Under Foot - A Look at Indoor Agility Flooring (for Dogs)

Under Foot
A Look at Indoor Agility Flooring
By Clean Run Magazine
November 2005

FieldTurf
FieldTurf is an artificial grass made of a polyethylene. The infill is made from graded silica sand and ground rubber to provide a non-compactable, resilient, natural-feeling surface. FieldTurf is a widely used product. Smith says that in a recent study regarding artificial turf in the U.S., “Of all synthetic turf sports fields installed in 2004, FieldTurf represented over 50%.” The product is also used in a variety of dog-related businesses, golf courses, sports stadiums, and residential areas.

Contact: TourTurf by FieldTurf, 1548 The Greens Way, Suite 1, Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32250; (877) 710-8873; www.fieldturf.com

Cost: $8 to $15/sq ft depending on size, access, and other variables.

Installation costs: Included in cost.

Installation requirements: Installing FieldTurf is not a do-it-yourself project. This surface can be put in over dirt, soil, asphalt, or concrete with proper preparation by TourTurf’s installation crew. Installation costs include all necessary products. Without sufficient access of an opening 6’ high by 7’ wide there may be increased costs.

Warranty Information: 7 years for product, 1 year for installation.

Weight: Not applicable because the product is installed by TourTurf staff

Ease of cleaning and maintenance: Sales manager Ken Smith reports that kennels using TourTurf by FieldTurf have found many cleaners, disinfectants, and deodorizers to be effective, including Simple Green, AlphaZymePlus, KennelSol, Roccal-D, Parvasol II, and others. As long as the subfloor drains properly, the turf can be flushed with water when necessary. Damage to turf is infrequent and can be repaired by FieldTurf affiliated contractors.

Comments: Beverly Siow of The Animal Keeper boarding facility in California says about FieldTurf: “We love it! We’ve had it down for two years. We have 25 to 40 dogs on it every day for seven hours a day. We’ve been very, very pleased with it. We have it outdoors and we clean it with bleach that we put in a garden sprayer and attach to the hose. We did have a couple of dogs try to tear it up near a seam once. The company cam out and it was stitched.”

Facility Manager for the San Diego Humane Society, Terry Little says, “We’ve have FieldTurf in our back agility yard for two years. Over 200 dogs use it every day for exercise and outside time. It’s amazing! It’s unbelievable how it’s done. We have to do minimal maintenance on it. We run an irrigation system through it and it has a biological filter. It’s pretty durable. For what we use it for, it’s great. It pays for itself in about three years in terms of what we would pay for sod. Our equipment sits on it, and when we move it there are no flat spots or anything.”

Gay Barwald, Vice President of Pet Resorts Inc., which runs the national chain of boarding facilities known as Pete & Mac’s Pet Resorts, has great things to say about FieldTurf: “We love it! We put in into a brand new resort in Kansas and we said,‘Now we have to have it in all of them.’” FieldTurf is now in every Pete & Mac’s. Barwald says, “It’s nicer aesthetically, it’s easier on dogs’ pads, and fleas can’t grow in it. It’s tough--we use big farm tanks as pools and there’s no damage. They have wonderful customer service. It’s a great product. It’s expensive but we think it’s well worth it.”

Clean Run | November 05