With two-thirds of U.S. households (86.9 million homes) owning a pet, many homeowners in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are seeking backyard landscaping solutions that can accommodate their pets’ needs as well as their own.
Pet turf is artificial grass specifically designed for pets. It’s a smart choice because it’s able to withstand wear and tear, has good drainage and is soft and inviting for your pooch, cat or other furry friend.
The best pet turf also stays green and beautiful all year with virtually zero maintenance.
So, there are plenty of reasons to choose synthetic grass for your backyard — but how do you choose the highest quality turf?
The best pet turf is durable, UV-protected and antimicrobial with a good face weight and excellent drainage.
Our guide helps you select your synthetic pet turf and introduces you to four of the best pet turf products available:
Best pet turf: quick summary
Following is a quick summary of the ideal characteristics of pet turf in the Dallas-Fort Worth area:
Why use artificial grass for pets?
Artificial grass is blessed with a wide array of benefits. The good news for pet owners is that it works as well for pets as it does for your family.
Here’s a quick rundown of the main reasons:
- Pet turf is specially designed to withstand the wear and tear of pet play
- No muddy paws, bare patches, yellow rings or hole-digging
- Artificial grass looks immaculate with virtually no effort when compared with real grass
- Your pet can use the area all year round
- Artificial grass looks and feels just like the real thing
- It will save you money on maintenance and water costs over its long life (12-15 years or more)
- Fewer allergies (no fertilizers, weedkillers or herbicides reduce the toxic load)
- Fewer fleas and pests compared to real grass
- Balls bounce evenly: great for play
- Pet turf doesn’t grow long (great for small legs and paws)
- Pet turf doesn’t get too hot
- Pet turf is flexible enough for apartment settings or where real grass won’t work (balconies, patios, etc.)
Read more about why your dog will love artificial grass as much as you.
What is the best artificial turf for pets made from?
Artificial grass is made from plastic yarn fibers woven into and a plastic backing material so that it sticks out the other side.
The fibers come in a wide range of shapes, thicknesses, pile lengths and colors and usually consist of one of the following three materials:
- Polypropylene
- Polyethylene
- Nylon
A cross-section of pet turf will look something like this:
From our decade of experience installing pet turf systems in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, we’ve found that monofilament polyethylene is the best material for pet turf. This uses single filaments of synthetic polyethylene fiber made by melting and mixing polymers.
Polyethylene offers the right blend between aesthetics, durability and affordability.
While polypropylene is softer and often cheaper, it is less durable than polyethylene. Nylon is a high-quality, durable material but is less soft than other options, so it’s rarely used for pet turf. Nylon is also a little on the pricy side, which is why its use is usually reserved for putting greens and professional sports arenas.
All pet turf installed by DFW Turf Solutions is made primarily of polyethylene. The turf will stand up well not only to the worst efforts of your pet to destroy it but also to the intense heat and sunlight in the Dallas area.
Your dog will love it…
See: 5 Reason Why Your Dog Will Love Pet Turf
What to look for when selecting pet turf
If you’re looking for the best pet turf, you need to know how to choose between the many varieties.
To withstand the level of traffic you anticipate and help you maintain a beautiful backyard area for your family, you’ll need to check the technical specs of the synthetic grass. Here are the main factors to check when selecting the best pet turf for your backyard:
Face weight
Face weight is the weight of the yarn (and thatch) excluding the backing. Generally speaking, the higher the face weight, the better the artificial grass quality as there is more material to absorb traffic.
The best pet turf will usually have a face weight of 60-80 ounces per square foot, which should make it robust enough for moderate to heavy use by pets.
Total weight
The total weight of artificial turf is the weight of the yarn (and thatch) plus the backing. Again, the total weight is a good indication of the quality and durability of the turf but only if it has a good face weight and other favorable features covered in this section. On its own, it may not tell you much.
Generally speaking, look for a total weight of 80-105 ounces per square foot for the best pet turf.
Pile height
Pile height is a term also used with carpeting. It is a measure of the height of the fibers that make up synthetic grass.
Lower pile heights will drain more quickly but provide less cushioning. A higher pile provides a plush and more cushioned feel and generally lasts longer.
Pet turf comes in a variety of pile heights but we’ve found that the ideal height is 1 to 1.125 inches. This provides enough cushioning and “spring” for pets to run and play on (as well as for your family’s feet) but the blades are not too high for small dogs. It’s also low enough for dog poop to be visible and not get “buried” beneath high blades.
One of the great things about artificial turf is that once you choose the ideal blade height, the grass remains like that for its entire life — without a single crank of the lawnmower!
Backing
The individual fibers in artificial grass are stitched and glued to the backing material, which is not included in the face weight of the turf. Most turf has a two-part backing.
The primary backing is a netting-type material that the grass fibers are woven into in rows. This is usually made of woven polypropylene (a grid) and is usually stretch-resistant.
The secondary backing is the material glued on the back, sealing the turf together. This is usually made from latex, another type of rubber or polyurethane.
A standard backing weight for pet turf is 20-30 ounces per square foot, with the higher weights generally best for high-traffic areas.
Drainage
Drainage is an important factor for any backyard area but especially if you have dogs or other pets.
Most dog owners know what pee can do to a natural grass lawn. Yellow rings will be a thing of the past with artificial pet turf but you need to choose the right turf products installed by the right professionals to ensure adequate drainage.
The backing on pet turf is usually perforated to allow rainwater, pet urine and other liquids to permeate the ground below.
Look for a drainage rate of greater than 25 inches per hour (some of our best turf can handle over four times that amount — read on for details).
Technology is constantly making improvements to synthetic grass drainage. Look out for pet turf with a fully permeable backing.
Antimicrobial protection
Dog pee will drain well from high-quality pet turf but antimicrobial protection is a good idea to ensure that no lingering odors remain.
The best pet turf has its blades infused with antimicrobial protection during the manufacturing process. This will help to destroy bacteria and keep your lawn areas clean and hygienic.
You may also want to install an antimicrobial infill on the surface of your grass for an extra layer of protection. Infill is the silica-based material laid on top of artificial grass, acting as a type of ballast that keeps the blades weighed down, cushioned and standing upright. This helps it closely resemble real grass. Without infill, your artificial grass may become flat and matted.
Cooling for pets
Some pet owners worry that artificial grass gets too hot for pets. Synthetic grass indeed gets hotter than real grass in the Texan sunshine but, again, technology has made improvements that make artificial lawns perfectly comfortable for pets to use.
The yarn shape should be designed to increase airflow and lower surface temperatures. The unique Omega-shaped blades we use in much of our pet turf help keep grass cooler than average for your pets even in the summer.
UV protection
UV protection is essential for any synthetic grass in the Dallas-Fort Worth area — and pet turf is no exception.
The Texan sunshine can be notoriously brutal for much of the year. Provided you choose the right grass with UV-stabilization added during the manufacturing process, it won’t fade or deteriorate.
Every piece of synthetic grass installed by DFW Turf Solutions has UV protection and is well suited to the climate in these parts.
Best artificial pet turf products
Let’s take a quick look at four of the best pet turf products currently available, each of which comes with a 15-year warranty for extra peace of mind.
The following pet turf products are supplied in 15-foot-width rolls, which our professional installation team will cut and shape to the perfect size for your area and make the seams invisible.
Pet Select
Pet Select uses a unique draining technology (a fully permeable clear backing) for a low-maintenance, fresh-smelling yard where pet pee drains through without leaving any lingering trace. Its antimicrobial-infused yarn helps kill bacteria.
The yarn shape of Pet Select turf increases airflow and lowers the surface temperature to make it comfortable for your pet even in the blistering Texan sunshine. It’s UV protected and highly durable (moderate to high traffic).
- Yarn type: Monofilament polyethylene
- Available colors: Field Green/Olive Green
- Face weight: Approx. 60 ounces
- Total weight: 80 ounces
- Primary backing: 9-ounce dual layer
- Secondary coating material: 20 oz permeable polyurethane
- Pile height: 1 inch
- Thatch color: Brown/green
- Infill: Silica (1–2 pounds per square foot)
- Drainage rate: 100+ inches of rain per hour
- Warranty: 15 years
Pet Pro
Pet Pro has many similar features to Pet Select, is made of the same materials and has the same blade shape but is slightly heavier and has a slightly longer pile height.
The brown or green thatch options help it closely resemble the appearance of real grass and the longer pile height makes it well-suited for medium-sized or larger pets to run around and chase balls on.
- Yarn type: Monofilament polyethylene
- Available colors: Field Green/Olive Green
- Face weight: Approx. 65 ounces
- Total weight: 94 ounces
- Primary backing: 9-ounce dual layer
- Secondary coating material: 20 oz permeable polyurethane
- Pile height: 1 1/8 inches
- Thatch color: Brown/green
- Infill: Silica (1-2 pounds per square foot)
- Drainage rate: 28+ inches of rain per hour per square yard
- Warranty: 15 years
All Play
All Play is very similar to Pet Pro but comes with green thatch only. It is also a heavier-weighted pet turf and comes with a different blade shape (3D Wide Wave).
This one has the highest face weight of any of our pet turf products, giving it an extra lush look and feel and helping it withstand the inevitable rough and tumble — even from larger pets.
The maximum drainage capacity of this pet turf is less than one-third of the Pet Pro and Pet Select products (28 inches+ per hour as opposed to 100+ inches per hour) but still well-suited to the Dallas-Fort Worth climate and for draining pet pee.
- Yarn type: Monofilament polyethylene
- Available colors: Field Green/Olive Green
- Face weight: Approx. 78 ounces
- Total weight: 105 ounces
- Primary backing: 7-ounce dual layer non-expansive
- Secondary coating material: 20 oz polyurethane
- Pile height: 1 1/8 inches
- Thatch color: Green
- Infill: Silica (1-2 pounds per square foot)
- Drainage rate: 28+ inches of rain per hour per square yard
- Warranty: 15 years
Pet Turf
Pet Turf shares many similarities with All Play turf and is similarly priced but comes with the option of brown thatch.
It also uses 3D Wide Wave shape blades, which is a durable yarn shape for greater fiber strength. Like all of the pet turf provided by DFW Turf Solutions, it is UV protected, non-flammable and resistant to chemical damage.
- Yarn type: Monofilament polyethylene
- Available colors: Field Green/Olive Green
- Face weight: Approx. 78 ounces
- Total weight: 105 ounces
- Primary backing: 7-ounce dual layer non-expansive
- Secondary coating material: 20 oz polyurethane
- Pile height: 1 1/8 inches
- Thatch color: Brown/Green
- Infill: Silica (1-2 pounds per square foot)
- Drainage rate: 28+ inches of rain per hour per square yard
- Warranty: 15 years
FAQs
Professionally installed pet turf
When switching from real grass and looking for the best pet turf, you’ll need to do a little research. Consider the face weight, backing, pile height, blade shape, drainage, UV protection, antimicrobial protection and more.
Working with a professional installation company will ensure that nothing gets missed. DFW Turf Solutions has been helping homeowners in the Dallas-Fort Worth area select and install the best pet turf since 2014.
To learn more about our custom installations and get a free quote on the synthetic turf products and services mentioned above
