Well, some background. We have a tiny house with a huge backyard. At some point decades ago, the degenerate that owned our house at the time was apparently short on cash. He decided a great way to get some money quick was to sell the top soil from the huge backyard, and basically had it skimmed off.

We live on the shore of Lake Huron, and I'm sure at some point thousands of years ago our land was covered by the lake. You can dig 4' down and it's beach sand.

We have 2 dogs. A Belgian Malinois and a Husky/Shepherd cross. Both very high energy, high drive. They chase each other all over the yard and generally have a hell of a lot of fun out there.

The problem is, we're losing our lawn! As the yard is basically weeds, and the soil not exactly dense, it's turning into a dirt track.

Wondering if anyone has any idea of a very sturdy type of grass seed that will grow in this type of soil (I shouldn't even really call it soil I guess). I'd rather not have to get 15 tonnes of topsoil delivered, or sod the whole bloody thing.

 

Nope, dogs and grass don't tend to mix well. You might have better luck if you bring in some topsoil but you'd have to keep the dogs off that area until the grass was established.

The best I can come up with is to make the yard into sections and rotate into which sections the dogs are allowed so you can remove them from a section once they've started to show damage so it can recover. Given that you said you had a huge yard, I would think this could work.

 

My suggestion for the grass/topsoil issue is to address it incrementally.

Without the dogs I would put down a half inch or so of topsoil with fertilizer twice a year and overseed every fall until the lawn is healthy. That might take a couple of years but it reduces cost and labor and IMO it gives you the best chance of success.

With the dogs I would probably do the yard in sections and restrict the dogs access from areas that are being repaired.

 

I would look at annual and perennial ryegrasses. Both are suitable for your climate. The annual grows very quickly while the perennial can withstand heavy traffic. Do a google and read up on them.

 

I would just add run an aerator over the lawn before topdressing, seeding and fertilizing.