How to make a small patio or outdoor space dog-friendly

Gravel or “a little patch of grass” are both viable options for a petite potty area, says Kristina Carmody, owner and training director at Indigo Dog Training, though she agrees that Banks’s use of fake turf was smart since the material won’t get muddy and is easy to sanitize. “But it does require maintenance, and it does get hot in the sun,” Carmody adds, suggesting that dog owners cool down artificial grass with water on especially warm days.

To install her turf, Banks and her husband dug three to four inches into the ground across a roughly 25-square-foot area, which became quite strenuous. “You might think, ‘Oh, that’s not a lot,’ but the whole area has to be dug out at that level, so it does become a bit laborious,” she says. They hand-tamped the soil before laying down a weed barrier and finely ground stone. After another round of hand tamping, they watered the subbase to ensure an even surface. Meanwhile, the turf was laid outdoors for about two hours, which “softens it up, gets all the wrinkles out and makes it more flexible to work with,” she says.

They secured the turf using six-inch galvanized nails, then brushed sandlike infill over the top. The project took about four days of “working nonstop,” Banks says. (The materials would’ve cost her about $500, including a $140 wheelbarrow, but Banks works as a design influencer and got the supplies gratis from Home Depot.)

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