Our four-legged canine friends may be awfully cute, but the ugly yellow patches or brown spots their urine leaves behind are definitely not attractive. This could be counterproductive to your lawn care and lawn maintenance efforts.
Understand the Science of Dog Pee
Dog urine has a high concentration of nitrogen and when Fido pees, the extra nitrogen poisons the grass. Small amounts of nitrogen actually give grass a burst of growing energy which is why the perimeter of a spot is bright green but too much nitrogen burns the grass. Female dogs are more likely to cause lawn burn because they void their entire bladder in one squat. Also large dogs deposit more urine which is more nitrogen.
Dog feces also add surplus nitrogen to lawns, but it’s released much more slowly. Damage is mostly caused by solid waste smothering the turf which kills the grass.
Using a scooper solves this problem.
Solutions for Lawn Damage from Dog Urine
Of course, we would never encourage you to find a new home for Barney. But the solutions do take some effort on your part.
1. Walk pooch to a field instead of letting him go on the lawn.
2. Try potty training your dog by training your pet to urinate in a designated area. They say consistency for three weeks will establish a new routine.
3. Pour water generously over the spot as soon as the dog pees. This will help dilute the urine and minimize damage.
4. Damage is worse when dogs haven’t urinated for a number of hours since the urine is very nitrogen rich. Try to be more pro-active first thing in the morning or when you get home at the end of the day.
Repairing Grass Spots Damaged by Dog Urine
Dead spots needed to be reseeded. Rake away the dried-up grass and turn the soil before sprinkling grass seed liberally. Cover the seed with a thin layer of compost, tamp the compost gently and water the area until the seed has germinated.
Call a Lawn Care Professional for Help with Lawn Damage
Maintaining healthy turf through proper fertilization is the best way to ensure good recovery from damage. Whitehouse Landscaping offers an organic-based approach to lawn care which is safe for your family, environment and for your pets! Call us at 484-300-4290 or visit www.whitehouselandscaping.com and ask for a free consultation.