Road Fabric:
Do you believe this will do a better/longer job than comercial weed fabric? Will it drain?

Horse or Kennel Mats:
1) Will it need to be installed on a slope? That is where will all the rain and other water go?
2) What about mold and mildew?
3) Is it available in a light color? I imagine black can get quite hot.
4) What about traction, is this slippery?
5) What about bugs? I know earwigs love to crawl under things so will I possibly be creating another problem?

There are probably better solutions for your problem. A photo of the area would be helpful, and also the grass types suitable to your area.

Dogs like to run laterally along fences and they use the exact same route. Most common landscape features will not withstand this concentrated dog traffic. You should not be focused on a single solution to the problem; that would be tunnel vision.

If the real problem is dog behavior, there are two directions to take; one, accommodate the behavior with landscaping that can withstand the concentrated dog traffic, or two, change the dogs' behavior.

One way to change behavior is to place moveable obstacles along the fence to disrupt the perfectly parallel line they want to run. By often moving the location of the obstacles, the wear is distributed and many grasses can handle the abuse. Obstacles I've seen used are planters or small plywood panels hung on the fence perpendicular to the fence. Disruption of the pattern can be used for things other than grass.

When it comes to a surface that can accommodate the dog traffic, I prefer sand. It can be raked on a regular basis to deter weeds. But depending on the location sand can be very hot.

And consider that one solution can be used for part of the fence and something else used for the rest.

All I'm trying to do here is better define what the problem is and widen the scope of what solutions might be available.

We have two dogs and regularly dog-sit for friends (there are three dogs here at the moment...) The garden paths were planned to accomodate the dogs' patrols so there are paths along both side fences (the garden beds are to the inside of the paths); the path across the back runs further away from the fence to keep the dogs out of 'the wet corner' bed plus give a narrow dogs-only route behind the shed with a wider people+dogs one across the front of the shed, with the two paths merging for the passage past the bank under the pines. All the paths are shaded by the planting, which undoubtedly helps with weed control! (Many weed seeds need light to germinate so they either don't germinate at all or produce weaker growth in shade.) The paths here are 1/3 concrete sand and 2/3 fine pine bark mulch mixed together and packed down with a water-filled roller. I have never had a weed problem on the paths and the dogs really do prefer 'the path of least resistance' so stay on the paths and don't trouble the garden.

You'd go a long way to solving the problem by planting things (e.g. trees, shrubs, large perennials) that will shade the paths - and the dogs will appreciate the cooler conditions there too!

A resident and a visitor on a path:

Unfortunately much of this dog walk is in hot west facing sun and until the new landscape matures there won't be a lot of shade.

Woodyoak, they do patrol the walk alot but there are only two of them at 15-18 pounds each so not much of an impact + they have other play areas too like the creek bed, hollow rocks and tunnels (where mamm hides goodies). I like your idea of concrete sand and fine pine park mulch. Can't wait until my paths have the nice shade yours does.

Woodyoak do you suppose fine Hemlock would work in place of the Pine as you described above? I do like the look of your paths - and weed free you say. Gotta love it!

You can see the layout of the paths and beds in our backyard here:

(The lot is 75' wide and there is about 55' from the back of the house to the back fence.)

Looking across the north half of the backyard in early June from the back porch:

The path the dogs were on in the earlier picture is the one you can see here leading from the edge of the lawn and going under the pines at the back.

The paths here are one of the defining features of the garden as well as being practical for the dogs and people. I think it's well worth thinking more broadly about the function of your paths - you would probably find them easier to maintain if they weren't just limited to the dogs. :-)

(Our property is suburban but I'm doing my best to make it look like a woodland. When we bought it, in late 1999, it was a blank slate aside from two middle-aged white pines, the mature white ash and a young red oak. A few years can make a lot of difference....)