I Need Your Help . . . Urine Spots on Lawn

June 18, 2008

Hey, those "Curb Your Dog" signs aren't just to remind you to pick up his poo, it's also because poochie pee kills plants! As a city dweller, I don't have a yard to worry about but one of our TeamSugar users needs your help: Brendelwoman has two big doggies that are creating unfortunate dead patches on her lawn when they go out. Their area's been getting lots of rain, and the grass gets watered every other day, so the problem liquid is fairly diluted. Since that's sure to end now that Summer's here, she's looking for suggestions to curb this problem pronto! Share any tips, ideas, or pet pill products in your comments below!

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15 Comments

k9lover 4 years

The best natural product on the market for repairing damaged spots in your lawn from pet urine damage is the K9 Yard Patch. www.k9yardpatch.com or you can buy it on Amazon and other retailers online. It utilized 100% organic gypsum which naturally neutralizes dog urine and salt damage, it also retains moisture which aid the seed in germinating. This product works great and is very inexpensive. It comes in a zip lock, resealable bag and will cover 90 yellow spots per bag.

LawnCareExpert 4 years

I was reading some tips on the TruGreen Lawn Care site, and there happened to be one about exactly your problem! They suggest sprinkling sawdust over the spot on a regular basis. It is an all-natural way to lower the nitrogen content and acidity of your soil, with the added benefit of introducing more organic matter into your lawn! Hope this helps!

insanitypepper 4 years

My dog has his own outdoor bathroom. We fenced off the side yard and filled it in with river rocks, so there is no grass to worry about and it's easy to clean. Toby can let himself out through the dog door, which makes it extra low-maintenance for us.

CanadianInVA 4 years

Just add a few tablespoon of Tomato Juice to the dogs food. This is what we always did to our dog's dry food. The advice came from my grandmother who has rescued dogs her whole life.

clareberrys 5 years

Honestly, get over it. SO what if there are dogs peeing on your lawn? Why is your lawn so important to you anyways? A dog is going to pee where it is going to pee and there is nothing you can do about it. Oh man there is a brown spot on your lawn!!! Wow - it is kind of sad that that is a really important thing in your life to keep your lawn as green as possible. I can tell you that no one will care about how your lawn looks unless you are trying to sell your house so I would just let the dogs do their business and move on with your life.

Spectra 5 years

I don't usually have this problem because my dog drinks a lot of water and her pee is really dilute and doesn't burn my lawn. Anything that's mildly basic will help raise the pH of the urine and help reduce yard-burn.

reena2 5 years

As noted above a good watering will help but adding lime (from the garden center) to the soil area will neutralize the soil. Usually, the brown spots come from 'bitches' (female) and if the dog regularly 'pees' in the same spot. If it's an older dog this maybe more difficult to re-train. Even though it is your yard, you may want to leash them and treat them when they pee either in an area you want them to or when they don't go directly to the same spot. With 2 dogs your lawn could be getting a double-whammy if one pees and then the other goes in the same spot. Some people with several dogs designate a part of the yard for 'potty'. They put down soft stones - easier to clean, hose down, it's always in one spot (then if you have kids you can keep them from that area) and there is no grass - so less mud on the dogs in rainy weather. I've seen this worked into a 'garden feature' and no one knows its purpose. But, it will require training. As Melissafouch writes: Beer IS beer. I'd prefer to save it for other uses! Give garden lime a try -it works!

chameleon7 5 years

I have heard giving your dog tomato juice helps. If I remember right, you give them a tablespoon a day.

lawchick 5 years

also, Drs Foster and Smith has something like the "pee post" CupOfDog mentions, I saw it in the catalog just yesterday

lawchick 5 years

Only Natural Pet Store (online) has a product you add to the dog's food or water that is supposed to eliminate this problem. http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Only-Natural-Pet-Lawn-Protect/999107.aspx

CupOFDog 5 years

The burns are from the nitrogen which is eliminated through urine. Adding canned food is a great way to add moisture, diluting the pee so that it isn't as nitrogen concentrated! I feed raw meat to my dogs (its called a BARF diet, FYI) and never have this problem because of the moisture in their diet. If you don't want to change doggie's diet, flushing pee areas with a hose right after is another way. Another way to limit pee stains is getting a 'pee post' which has pheromones to attract the dog to pee there, so the burns are limited to one area. :)

melissafouch 5 years

Beer! Simple as that...I even water it down a little...cuz you know, it IS beer...and beer is good for other things too!

CondoBlues 5 years

Dissolve baking soda in water and pour it on the pee spot in your lawn. The baking soda neutralizes the acid in the urine that turns the grass brown. I wrote about 5 natural ways to repair dog urine spots in my blog Condo Blues http://condo-blues.blogspot.com/2008/05/five-natural-methods-to-repair-brown.html that may be helpful.

jennifermmaul 5 years

We just have a special watering can and we go behind our girls and water immediately after they pee, instead of waiting on rain. In TX it doesn't rain that frequently. It helps dilute it imeediately and push it from top of grass down into the soil. We just had sod installed like 5 wks ago, so looking at that green investment...we definitely want to take care of it.

Renees3 5 years

my mom has her dog only go in one corner of the yard so that's the only area that's dead. Her yard, which used to be BEAUTIFUL, is pretty trashed, since Qi tries to eat all flowers (don't worry all doggy safe flowers!). But she's got her peeing in one corner, so the lawn is coming back and she's teaching her not to eat all the flowers so hopefully she can have her garden back!

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