They are heading into the fall, so rye will be good for a few months. It will sell by then, and then the property owner can figure out what they want to do with the lawn. Applying gypsum will help unlock the salts from the dog urine that damaged your yard. You'll have to keep them off of the yard if you want it to look good. A perennial ryegrass will look much better and last longer into the spring as compared to annual ryegrass. It also won't grow as fast. My vote is for a blend of perennial ryegrass.

You got a few options and it depends on how fast you want it repaired, how much work you want to do, and how much money you want to spend. Fastest most expensive way to to buy sod and lay it down. Next you could if you can find a place to sell you a extremely small quantity, is to just buy 1 or 2 pieces of sod, cut it up into plugs in 2 x 2 inch pieces, and plant on 12 inch centers. Last idea and you may like this one as it is dirt cheap, require elbow grease, and will take some time it go to those healthy thick areas and rip up springs, and transplant them in the bare areas.

You need to push that bermuda.....HARD! The more it grows, the sooner you mow, and the sooner it spreads. It's not going to spread agressively until you mow it. Right now it is only growing vertically, not laterally. You want those stolons to start developing, and that will only happen agressively when you start mowing. I would suggest using 46-0-0 urea nitrogen fertilizer. Apply every 2 weeks at 1 lb. N/ 1000 sq.ft. for the next 6-8 weeks. Water it in immediately afterwards with 10-15 minutes of water per station. If you can't find 46-0-0, then use 34-0-0 on the same schedule. The above suggestion is a bit more agressive than what is normally recommended on this forum, but I've used it to agressively grow-in newly sprigged bermudagrass on golf courses for over 20 years, so I know it works. Just make sure you are applying the correct amount of fertilizer, and water it in immediately after applying! With 46-0-0, you will not be applying a lot of material...a little bit goes a long way. If you can, apply the high-nitrogen fertilizer when the grass is dry. Turn your water off the evening before you are going to fertilize so that no water is applied for about 18 hours prior to fertilizing. Water after fertilizing, and then resume the regular watering schedule. I assume you are using a rotary mower. First, get your mower blade sharpened! This is very important. As soon as any of the grass is about 3 inches high, set your mower height around 2" and mow with a sharp mower blade. Collect the clippings if possible for the first few mowings. If you are unsure about any of this, please ask questions.

This was exactly my problem in 2006. I renovated the entire backyard in 2005, but some low spots developed and water puddled there and the seeds rotted. In July of 2006 this is what I had... lots of crab grass.. So in August I hit the CG and weeds with RU. Mowed it real low once the CG was dead. I bought some loam with compost in it and spread about an inch or 2 in the low spots and seeded. I just dragged a rake over the seeds to cover them a bit and rode tractor wheels to set it up nice. This is what it looked like in October OK, now the results as of 8/14/2007?