You have a couple issues which drive you to opposite ends of the grass spectrum. One is shade and the other is dogs. Dogs require a grass that responds quickly to damage. Unfortunately there are no grasses which respond quickly and can handle shade. Fescue can deal with the shade but once it is uprooted, it is gone. The adjacent fescue will not spread in to fill the hole. What I always suggest for dogs is to fill the area with several inches of shredded tree mulch. You can usually get it for free from a company that trims trees and shreds them on location. If you wanted it 2 inches deep, you would need 6 cubic yards of mulch per 1,000 square feet. You would have to replenish a little each year because it is organic and not a permanent material.

You really think the table top is pine veneer?? I don't think I've ever seen anything but solid pine. And if it were solid pine, I wouldn't hesitate to pull out my power sander and sand off the bad coat and however much of the scratches and dents you want. Stripper performance is greatly affected by temperature and humidity. When it is warm and/or dry, the solvent evaporates too quickly to get the finish removed, so it re-hardens. If it's cool and damp, you can probably remove a poorly applied clear finish with anything. If it's warm and/or dry, as it probably is almost anywhere right now, I've had the best luck with a brand called Dad's. Or cover the stripper with a sheet of plastic. Also, tackle the stripping as early in the morning as possible. It sounds like you want to match the color of the top to the legs. Waterlox is a nice product, but it is quite dark amber. Minwax Wipe-On Poly is quite a bit lighter, performs just as well, and is easy to apply. It's also much cheaper. Minwax Fast-Drying Poly is a little lighter still, and can be made into an easy-to-apply wiping varnish by adding thinner.

I just had most of my new home's cabinetry and millwork sprayed in oil based BM Satin Impervo in White Dove. The best recommendation my painter had was to use the BM Fresh Start enamel underbody as the primer. It was expensive but well worth the money. I used the water based Satin Impervo in our last home and the oil based with this primer makes a huge difference in my eye in the depth and richness of the finished product in addition to the durability. We did one coat of primer and two (sometimes three)coats of the Satin Impervo. Here's my kitchen in White Dove. My camera turns my cabinets grey, they are actually more white in person. The whitest area is the truest color. I suggest going to the local paint store and buying some sample pots to test in your home. The colors you see online aren't going to be the same in your home as it all depends on lighting, etc. I limited myself to three colors because I have a tendency to over analyze and second guess myself and then get nothing done because I can't come to a decision. I chose the stock Satin Impervo, Simply White and White Dove as my samples. In my home the stock color was too yellow (although it was pure white in our last home), the Simply White was too "operating room" and the White Dove was the middle of the road, not too yellow and not too grey. There are some beautiful kitchens on GW in the Simply White, it just didn't work with my lighting. Good luck! I'm sure they will turn out beautiful !

I think the bottom line is that you have to assess the quality before you buy, and you can't simply go by price or where something is manufactured. I've sometimes gotten really great products at low prices, but also been disappointed in something I paid a lot of money for. Major manufacturers produce different product lines -- often ranging from economy to luxury -- in different countries, and there can be variations in production quality even within the same country. I tend to spend a moderate amount of money, look for a name brand, and inspect before I buy, if possible. Where something is made is becoming increasingly irrelevant, unless you insist on buying American. One of the highest quality items I own is my iPhone, and its parts are produced in over 25 countries around the world.