Anyone who owns a dog is familiar with the damage they can inflict on lawns. They dig holes, wear paths and burn the grass.

Grass selection is largely dictated by local climate. Cool-season grasses such as fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial ryegrass are most active during the winter and early spring months.

And fine fescue is also commonly used in seed mixes, often blended with bluegrass and ryegrass seeds. Kentucky bluegrass is perhaps the most popular of all cool-season grasses.

Credit: Getty Images Perfect for the cooler climates of the Upper and Middle South, the infamous Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) is resistant to disease and foot traffic. Classified as a ...

Most grass seed is a blend of various types. For sunny lawns, select a mix that contains about 50% Kentucky Bluegrass cultivars.

Bee lawns: these are a mix of fescue grass, clover and other low growing, flowering, broadleaf seeds. They generally don’t require mowing more than once or twice a year. Seed is expensive and probably ...

A mixture of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass works well for Central and Eastern Oregon. This mixture creates a lawn that needs relatively high fertility to look its best, Kowalewski said.

• Pastures should contain no more than 50% to 60% fescue, especially if it is Kentucky 31 variety. • Check the purity of your fescue seed. • Consider a mix of 25% to 30% cool-season grasses.

Bluegrass, fescue, and perennial rye are all cool season grasses. “Cool season grasses stripe better, they’re greener, and you cut those grasses higher, typically,” he said.

Many homeowners think of overseeding as simply adding seed to an existing lawn, but true overseeding works best when grass is actively growing, which isn’t the case in most regions during February.