Muddy dog run needs renovation

https://www.cuteness.com/article/correct-muddy-dog-runs-yard

Hi Carolyn. You could lay mulch down on the dog run.

Temporary fix would be to put straw out but only temporary..we concreted and will cost but you know that I'm sure.

Mulch is the first thing I thought of too, they also make a mulch that's made of recycled tires (if your dog is not an eater of foreign substances lol)

Tumbled gravel. I suggest tumbled so the rough edges are smoothed out a bit and less likely to hurt the dogs paws if they get wedged in them. You have three options. Order enough to cover 2"-3" thick and spread it out now to solve your immediate need, wait till spring and level the area, then lay landscape fabric then spread the gravel or put the gravel down now as is and come next spring, rake it all into a pile, lay landscape fabric and then rake the gravel back on.

Pavers, the square red or grey ones. The cheapest ones will suffice for what you want, though installing them is more work than mulch or straw. You'll need to level the area and put down sand, lay down the pavers, tap them firmly in place, and use a long level/2'x4' so as to avoid high spots. Perfection is not important. If any sink, it's a simple job to lift up the paver, add sand, and place back down

Have you considered putting down recycled rubber tiles. You can get them at HD or Lowes.

I have a 20 x 4' run. Believe, Mulch ain't the answer; you will have a muddy, mulchy mutt to deal with! Been There, Done That!

I hand dug sloping trenches on each 20' side of the outer perimeter of my run.

I "bermed up" the top 4' wide end with the dirt I dug out from the side trenches, extending the berm to 6', a foot more above where the trenches start.

My Trenches are only 4-6" Wide, I started at the "top end"

digging more shallow, only about 4" deep (at the end where the natural watershed begins) , then gradually a little deeper as I dug down the length of each side, maybe about 8-9", to the other end.

Then I put in some pea gravel, (Home Depot or Lowe's) about 1-1.5" deep, just enough to cover the dirt bottom fully, and lengths of old 2" PVC pipe to catch the flow.

At "deeper end", I Dug holes (2 total) at the end of each side on the downhill side. Then I stuck some bigger old pots in the holes to collect the water runoff from each trench.

Planted a bush between the two pots, I dump the water out of the pots onto that. (Has become the favorite Pee Bush for my dogs now.)

I covered that end of the run, about 6' of it, with a couple inches of more Pea Gravel. 6' long x 4' wide x 2"deep of Pea Gravel, placed some scrap bricks and larger rocks inside the run, around the Pea Gravel, to keep it from spilling outwards.

Finally, I bought 3 cheap blue tarps at Wmart, and 3 painting canvas drop cloths at Home Depot, and placed those from the top end of the run down to the edge of the 6 x4 new pea gravel area. Tarps first, covered with the Canvas Drops, makes 2 layers. Overlapping the adjacent sections by a couple inches, then finally, I Staked them down with a bunch of cheap camping stakes. Look on Amazon, way cheaper, I think I got 50 for less than $10; Wmart cheapest were a Buck each. Just get thinner ones that look like an upside down "L". I used all 50.

I think I used 6 bags of Pea Gravel, at $3/each ($20/Total)

3 Canvas Drops at $10 each ($33/Total); 3 Tarps at $5 each ($17/Total);, and I had 20' of 2" PVC (Value $20 new) and went to a new house construction and asked for their scrap pieces of it.

, I got 4 lengths for free, so I spent another $4-5 on some couplers to make another length of 20'.

Stakes, $10.

$20+33+17+5+10 = $85.

Damn, I didn't realize I spent That Much on this project until I wrote it all out for You! But, hey, it works Great, no more Dirty Dogs and the Canvas and Tarps have lasted 2 years. One set, at the "Bermed" end is in need of replacing, so, I shall get that done soon. Maybe the Day After Manana; my favorite day of the week!