Artificial Grass For Dogs Buyer’s Guide
Is artificial grass good for dogs?
Safety is often the first issue that comes to mind of pet parents considering artificial grass, so let’s get that question out of the way first.
If you heard that artificial grass can be poisonous for pets, this might be partly true. In the past, artificial grass was sometimes made with paint that contained high levels of lead. However, this is mostly not the case today and there are plenty of modern artificial turfs made of high-quality materials that are completely safe for dogs and humans alike.
Benefits Of Artificial Turf
Now that we’ve established that artificial grass is safe for dogs, we can talk about its advantages compared to traditional lawns.
There are many reasons why you might be considering artificial turf. For example, if you have a lawn that is too small and/or more than one dog, yellow patches from too much urine can be really annoying. In this case, artificial turf is a great solution. In addition to this, artificial grass allows you to turn areas where real grass can’t grow (such as concrete surfaces) into green spaces where your dogs can do their business.
Artificial turf also has some general advantages over regular lawns. First of all, there is much less maintenance required and you can have a green lawn all year. Everything a dog leaves behind is also much easier to clean. You’ll need less water to maintain your artificial lawn which means you even save money in the long run. All of this while also keeping your pooch happy!
Features To Look For In Artificial Grass For Dogs
As we already mentioned, you’ll always want to make sure that the artificial grass you are buying is safe to be used by humans and animals. However, once you get that out of the way, there still remains a huge variety of artificial turfs to choose from.
So how do you choose the right one? These are some of the things to think about:
Aesthetics
Obviously, everyone wants their artificial lawn to look nice. The good news is, this is entirely possible nowadays. While there are still cheap knock-offs that look terrible, plenty of manufacturers today make artificial grass that looks amazingly realistic and natural.
While a uniform green color can also look quite good, if you want a totally realistic effect you should look for artificial turf with a 4-tone color scheme. Our top pick, the Pet Pad Artificial Grass Turf, has this feature, for example.
Moreover, it’s not just the color that determines the look of artificial grass. Things like the shape of the individual grass threads, density, and height of the grass mat also play a role.
Draining
Another thing you should definitely check before buying any artificial turf is whether it drains well. Even if you use your artificial grass mat indoors, it will be much easier to wash it in case of need.
However, if you plan to put your artificial turf outdoors, as most pet parents do, you’ll definitely want to have good drainage. If you plan for your pooch to go potty on the artificial turf, the liquid has to go somewhere, doesn’t it?
Luckily, most modern artificial turfs feature good drainage systems. All of those mentioned on our top 7 list certainly do. Since there are little holes in the backing of the artificial turf, water can flow freely.
UV Resistance
This one is important for anyone who plans to install artificial grass outdoors. Any kind of exposure to UV light (which happens even if the grass is outside of direct sunlight and on rainy days) can cause the color to fade. If your artificial turf becomes yellow instead of green after a couple of months, that kind of ruins its purpose, doesn’t it? If you want to avoid this, always look for artificial grass that is UV-resistant.
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