Ways To Prevent Brown Lawn Spots From Dog Urine
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We have two dogs a male Black Lab/Golden Retriever mix and a female Shepard/Husky mix. They are wonderful dogs, but unfortunately, the female marks all over our yard.
Fix Brown Spots In My Lawn With Green Again Pro
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Hold the sprayer at a 45 degree angle and spray. You will begin to see the brown spots in your lawn disappear before your eyes. Move the sprayer in a circular motion to cover the leaf blade evenly.
Myth : Dog Urine Spots Are More Common With Certain Breeds
The Truth: This myth was probably started when a dog owner noticed more spots when owning one breed of dog in relation to another breed, says Harivandi. The truth is that the breed doesnt have any say in the size or damage of the spot.
Some individual dogs have urine with a higher pH level and/or nitrogen content, or their urine is more concentrated. This has more to do with diet, water intake, and general health than with a specific breed of dog. Whether it is a Dalmatian or a dachshund, X still marks the spot.
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What Causes Brown Spots On The Lawn
Having brown spots on your lawn can be frustrating . Particularly when you have been waiting all Winter to get your garden back, and suddenly your grass is just dead or dying. It looks terrible!
There are a number of causes of brown spots in lawns. These include disease, insects and of course, human error. But one of the most prolific causes for those unsightly brown spots is our beloved dogs.
Yes, a dog may be mans best friend, but they can also be a lawns worst enemy! So not only do we have to deal with our dogs tearing up our flowers and digging holes in our garden, but now we also have to contend with our dogs urine leaving dead patches on the lawn!
How To Treat Dog Urine Spots On Grass
One of the challenges of being both a homeowner and a dog owner is how to maintain your lawn. Dog urine is notorious for damaging grass and lawn maintenance can often become a nuisance and serious challenge.
Minor damage often resolves itself as the grass produces more growth. However, there are some things that you can do to help your lawn out and keep it healthy and looking green. Lets take a closer look.
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Can I Use Supplements To Prevent Urine Stains
Though many commercial products claim to prevent urine stains when added to your dogs food, theres no evidence that theyre effective. These are purported to change the nitrogen content or pH of the dogs urine. In addition to being ineffective, these supplements may contain ingredients that can be toxic to pets or contribute to significant health concerns like bladder crystals and stones.
Two: Apply Garden Lime
The reason why your lawn dies after your pet has urinated on it is that the ammonia in the urine is exceptionally acidic. Your grass doesnt like this and dies as a result. Even by removing the grass, you are not able to achieve growth while the soil is still acidic. Therefore, you need to go to a garden store and purchase a bag of garden lime.
Take note of how much damage there is so you know what bag to buy. However, theres no harm in having some left over for lawn care and maintenance later on down the track. Once youve purchased the lime, put your gardening gloves back on, grab a handful, then spread it over the lawn bald spot. Ensure that you cover the entire area evenly to balance your soil and promote growth.
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Walk Your Dogs Away From The Yard
Most dogs will go while out and about, so this is a simple solution that will reduce the amount of dog urine your grass is exposed to.
The downside is that you have to walk your dog multiple times a day, rather than just letting him play outside.
And you have to prevent your dog from creating brown dog urine spots in other peoples lawns as well!
Train Your Dog To Urinate In A Designated Area
If you regularly let your dog out on your lawn to go potty, you can create a designated potty area so that dog urine concentrates in one spot.
You can start by setting up an enclosed area and leading your dog to this spot. Dont let your dog out until it pees, and praise and reward your dog every time it successfully relieves itself in the area.
To encourage your dog even further, you can follow up potty time immediately by offering your dog to play his favorite outdoor game. This will associate potty time with playing and can help your dog waste less time and pee more quickly.
As your dog gets used to peeing in one area, you can remove the fence once it consistently goes to the area on its own to pee.
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Disclaimer: This site contains affiliate links from which we receive a compensation . But they do not affect the opinions and recommendations of the authors.
Wise Bread is an independent, award-winning consumer publication established in 2006. Our finance columns have been reprinted on MSN, Yahoo Finance, US News, Business Insider, Money Magazine, and Time Magazine.
Like many news outlets our publication is supported by ad revenue from companies whose products appear on our site. This revenue may affect the location and order in which products appear. But revenue considerations do not impact the objectivity of our content. While our team has dedicated thousands of hours to research, we aren’t able to cover every product in the marketplace.
For example, Wise Bread has partnerships with brands including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Discover, and Amazon.
Urban Legends About Urine Damage
Home lawns frequently suffer from dog urine damage, which has prompted the development of several home treatments and commercial items that claim to be cures for the stains. When it comes to the origins and treatments of this lawn problem, there is a lot of misunderstanding. In turfgrass, dog spotting is induced by the deposition of a high concentration of nitrogen -containing compounds and related salts in a concentrated region of the lawn. These deposits are frequently concentrated in a very small area of the lawn, causing harm or death to the turf in the process.
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Can You Repair Brown Grass Spots After The Fact
Jones says lawn soil can be restored by neutralizing salts from the dogs urine with gypsum-containing products such as NaturVet GrassSaver gypsum soil conditioner.
To do this, get a small bag of gypsum, add a few tablespoons to the soil and water in gently, then cover the spot to stop the dog from peeing there. After a few days, scratch up the soil and apply some good quality grass seed. Again, keep the dog away. Just repeat the process as necessary, he says.
Jones notes that you will need patience and must be vigilant about training your dog to keep away from the areas under restoration. Additional watering will also help revive the dead spots, says Henriksen.
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The Deodorizing Power Of Baking Soda
Baking soda is a powerful odor neutralizer. Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda per quart of water and mix the solution in a spray bottle. Spray this solution onto areas of your lawn that smell of animal urine. Spray lightly and do not saturate the soil. Baking soda does not harm your turf grass. In fact, it performs a triple duty by helping burned and dead patches recover, in addition to keeping fungal pathogens and diseases from invading your lawn.
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Green Grass Happy Dog: Preventing Dog Urine Spots On Lawns
We love everything about our dogs, but we dont always love some of the side effects of doggie business, such as those yellow or brown dog urine spots on the lawn. Not only do the spots make the yard look less attractive, they are also hard to get rid of. Add in two or more dogs, and you may be facing a completely dead lawn in the not too distant future.
Also called lawn burn, urine damage to lawns is a misunderstood problem that has generated a variety of commercial products and DIY remedies. Weve broken down this common concern and have the scoop on how to prevent this unsightly situation.
Feed Your Dog Food With The Right Pet Formulation
One last way to help reduce the potency of their waste product is to feed them the right formulation. The right kind of pet food helps them be healthier. High quality dog food is made from better, purer ingredients. And, it has balanced pH.
This means there are less impurities filtered into their waste products. And, in the process, your pet is also able to absorb more nutrients.
This results in waste, both pee and poop, thats less damaging to your lawn.
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Why Does Dog Urine Kill Grass
Most people assume that urine kills grass because of its low pH level, but thats actually not the case. The truth is a little more complicated, and you have to examine the chemical makeup of dog urine to get the full story.
Looking at the main components of dog urine, youll find urea basically an ammonia-rich byproduct created when your dog metabolizes proteins.
Because dogs are carnivorous, their urea is full of nitrogen.
While nitrogen is important for a plants growth, too much nitrogen will harm the plant and eventually kill it. This causes the patches of brown you may notice on your lawn.
If you examine a brown patch, you may notice a bright green halo where the perimeter seems healthier than the rest of the lawn. This is because the grass absorbed some of the beneficial nitrogen but not enough to cause plant death.
Another common misconception is that only female dog pee kills grass, which also isnt true. This concept is due to the fact that females squat to do their business, causing a more concentrated deposit of urine in one area, therefore upping the risk of grass damage.
In other words, its the way your doggo unleashes a tinkle torrent that harms the grass it has nothing to do with the urine coming from a male or female dog. Plus, many males squat to relieve themselves too!
Certain types of grass are particularly sensitive to the components of dog urine.
How To Fix Brown Lawn Spots:
Rake the patchy areas to remove as much of the dead grass as possible. – We used a hand fork.
Cover the patches with a quality topsoil or lawn soil until it is level.
Scatter lawn seed on top of the topsoil. Choose a seed suited to your climate, grass type, and sunlight exposure.
Water your lawn daily
After a period of time, you will see the grass start growing. If there are still patches visible, throw in more seed and water regularly. Allow new growth to get at least one-third taller than recommended mowing height before you mow, or seedling growth could be interrupted.
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Is Your Dog To Blame For Your Lawns Brown Grass Spots
Before blaming it on your dog, first confirm that he is indeed the culprit, says Missy Henriksen, vice president of public affairs for the National Association of Landscape Professionals.
Several brown spots surrounded by dark green grass is one indication that the damage is caused by dog urine, she says. To check your lawns health and help determine the cause, gently pull on the discolored turf to see if the roots are firm.
If the root system remains secured, then you can take action to reduce issues caused by dog urine. However, if you can easily pull back large amounts of grass, you might be dealing with a lawn disease, Henriksen says. If that is the case, she recommends that you seek a lawn care professionals help.
Myth : Dog Pee Damage Can Be Cured With Household Products
The Truth: Sprinkling baking soda, gypsum, dishwashing detergent, and other random household products wont get the yellow out of your yard and may cause even more trouble.Heres why: Baking soda and and gypsum contain salts, and may increase the problem.
Dishwashing detergent is a surfactant and could help with water movement through the soil. But other ingredients in the soap might burn the grass itself, so its best not to add to the problem.
The real magic ingredient is water. Deep watering of the spot can dilute the nitrogen and salts and allow them to leach into the surrounding soil.
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How To Apply Dog Spot
Dog Spot is concentrated and should be diluted at a rate of 4 oz per gallon of water.
If you have just a few dog urine spots on your lawn, we recommend mixing the product and water in a 5-gallon bucket. After brewing, pour the mixture liberally over the affected areas.
If you have a large area or many spots to cover, we recommend using a sprayer to liberally coat the affected areas with the mixture.
Since you’ve diluted the product with water already, you do not have to don’t have to water in the product with your garden hose for it to take effect.
If you apply Dog Spot before your grass has died, you should see your grass return to a vibrant green in 7-10 days. If your grass has already died by the time you apply Dog Spot, you will not see your grass come back to life, but your soils condition will be greatly improved so that new grass will be ready to grow in the place that was previously hurt by your dogs urine.
The Lazy Man Method Tomato Juice
If youre too lazy to treat the spot with water or train your dog to always go in the same area, I recommend tomato juice. My vet gave me this tip. You just feed your dog a bit of tomato juice with each meal by mixing it in with its food.
Our vet said there are two schools of thought about why the tomato juice works. The first is that the tomato juice neutralizes the pH. I dont understand the science behind it, so if you disagree with the pH theory, the other theory is the dilution theory. Some say that tomato juice works to prevent brown spots from urine is because of the salt in the tomato juice. The salt makes the dog thirsty, so she drinks more water and naturally dilutes her own urine.
I would recommend spot training your dog as the best long-term solution. But if you cant train your dog, the tomato juice is a great alternative.
Do you have a dog that has killed the grass by urinating on it? If so, do you know of other ways to prevent spots?
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How To Fix Dog Urine Spots On Lawns
Sharing your yard with a canine companion can be one of the best parts of having a lawnuntil dog urine lawn spots and other dog damage show up in your carpet of green. By learning how to fix dog urine spots on lawns and prevent other dog-related lawn damage, you and your dog can coexist harmoniously and enjoy a beautiful, lush lawn.
Get your four-legged buddy on board and follow these basics for simple, effective dog urine grass repair:
Reduce The Amount Of Fertilizer You Use In The Areas Where Dogs Pee
Another way to reduce the effects of too much nitrogen is to reduce the amount of fertilizer you use in certain spots of your garden. This can be a solution if the brown spots dont get too bad.
So, if youre not able to catch the dog or prevent it from peeing in your lawn regularly, reducing the amount of fertilizer on the spots that they do their business prevents too much nitrogen from accumulating in the area.
Its worth noting that male and female dog peeing patterns can differ. Male dogs will pee in small amounts as they go. So, theyre actually less of a risk for causing damage to your garden.
Female dogs on the other hand are more likely to deposit more pee in a single area. This increases the concentration of the nitrogen making it potent enough to damage the grass.
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