Clean Run - November 2016 - 61

overall we are happy as it's met our goals
for our students and our dogs. Southern
Cal competition surfaces are 80-90%
grass, so for our students and our own
dogs we wanted grass. Dogs run very
well on grass."

grasses. I get irrigation from ditch water
a couple of times in the summer and
rely on rainfall. The turf grasses haven't
survived like the fescues and buffalo."
Maintaining Grass

To see a run on this surface, courtesy
of Marq Cheek, watch "Underfoot
Updated Natural Surfaces November
2016 Clean Run Magazine Cheek" in
the in the November 2016 Clean Run
playlist on our YouTube site.
courtesy of MarQuanD cHeeK

Competitor Margo Fournier has been
working with grass in her agility area
for the last two years. She says, "I've
been experimenting here in Colorado
with fescues, timothy, buffalo, and turf

November 16 | Clean run

Grass is not a maintenance-free surface. You will need to mow it, moving
your equipment around every week
or so for at least parts of the year. You
will have to water, fertilize, weed, and
treat any pests (using only dog-safe
methods). Grass may die in the winter,
leaving you with dirt (or snow) and a
lot of work to do in the spring. A grass
surface may need annual thatching or
dragging, reseeding, and/or re-sodding. Depending on the size of your
agility area, you may need to purchase
a riding lawnmower, or you may hire
a lawn service to do the work for you,
but be careful with any chemicals they
might use that could harm dogs.
Although Cheek is happy with the
grass, he says that the maintenance
has some cons: "Grass does require lots
of water, mowing (which means clearing the field of equipment), a gopher

maintenance monthly contract, weeding, twice-annual aeration, and fertilizing. We only use nitrogen to help grass
health; we don't use any weed poisons
for fear of impact to dogs." Cheek says
he sees wear and tear when there are a
lot of classes or seminars in a row. Also,
"Tunnels, weaves, and contacts must
be moved at least once every two
weeks, preferably every week" to avoid
damaging the grass, he says.
Weeds and other invaders can be
huge problems with grass agility areas.
Fournier battles thistle: "I'm bothered a
lot by thistle... and would love to hear
about ways in which to manage or destroy thistle with more natural rather
than Round Up type chemicals."
Grass may be the surface of many agility dreams, but it might be a nightmare
for your situation. Consider it carefully.
DirT anD SanD
Dirt is generally a mixture of types
of soil, including clay, while sand is
very small pieces of rock. Dirt agility
surfaces usually contain both dirt and

61



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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - November 2016

Table of Contents
Clean Run - November 2016 - Cover1
Clean Run - November 2016 - Cover2
Clean Run - November 2016 - Table of Contents
Clean Run - November 2016 - 4
Clean Run - November 2016 - 5
Clean Run - November 2016 - 6
Clean Run - November 2016 - 7
Clean Run - November 2016 - 8
Clean Run - November 2016 - 9
Clean Run - November 2016 - 10
Clean Run - November 2016 - 11
Clean Run - November 2016 - 12
Clean Run - November 2016 - 13
Clean Run - November 2016 - 14
Clean Run - November 2016 - 15
Clean Run - November 2016 - 16
Clean Run - November 2016 - 17
Clean Run - November 2016 - 18
Clean Run - November 2016 - 19
Clean Run - November 2016 - 20
Clean Run - November 2016 - 21
Clean Run - November 2016 - 22
Clean Run - November 2016 - 23
Clean Run - November 2016 - 24
Clean Run - November 2016 - 25
Clean Run - November 2016 - 26
Clean Run - November 2016 - 27
Clean Run - November 2016 - 28
Clean Run - November 2016 - 29
Clean Run - November 2016 - 30
Clean Run - November 2016 - 31
Clean Run - November 2016 - 32
Clean Run - November 2016 - 33
Clean Run - November 2016 - 34
Clean Run - November 2016 - 35
Clean Run - November 2016 - 36
Clean Run - November 2016 - 37
Clean Run - November 2016 - 38
Clean Run - November 2016 - 39
Clean Run - November 2016 - 40
Clean Run - November 2016 - 41
Clean Run - November 2016 - 42
Clean Run - November 2016 - 43
Clean Run - November 2016 - 44
Clean Run - November 2016 - 45
Clean Run - November 2016 - 46
Clean Run - November 2016 - 47
Clean Run - November 2016 - 48
Clean Run - November 2016 - 49
Clean Run - November 2016 - 50
Clean Run - November 2016 - 51
Clean Run - November 2016 - 52
Clean Run - November 2016 - 53
Clean Run - November 2016 - 54
Clean Run - November 2016 - 55
Clean Run - November 2016 - 56
Clean Run - November 2016 - 57
Clean Run - November 2016 - 58
Clean Run - November 2016 - 59
Clean Run - November 2016 - 60
Clean Run - November 2016 - 61
Clean Run - November 2016 - 62
Clean Run - November 2016 - 63
Clean Run - November 2016 - 64
Clean Run - November 2016 - 65
Clean Run - November 2016 - 66
Clean Run - November 2016 - Cover3
Clean Run - November 2016 - Cover4
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