# TifTuf Bermuda and Dogs/Kids



## sanders4617 (Jul 9, 2018)

For those of you guys who have/have had TifTuf and Kids/Dogs... how does the grass hold up? Does it live up to it's name as being TUF?

A lot is changing for me soon.. selling my house.. buying a new house. I'm not sure what type of Bermuda the house has, but I know it has been sodded to an extent on the front and sides. The backyard however is not much to look at... and I may be fencing it in and our dog would be back there. So I'm looking for a Bermuda that will hold up very well to the beating a dog will give it (plus my child). The entire yard is full sun, so I won't have any worries about shade.


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## Brackin4au (Jun 13, 2018)

I'm honestly not sure what type Bermuda I have in my yard. I do have a dog though, who every morning makes a couple laps around the fence, checking the perimeter ha. The grass has had no problems there. However she has a specific path from the back patio, to the gate by the driveway, that she wears out many times through the day. Although it is trampled there, it still thrives just fine. Not sure if that will help sine o don't know which Bermuda it is, but just a thought. I think just about any Bermuda will survive.


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## sanders4617 (Jul 9, 2018)

I'll be curious to see what Bermuda I will have in the front. I'm gonna try to contact the builder and see what they normally use for Bermuda.

I'm about 95% sure I will get a sprinkler system installed throughout the entire yard. So I have plenty of options for getting the backyard in shape - outside of dealing with the dog during the process. I've seeded Bermuda (Riviera) before and that was pretty easy to get going - or I could just sprig the back. Ughh


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## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

My guess would be it is sodded with 419. That's the most common type of Bermuda for contractors and new builds. It's fairly inexpensive for them as well. Out here every builder puts in fescue which dies in Fresno's 110 degree summer weather. It looks pretty when it first goes in though.


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## sanders4617 (Jul 9, 2018)

@Bermuda_Newbie why do they use Fescue instead of a Bermuda?


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## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

That's a great question. I'm not sure except that it stays put and looks finished without any curbing or anything. About 40 years ago, all the houses in this area had Bermuda but now everyone has fescue which ends up looking horrible after two seasons since no one overseeds or knows how to take care of it. From what I can tell, most people have some kind of lawn service that mows it too short, it gets patchy and we have this type of weed that people call water grass (I think it's a type of centipede) that encroaches on the fescue. It's the circle of life around here for lawns. I asked a few people I know why they have fescue and their reasoning is they don't like the dormant look of bermuda.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

If they don't like the look of dormant bermuda, there is always PRG.


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## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

Movingshrub said:


> If they don't like the look of dormant bermuda, there is always PRG.


Yep but that's way more work than most people put into their yards here. In Texas and other parts of the country, it's the culture to take care of your yard but for some reason where I live, doing your own yard is kind of unusual. It's not super affluent or anything, I think there's just a lot of lawn services that don't charge very much. They don't do a great job but there's not a huge culture of pride in ones' yard here. The newest trend is a tiny tiny yard (less than 600 sq ft) where they cement in everything in the back and do xeriscape in the front which mostly looks like desert weeds. To each their own I guess. What's unfortunate for people like me is there's not a market for used equipment here.


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## Thor865 (Mar 26, 2018)

I don't know how Tiftuf will do. But I have 2 dogs and 2 kids and my tifgrand held up perfectly last year. You'll always have pee spots unless you train them to specific area and/or water in the spots when you see it happen.


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