Barley lawn?

Last year the universe gifted us with 3 German shepherd mix puppies.  By the time we realized they weren't poor lost puppies, but dumped we were to attached and kept them.
Our front yard is the only place we have fenced.  It had a large oleander and weeds we mowed and pretended was a lawn.  We had to remove the oleander, and between not watering, and the dogs the ground became a bare dust bowl.  We have tried several things, and nothing has really worked.  
Ideally I would love to buy buffalo grass seed, grow it in trays essentially growing my own plugs. But I can't find the seed for the one that stays green in the winter. The regular one is hard to find and quite expensive.
Last night my son asked me if my work sells barley seeds?(I work for a Co-op). I said yes, I bought a 50lb bag that day (I ferment it for my chickens) He said he watched someone on the internet seed his yard his dogs destroyed with barley.  What ever the guy said, my son was sold. He plans to break up the soil a bit, seed it with barley and water. He wants to do it now because we ay supposed to get several days of rain soon.  He said we should have green "grass" within two weeks. I asked what about the dogs, and he said they can still use the yard.
Sounds to good to be true, which means it probably is.  But the more I read about barley, the more I think it may actually help. I don't think it's a permanent fix, but it may help get something more permanent established.  It's a strange concept, and I can't find anything on the internet about it.  What do you think?  Is it worth the time and effort?  Has anyone heard of this ??? Thanks

I haven’t tried this exactly, but I have used barley straw for animal bedding and garden mulch. Wherever and whenever I spread it, barley always sprouts and grows well. It’s become a sort of defacto cover crop in my warm, wet climate.    I can’t say how it would respond to mowing.

Just chiming in with my own $0.02 USD, but the short-term gain I don't think will be worth the effort.  As an annual, the barley is geared towards growing fast to seed and the plants then dying with the new seed providing for any new growth.  This cycle, however, cannot compare to most perennial grasses which establish root systems and new sprouts from the spreading rhizomes under the soil.  If/when mowed, it (barley) likely would be quite 'stubbly' as the lower stems are evolved/bred to support the seed heads.  If the dogs will be remaining in that general yard space, it may be better to cordon-off certain stretches that are protected and 'babied' with seed new hardy grass of (variety mixes used for sports fields).  Like rotational grazing, you can allow them back on after it's established and move to protecting another section while it gets seeded and established as well.  Good luck!