Honestly, what’s not great about real grass? The smell of wet, or freshly cut grass, the feeling of grass under your feet, and my personal favourite, the hum of the suburban mower on weekends which makes me think of being in the garden with my dad.
Why wouldn’t dogs feel the same pleasure around real grass?
Our dog loves ‘flying’, ‘zoomies’, ‘sliders’ and ‘scratching’ on grass.
‘Flying’ is a sight to behold. Our dog absolutely loves bounding through really long grass, disappearing for a second, then bouncing up smiling, the appearance of ‘flying’, only to disappear again. She will repeat this to infinity.
‘Zoomies’ only on grass, is sprinting in circles, oblivious to potential obstacles at breakneck speed. The pure joy of freedom, stretching her legs and completely in the moment. We often freak about the speed, but she’s in complete control.
‘Sliders’. This is when she jogs, then slides onto her side and skids along the grass. Often done to impress a cute male dog.
And of course, ‘scratching’. When she lies on her back and wiggles on the grass, the grass massaging her fur and back.
Like most dogs, her favourite thing is going to the toilet on grass. It’s natural, absorbent, and usually pretty easy to pick up the yucky bits from.
Here at Poop Dog we did a lot of research (and testing) of our grass. There are two particular varieties that we prefer because they low-allergenic, but honestly, from your dog’s perspective, anything real, not synthetic, is going to work.
As long as the grass is green, the roots absorb the potent urine smell similar to water, so there’s no smell. It’s only when the grass dies or dries out that the really strong odour is noticeable. You definitely want to change it before that point.
As part of our research, we also found out that grass is really cool for dogs in warm weather. One of the reasons that our trays are longer is so that dogs have the option of going to the toilet on one end and laying on the other end. Double benefits.
For dogs inside, or in areas without grass, trays of fresh, green, real grass are not just for relieving themselves, they’re a little piece of happiness.