Is A Clover Lawn The Best Option For Dog Owners?

There are about 40 million acres of turf grass growing in the United States, but fenced-in lawns associated with the traditional American Dream are considered an expensive and unsustainable option to invest in for your home. Highly fertilized and well-watered grass lawns can be a carbon sink, and work better than concrete or pavement, but these benefits tend to be outweighed by the cost of lawnmowers, irrigation systems, and the mass production of fertilizer. Lawns and turf grasses are also susceptible to pathogens like slime mold, diseases like red thread, and — if you're a dog owner — ugly patches caused by urine in hot weather. You can foster a more sustainable lawn that's better equipped to deal with dogs if you try alternative ground covers instead, specifically a cover of clovers (Trifolium repens).

Clovers are often considered a weed that needs to be removed, but they can be a good way to fill out brown patches in the grass that's already growing. The most common types you're going to find are white clover and microclover, though white clover tends to be the default, given it is drought tolerant and has the ability to fix soil nitrogen. It's also more readily available and less expensive than microclover. However, both clover options will not turn yellow when subjected to pet urine, making them a great option to seed if you're a dog owner frustrated by dog spots out in the yard.

Broadly speaking, ground covers have a lot of benefits over traditional grassy lawns. They're low maintenance, reduce soil erosion, and help attract pollinators. White clover, in particular, is a flowering perennial that's attractive to native bees. It's also notably resistant to foot traffic and destruction by animals like rabbits and squirrels, which makes it a great option to help you create a dog-friendly yard. Since clovers thrive in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 10, it puts this creeping, deciduous ground cover well within the growing range of the entire United States (even though the plant was originally native to Europe).

There are ideal growing conditions if you want your white clover to grow quickly, spread, and reseed itself. Clover seeds should be mixed with forage grass to make up for its low yield. While it is resistant to poor soil conditions, your clover is going to thrive best in clay or loam-texture soil with high organic matter. The soil should be moist and well-drained, and kept around a pH level of 6 or 7. White clover is also able to grow in both full sun and partial shade conditions, which is important for a pet-friendly lawn that has plenty of shady areas to keep your dogs cool in warmer seasons.

As mentioned, clover is a great ground cover option if you want to supply your soil with more nitrogen. This is important for growing a certain set of plants, for example, fruit and nut trees, palms, and roses all benefit from additional nitrogen. However, nitrogen fertilization can also specifically help counteract the effects of dog spots in other parts of your lawn. Nitrogen is one of the key elements that helps grass grow denser and in a darker shade of green, so applying nitrogen fertilizers to areas affected by canine urine can keep the grass from becoming a dramatically different color.

Deciding to grow a clover ground cover might help your lawn become more dog friendly in terms of counteracting issues like dog spots, but it won't prevent your pets from digging up the garden, or doing damage in other ways. Clover requires a recovery period after grazing if used as feed for farm animals, so it's likely that an overactive dog digging up holes everywhere might put a damper on some of a clover lawn's benefits. This can be especially problematic given ground covers often need extra care and weeding to become established in a new growing site. Still, it's a great option to consider for dog owners over the more traditional style of plain turf grasses.