narrow yard there is really no room.

I was thinking about a gravel or pebble around the perimeter of the yard with maybe a small patch of grass in the middle. Or a combination of gravel and stone and do away with grass and mud all together. Have any of you done something similar or have any suggestions? I enjoy a nice yard and do not mind the effort or cost, but this is becoming a losing battle. Thanks for any suggestions!

Your dogs will go straight to the grass in the middle instead of the gravel perimeter more than likely, so I would forget about that idea. You basically have 3 choices: 1. Walk the dogs instead of putting them in yard 2. go all aggregate of some type (which will still have mud underneath--they are dogs--they WILL find it lol), or 3. artificial turf. The last one sounds like it would be up your alley if cost isn't an issue. http://www.artificialturfsupply.com/residential.html
Heres somewhere to start that journey. I've been landscaping for a little over 10 years, and thats what I suggest to people with your issue. If you ever decided to go back to grass, its much easier that removing 25 tons of rock.

As a full time landscaper I really cant help you out without seeing your situation. But poddles and noodles do come to mind iffn its that big a deal. Keep the dang dog outta the mud or outta the house.

Pebbles and rock is high maintenance to keep it looking nice. Dog will likely not walk in it anyway...or will tear the you know what out of it if thats what is in the bottom of the run.

Best bet is to really get after the turf and let it grow taller than normal late fall. It may make sense to partition the yard...when one section gets bad let the dog run in the other.

I had a section of the yard that I covered with crushed stone. With time, organic mater got into it and it turned grassy. Only thing is that when wet, it isn't muddy. It packed down and the dog don't mind it a bit.

Thanks for the replies, i know there is no perfect solution. I knew this would end up happening when we got the second dog. I suppose i will have to try something this summer and weigh the options. My Dad is famous for a concrete yard, might be smarter than i think.