+ 6 ways to save your lawn from dog urine
Many of us may also be struggling with scorched or burned grass and may be wondering, “can dog pee turn your lawn brown?”. Having a dog can mean sacrifices, like the joy of ever going to the bathroom alone again or losing a favourite pair of shoes during the dreaded teething phase.
But do dogs have to cost us our beautiful lawns too?
Let’s examine why dog pee makes brown spots and what to do about it.
Why does dog pee turn the lawn brown?
Dog urine contains a significant amount of nitrogen. When a dog empties their bladder on one spot, it’s like dumping a lot of fertiliser in one area. Any proficient gardener knows that too much nitrogen fertiliser burns the grass and causes it to turn brown and die.
Male dogs are off the hook for this one because they tend to lift their legs and squirt small amounts of urine on bushes or trees, mostly saving your lawn. But female dogs, puppies, seniors, or other dogs that squat tend to empty their whole bladder in one spot.
This can cause the dreaded lawn burn of brown spots.
If your soil has a nitrogen deficiency, it can cause a spot of flourishing green grass. More often, it creates a ring of green grass around the brown spot. This is because the nitrogen was more diluted and acted as fertiliser instead of damaging grass.
So what do we do about this problem?
Can diet or supplements that change my dog’s urinary PH save my lawn?
Turning to a diet or supplements to change your dog’s urinary PH and protect your lawn is tricky, and we do not recommend it. Firstly, nitrogen in a dog’s urine causes the brown spots, not the acidity.
Professor Anton Beynan notes that vets will often recommend a low-protein diet. This is because the more protein in your dog’s diet, the more by-products like urea and ammonia they need to excrete in their urine. This is why high high-protein diets are bad for dogs with kidney problems.
Some supplements promise to acidify a dog’s urine with amino acids like DL Methionine. Never give these supplements without speaking to a vet. A dog’s urinary tract is sensitive, and becoming too alkaline or acidic can cause issues like infections or kidney stones.
So stick to a normal healthy diet for your dog and be careful of trying to change the PH of your dog’s urine with nutrition or supplements to “neutralise” or “acidify” urine..
Supplements like Drs. Foster and Smith Lawn Guard claim to bind with nitrogen in a dog’s urine. The active ingredients are inulin, green tea extract, and Yucca Schidigera. These are antioxidants and soluble fibres with several health benefits, but it’s unclear how well they work for urine.
Green tea extract is controversial for dogs, and its tannins can bind with iron and other nutrients. The main takeaway: keep a healthy dose of scepticism about these supplements and be wary of unintended consequences
How do I stop my dog’s pee from scorching my lawn?
1. Walk your dog first thing in the morning.
The best way to save your lawn is to get them out of the yard to pee somewhere else as much as possible. That means going for walks multiple times a day.
2. Have a designated area for your dog to pee.
Most of us leave our dogs to pee or toilet anywhere in our yard and garden. However, for those pet parents who want to make the most of their garden, it’s a good idea to create a designated area for your dog to pee and poop. Not only does this help save your lawn from brown spots and keeps all the poop in one area, making it easier to clean.
Not to mention saving you the hassle of accidentally stepping in poop while trimming the rose bushes. Having a designated area for your dog to pee is as simple as restarting potty training. But, this time you always take your dog or puppy to the designated area with mulch or to toilet until it becomes a habit.
3. Teach your dog to pee on command.
A helpful little command to add to your dog’s obedience skill set is to teach them to toilet or pee on command. This is a great trick to ensure your dog toilets before travel. If you have a dog that wees on the furniture, it’s also helpful to make sure they pee outside before they come indoors.
But getting your dog to pee on command also allows you to ensure they pee in areas of the yard that don’t damage your lawn. Here is a great video to help you get started teaching this command.
4. Turn on the sprinklers.
Watering down the area where your dog pees is one of the best ways to wash away nitrogen and neutralise the urine, reducing brown spots on the grass. The more irrigation, the less nitrogen will affect your lawn.
5. Reseed the brown spots or dead with grass that is more resistant to nitrogen.
Speak to a lawn expert in your area about which strains of grass are resistant to high levels of nitrogen. Tough perennial ryegrass and other strains are often hardier and less prone to grass burn. You can also fertilise your lawn less to reduce the overall nitrogen in the soil.
6. Don’t turn to home remedies.
Whether it’s home remedies like garlic or salt to get your dog to drink more water, or home remedies like baking soda or gypsum to neutralise the urine on the grass, don’t do it.
Garlic is toxic to dogs, and salt can be really bad for dogs with heart conditions. Gypsum and baking soda may actually make the brown spots worse.
Final thoughts
When it comes to saving your lawn from dog pee, be cautious with supplements, diet changes, or natural home remedies. There are really three main strategies:
- Control where your dog pees with a designated peeing area, teaching them to pee on command and going on many walks.
- Growing more resilient strains of grass or turf.
- Keeping your lawn well watered to wash away excess nitrogen.
