Beginner Gardening: Backyard Troubles, 1 by Boudecca

Boudecca wrote:
Howdy everyone. I am new to the Forum and was hoping that someone could help me with what seems to be an unsolvable dilema! We are in USDA zone 8a. The house if 4-yrs old, originally we painstakingly put down Centipede sod. However, a combination of hard clay soil (the builder trucked in about 20 loads and it is nearly all red clay), lack of sun, poor drainage (you can tell that the house sits atop a rather steep incline just in the back) & foot traffic by us and our 3 dogs (German Shepherd, Old English Sheepdog & German Shepherd/Chow Chow mix) have killed all of the sod. I need to do something with this backyard (the width of which varies from about 6' up to about 10') as soon as possible. The dogs track in smelly mud (needless to say the backyard sticks of urine from them going potty out there) when it rains and we can't even use it anymore. I need a fairly inexpensive fix that we can do ourselves which will make the backyard a pleasant place for us and our dogs.

I have thought of using some type of alternative grass, herbs (creeping thyme, etc...), paving stones, etc. I have to stay away from rocks as my German Shepherd will just destroy them. She totally destroyed a bed I put back there and lined with rocks. Not only did she carry off all the rocks BUT she also ate all my roses!

Thanks for your help & suggestions.