When your dog is running the same area of your yard constantly, it wears the grass down and kills the roots. During the winter they can do more damage because the grass is dormant and it can’t recover as quickly. As a result, the grass dies out and you’re left with unsightly bare stops in your yard.
There’s not a lot you can do to protect your grass from this wear and tear so the best advice is to stop your dog from running the same path repeatedly. For example, alternate between letting him out in the front yard and the backyard. This will give the grass time to recover in-between runs.
If your dog is an outside pet kept in a fence, consider sectioning the area into two parts, if it’s large enough. Your pet can run one side of the dog lot until the grass begins to look worn and then you can switch sides.
If neither of these suggestions is possible, consider putting down a walkway to cover the wear patterns of dead grass. It will look much better than brown, dead grass and you won’t have to worry about messy mud puddles when it rains. Dogs normally follow the same trail each time they run so they should continue using the walkway.
