7 Tips to Prevent Dog Urine Brown Spots
If you have a dog, then your lawn probably has at least a few—and probably more—brown spots. Urine burns. The purpose of this article is to help you understand why urine causes the grass to die and what you can do to reduce the effects of dog urine on your lawn.
Dog urine on your lawn can kill the grass. DoodyCalls has put together some tips for saving your lawn.
The effects of dog urine on your lawn are similar that of a nitrogen-rich liquid fertilizer. A little fertilizer makes your yard healthy, but too much will kill your lawn. Preventing lawn burn focuses on reducing the amount of nitrogen that comes into contact with grass. Following the seven tips below will help you keep your lawn green and healthy:
- Fertilize your lawn less or not at all in areas where your dog urinates – Fertilized lawns may already have as much nitrogen as they can handle. Even the small amount of nitrogen in dog urine may be all that is needed to burn the lawn.
- Spray areas where your dog urinates with water – Pouring water on the area after your dog urinates will help to dilute the urine and lessen the effects of the nitrogen on your lawn.
- Encourage your dog to drink more water – The more your dog drinks, the less nitrogen will be concentrated in the urine and the less damaging it will be to your lawn. It will also be healthier for your dog. Put a little non-sodium chicken broth in your dog’s water to encourage him to drink more. Readily available clean and fresh water will also help.
- Replant affected areas with a more urine-resistant grass – Ryegrass and fescue are the most urine-resistant, while Kentucky Bluegrass, and Bermuda are most sensitive to urine.
- Feed your dog a dietary supplement – Certain dietary supplements, such as Green-UM and Drs. Fosters and Smith “Lawn Guard,” bind with the nitrogen in the urine, making it less harmful to your lawn.
- Train your dog to eliminate in one area – Some products, such as the Simple Solution Pee Post, are impregnated with pheromones to encourage your dog to pee on or near them. Designating an area for your dog to eliminate in will save the remainder of your yard.
- Apply a lawn repair treatment – Some treatments, such as Dogonit Lawn Repair Treatment, contain organic enzymes with soil cleansers to flush the salts from the root zone.
The manufacturer states on their website, “Dogonit works by loosening compacted soils, allowing air, water, and nutrients to penetrate, stimulating deeper root growth. The build-up of salts from fertilizers, herbicides, and urine overwhelm lawn areas and cause dehydration (burn spots), which appear as localized, yellow or brown patches.
Spray product on affected areas and flush with water. Spray treats up to 200 spots;
Concentrate makes one gallon, enough solution to treat 800 spots. Ingredients: Deionized Water, Plant Saponins, Organic Plant Acids, Plant Enzymes.”
Resources
- “’DOG-ON-IT’ LAWN PROBLEMS” is a well-researched article written by Dr. Steve Thompson, DVM – Director Purdue University Veterinary Teaching Hospital Wellness Clinic in West Lafayette, Indiana. It explains the causes of brown spots, how to avoid lawn brown spots, dietary modification techniques to reduce brown spots, and how to recover damaged areas.