How to Rid Your Grass of Dog Urine Spots

When nature calls, dogs do what they must, where they must (after all, a pristine green lawn is a human invention, far beyond the comprehension of the canine brain). The brown spots caused by urine are simply the result of too much of a good thing--namely, an overconcentration of nitrogen, which burns the grass.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Garden Hose
• Grass Seed Or Sod
• Shovel Or Trowel

1. Consider the kind of maintenance your lawn gets. The soil beneath a highly fertilized lawn already contains large concentrations of nitrogen--and a little more, courtesy of a dog doing his duty, is enough to push the grass over the edge. (Female-dog urine is not more potent than that of males. It causes more trouble simply because females tend to urinate all at once in one spot.)

2. Turn on the hose and flood the spot if the deed has just been done. Even within a few days, a thorough flushing should head off any damage, and before long the grass will grow back as good as new.

3. In cases where the damage has been in place for a while, dig out the damaged turf and flush the soil with plenty of water to dilute the excess nitrogen.

4. Reseed or resod the spot.

Tips & Warnings

• Urine damage has nothing to do with acid, so canine dietary supplements that alter the urine's pH have no effect on the "burn" spots.

[eretsaw]

on 6/4/2009 Dog urine spots are not caused by salt. It is the increase in nitrogen that results in a "burn" similar to over use of fertilizer. see: Dr. Steve Thompson, DVM - DirectorPurdue University http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/turf/dog_lawn_problems.htmlThe best solution I have found is a product called "TurfPro" www.ecofriendlyonline.comThis soil amendment increases the soil biology and allows the grass to withstand the increased nitrogen from the dog [e-mail]

[k9lover]

on 8/14/2008 A natural way to repair your lawn is by using K9 Yard Patch at www.k9yardpatch.com it is a lawn patch utilizing 100% organic gypsum and grass seed. Gypsum naturally neutralizes dog urine and retains moisture to grow the seed. I bought some one Amazon.com but you can probably get it at other retail stores.

[Swede]

on 6/18/2007 Most comments have a mixture of true and false answers...for an in-depth view, visit the following site:http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/turf/dog_lawn_problems.html

[triplej]

on 5/29/2007 Great insight - both from the article and the comments.

on 3/21/2006 I don't know how or why, but feeding your dog foods and/or treats with Yucca Extract seems to reduce or eliminate urine burns on your lawn. I own a pet store and it has worked for many of my customers.