How To Keep Dog Urine From Killing Grass

Yes, your precious pup's pee can kill your grass — if y'all allow it. But if yous sympathize why dog pee kills grass, yous can figure out ways to preclude damage or repair what'south already been done.

And no, the respond isn't keeping your poor dog pent upwardly inside. You and your dog can both become the well-nigh out of your beautiful backyard (for different reasons, hopefully) if yous know the crusade of urine spots and follow elementary measures to fix them.

Hither'due south everything yous need to know about why domestic dog pee kills grass and what you can practice about it:

Why domestic dog pee kills grass

Your dog's urine contains urea, a grade of nitrogen that results from digesting proteins. Dogs have a lot of protein in their nutrition, so they accept a lot of nitrogen in their urine. This high nitrogen content is completely normal and nothing to worry about equally far as your dog'due south health goes.

But it's a different story when it comes to your lawn's health. A little nitrogen fertilizes lawns, but a large amount of nitrogen concentrated in a modest surface area (like when your dog pees in the same spot over and over) burns the grass, killing it.

Some dog owners think the acidity of canis familiaris urine is what burns grass, but that's a myth. Nitrogen kills the grass, and acidity has nothing to exercise with it.

Does diet bear upon domestic dog urine harm?

Your domestic dog'south nutrition can cause their pee to have more than or less nitrogen. Processed proteins create more than urea and higher nitrogen content than fresh proteins. That means a domestic dog on a nutrition of processed proteins is more probable to cause lawn damage.

Most dry and wet dog foods on the shelf are highly processed. For a truly fresh doggy nutrition, y'all can make your own dog food at home. Many pet parents find homemade food more economical than ownership dog nutrient at the grocery store, anyway.

Alternatively, at that place are some "fresh" dog food brands you tin try, including:

• The Farmer'south Dog
• Nom Nom
• Ollie
• Spot & Tango

Note: Don't alter your domestic dog's diet or add dietary supplements without consulting a veterinary first.

Does water intake bear on domestic dog urine harm?

Yes, how much water your dog drinks affects the concentration of nitrogen in their urine. The more water they potable, the more diluted the nitrogen will be when they urinate. Encourage your pup to drinkable more h2o to help forbid backyard spots.

Plus, more water is fantabulous for your dog's health! Hydration is always a good thing. You tin can encourage your dog to drink more than h2o by adding more water bowls around the house, purchasing a doggy drinking fountain, or adding some water to their moisture nutrient.

Does gender bear on dog urine damage?

There'due south a common misconception that female person dogs hurt lawns more than than male dogs, simply it isn't necessarily true. Male person and female dogs' urine has the same chemic makeup, and neither is more harmful to lawns than the other.

Female dogs harm lawns more often because they squat to relieve themselves all in i spot, whereas males usually pee in small amounts around the backyard. When a dog releases all that urine in the same spot, the nitrogen is highly concentrated, which causes brown grass.

Whatsoever canis familiaris that squats to pee — including puppies and elderly dogs of any gender, plus some young developed males — volition cause more than backyard damage. It isn't about gender.

Does breed affect dog urine damage?

Breed has no affect on whether or not a dog'south pee will hurt grass. Yous might observe 1 dog damages your backyard more than than another, but that's because of many different variables betwixt each individual dog. Brood doesn't factor into the equation at all.

How to identify dog urine damage in grass

Damage from dog pee takes one of two forms, depending on the country of your backyard:

• Brown spots, which hateful your lawn is getting too much nitrogen
• Dark greenish spots, which mean your lawn isn't getting enough nitrogen

Seeing dark-brown or dark green spots in your lawn? Here's how to tell if dog urine is the cause.

Brownish spots

If your grass is yellowing or turning brown, that means it's dying. Many things tin can cause yellowing or browning, from lawn fungus to grubs living in the soil. Your dead grass may non be little Fido's fault subsequently all.

If the dark-brown spots (or yellow spots, if they're not totally expressionless yet) came from urine, you should see these features:

• A ring of dark green grass (darker than the rest of your lawn) around the edge of the dead patch
• Grass doesn't pull up easily when yous tug on information technology

Where does the night green band come up from? Retrieve, grass turns chocolate-brown because dog urine adds backlog nitrogen to the soil. As the urine flows away from the spot where your dog went to the bathroom, the nitrogen becomes less and less concentrated.

So, the area around the dead patch doesn't get too much nitrogen to turn brown. Instead, it gets just enough to go a picayune boost and grow greener than earlier. It's like you used fertilizer in that one spot.

What nearly the grass pulling upwardly from the soil? Grass suffering from grubs or fungus has weak roots, which means it detaches from the soil hands. But canis familiaris urine doesn't touch root strength. If you tin can pull upward the grass with a little tug, the canis familiaris has caused your backyard'south problem.

Green spots

Sometimes, your dog's favorite potty fourth dimension hangouts turn dark green instead of brown. Dark green spots mean your soil was lacking in nitrogen earlier, and the canis familiaris's urine provided the nutrients your grass needs to abound every bit healthy equally possible.

In this case, the urine spots are actually healthier than the rest of your lawn. Apply a nitrogen-rich fertilizer to the rest of the soil, and all your grass can exist the same lush, dark color every bit the urine spots.

Warning: Once yous correct your soil and your grass has all the nitrogen it needs, your dog's urine may burn the grass and cause brown spots.

How to fix dog urine spots

Lawn damage isn't the same as a torn-upwardly sofa, so don't become mad at Fido only even so. Yous tin can repair your lawn adequately hands, even if parts of it are expressionless.

Take these steps to help your backyard look as good as new after dog urine damage:

• Water the backyard deeply
• Reseed the dead patches of grass (peradventure with a more than urine-resistant blazon of grass seed, such equally fescue or Bermudagrass)
• Apply lawn treatments made to cleanse the soil of nitrogen and salts from dog urine

For more information on how exactly you can follow these steps and fix your lawn, see our guide on how to repair domestic dog pee spots in grass.

How to prevent canis familiaris urine damage in your lawn

Once you repair your backyard, you lot can proceed those green or brown spots from ever coming back. Or if your canis familiaris hasn't injure the lawn yet, you lot tin can prevent information technology from happening in the outset place. You just have to think ahead and have action earlier you see any damage.

Here are some effective methods for reducing backyard harm from dog urine:

• Thoroughly water the spot where your dog pees immediately afterward they're done
• Train your dog to urinate in a designated spot where there's mulch or gravel instead of grass
• Raise your mowing summit so the grass is less sensitive
• Use Dog Rocks, a production that reduces nitrates in your canis familiaris'south h2o
• Alter your domestic dog's diet (with guidance from a veterinarian)
• Reseed your backyard with a more urine-resistant grass blazon

Want to know more than about these prevention methods? Meet our in-depth guide to preventing dog pee damage.

FAQ about dog pee and grass

one. Will grass grow back after dog urine damage?

Perchance and maybe non. If the afflicted grass is only yellowing, y'all may still be able to save it with extra watering before it turns dark-brown.

If the grass is already brown, it's dead. That grass won't come dorsum to life, but new grass tin can supervene upon it. You accept two options for regrowth:

—Reseed the spot to grow new grass
—Pull up the dead spot and let the surrounding healthy grass to cover the area gradually through rhizome or stolon growth

2. What is the best grass for dog urine?

Warm-flavour grasses typically recover from dog urine harm better than cool-season grasses.

If yous live in an area where you need to utilize absurd-season grass, fescue is the nearly urine-resistant absurd-season grass type.

3. Practice chocolate-brown spots in the backyard mean my dog is sick?

Not necessarily. A healthy dog's urine can crusade brown spots just the same as a ill canis familiaris'south.

However, if you notice a change in your dog's bathroom habits or you suddenly offset seeing spots in the lawn out of nowhere, that may indicate a health trouble, especially with the kidneys. Information technology might be a practiced thought to bring your pup to the vet and take them checked out.

Homo's best friend, not lawn's all-time friend

Dogs love running around in the lawn more than than anyone, only the lawn might not love them back. Canis familiaris pee kills grass in some cases, leaving ugly brownish patches.

But there are enough of measures y'all can take to prevent and get rid of brownish spots without affecting your pup's health and happiness. A few spots of brown grass every once in a while is a pocket-size price to pay for the tail wags you go when yous say the discussion "outside."

Need assist? Regular maintenance from one of Backyard Love's local lawn care professionals can help keep your grass good for you and free of dark-brown patches.

Chief Photo Credit: PublicDomainPictures.net

Jordan Ardoin

Jordan Ardoin is a writer and indoor plant enthusiast hailing from Florida. In her spare time, she enjoys chasing her two cats around the house and trying to keep her houseplants alive.

Source: https://lawnlove.com/blog/dog-pee-kills-grass/

Share this post