Last Updated on June, 2023
Seeing yellow patches in a lush green lawn is frustrating for all homeowners, period. You spend endless hours taking care of your yard, only to find your dog has peed over it and burnt that soft grass bed.
Dog owners often have a hard time maintaining beautiful gardens and lawns because their canine babies pee anywhere. If your pup has affected your lawn’s look, we have got you covered.
This quick guide on protecting grass from dog urine. So, let’s dive in to know how to prevent dog pee from killing grass!
Here are the 3 key points from this article:
- Dog urine can kill grass because it contains nitrogen, which burns the grass.
- You can prevent this by designating a specific spot for your dog to relieve themselves, and by watering the area afterwards.
- If the damage is already done, you can try reseeding or getting pee-resistant grass.
TLDR: To prevent dog urine from damaging your lawn, you can:
- Specify a pee spot for your dog and train it to use that spot.
- Get a dog loo (absorbent patch) to place in a airy spot in your home.
- Keep your dog hydrated so its urine is less concentrated.
- Water out the pee damage immediately after it happens.
- Enzyme lawn clean the affected area regularly.
Table of Contents
Why Does Dog Pee Kill Grass?
If you’re a new pet parent working your way up the canine ladder, understanding why dog urine is a no-no for your lawn is mandatory.
Dog urine contains around 46% nitrogen, which can stain and burn your lawn grass when left unattended. Since your dog’s diet is mostly meat, the protein breakdown process in its body releases a considerable amount of nitrogen and salt.
These two components aren’t safe for grass and end up changing its color or texture when left unattended. And once dog urine spots appear on grass, reverting them is a big challenge.
Female dogs are more likely to damage your lawn grass with their pee because they squat while relieving themselves. The damage dog urine can cause to your lawn grass depends upon its size, diet, and breed. If you’re careful in your dog’s house training phase, you can rule out this problem from the get-go.
What are the Factors Contributing to Dog Pee Burns in Your Lawn?
Lack of enough hydration will concentrate your dog’s urine. And that concentrated pee will burn your lawn grass instead of discoloring or staining it.
High-protein dog foods release higher amounts of nitrogen during the synthesis process. This nitrogen percentage causes more damage to the grass.
On the other hand, your dog’s balanced diet minimizes the pee damage to your grass. You won’t have to hesitate before letting the buddy roam freely if its urine is less damaging – and the chances of dog pee killing grass will also be rare.
Since male dogs prefer peeing by a wall, post, or fence, they don’t damage lawn grass as much as the female dogs do. If you’re careful of your dog’s diet and toilet training, you can protect your lawn and make it the pal’s happy place alongside.
How Can You Keep Dog Urine From Killing Your Grass?
You noticed a dead grass patch in your precious lawn, and now you’re not sure what to do about it. Fret not, because we have some easy steps that’ll keep dog pee from killing your grass. Here are some simple steps you can follow to prevent dog urine from ruining your lawn:
Specify a Pee Spot
Toilet training a dog will keep your lawn grass intact and reduce your workload. If your dog pees on the ground despite having a separate litter box, specify a corner for it.
Since male dogs prefer relieving themselves by posts and fences, you can also use a pee post for your boy. Designating one corner of the lawn/yard as your dog’s urine spot will help you train it better.
On the flip side, you can fix a far corner of the lawn or gravel pathway where your female dog can do its business. Make sure the corner you choose for your dog is easy to clean and has good ventilation. Because, let’s be honest, no one wants their lawn to smell like pee!
Get a Dog Loo
No, a dog loo doesn’t mean a toilet seat; it means getting a grass-like patch. If your dog urinates on the grass, training it to use the litter box will be tough.
And that’s when a dog loo will come to the picture!
Dog loos are absorbent patches to ensure your home doesn’t smell like urine all the time. Place this loo in an airy spot to provide your dog with a familiar setting to control urine smell.
Keep Your Dog Hydrated
This might sound like an anti-pee-control idea; it’s the most natural way of doing so!
If a dog doesn’t drink enough fresh water, its urine is concentrated and capable enough to burn the grass. But, your pup’s health improves when you take care of its physical activity and make it drink enough water. (1)
Exercise and hydration will keep your dog’s vital organs in good health. And when your dog’s urine is not concentrated, it won’t burn grass or discolor it like before.
Water Out the Pee Damage
If your dog sneaks out to pee on the grass, don’t wait till the damage signs appear. Grab your lawn hose or water sprinkler and pour a gallon of water on dog urine to dilute it.
Pouring water on dog urine spots will dilute the nitrogen from the dog’s urine. Water will free the grass from urine’s lasting damage and the patches. If the damaged place has got a good slope, the diluted urine will flow away, or else, it’ll seep down the ground.
Enzyme Lawn Cleaning
When the dog urine damage is too much, treat the grass with an enzyme cleaner. You can get a bacterial enriched synthetic cleaner to cover the grass to repair your lawn.
You can buy an enzyme cleaner from here and neutralize nitrogen’s impact. This enzyme cleaner will deodorize your lawn, and revive its lush green beauty. The enzyme cleaner will control urine damage and remove nasty smells from your lawn.
You can protect your lawn grass by walking your dog and keeping it in a good health. Try the above-listed steps and live a better life with your pet from now onwards.
How to Revive Healthy Lawn Grass?
When your lawn grass is damaged beyond repair, the only practical way is to revive it instead of watering out the mess. Here are the top two methods you can try after toilet training your dog to enjoy a beautiful lawn:
- Reseeding
Reseeding your lawn grass will help when dog urine burns it. Scrape the affected patch off, give the soil some time to heal, and plant new grass seeds. Sure this method will take time; it’ll breathe new life into your garden!
- Getting Pee-Resistant Grass
Most grass types, i.e., Bermuda, Bluegrass, etc. are too fragile to bear dog urine and end up with brown spots. Get urine-resistant grass like tall fescue for your garden and keep brown spots at bay. Ryegrass, fescue, and Zoysia are the most resistant grass types you can get for your yard.
Do Dog Supplements Help with Controlling Dog Urine Damage?
Several dietary supplements claim to fix dog urine’s nitrogen concentration. But, if you get a supplement to alter your dog’s internal pH without consulting a vet, it can be risky.
A safe and natural method you can try to reduce your dog’s nitrogen ingestion is using dog rocks. These igneous dog rocks sit in your dog’s water bowl and absorb most nitrates and salt particles from it. Once the nitrates and sale particles are out, your dog will drink pure water.
Conclusion
Preventing the chances of dog urine killing grass is a tough one. Most pet parents find this difficult because dogs like peeing on the grass. Training them to pee at a particular spot takes time. But if you don’t do proper toilet training, your dog will ruin your beautiful Bermuda grass bed.
We have listed all important steps to avoid dog urine spots and keep your lawn beautiful. Add these tricks into your routine to be a good pet parent without risking your home’s beauty.
FAQs
REFERENCES:
- https://dogtime.com/dog-health/general/1175-keeping-dogs-hydrated-aaha
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