How to Get Rid of Lawn Spots from a Dog

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By Gardengates
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How to get rid of canine lawn spots

Those brown and yellow spots from dog urine can make a lawn unsightly and can actually kill areas of grass. Is there anything that can be done to help?

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Control the situation. Albeit there are products on the market to help with dog urine spots on the lawn, the only way to permanently eradicate the problem is to allow dogs on the lawn infrequently or not at all. There are things you can do to lessen the impact, however, if you want your pets to roam free.
Step 2

Design your garden with urination patterns in mind. Females usually cause more spotting as they urinate in the middle of a lawn whereas males are more likely to lift their legs against vertical surfaces found along the sides of the lawn.
Step 3

Choose the right grass. Bermuda and Kentucky blue grass are probably the most resistant grasses for wear and tear, but no grasses are immune to the concentrated salts and nitrogen in dog urine.
Step 4

Water the urine spot when fresh. Watering frequently will dilute the urine, but particularly in drought-prone areas this may not be practical.
Step 5

Check out commercial products. There are commercial topical products available that will neutralize the spots, but you have to be able to use them while the spot is still wet or soon after for the best results.
Step 6

Try internal treatments for your dog. Some people claim success with products that you feed your dog. These are supposed to make the urine less acidic. As far as I know they are safe to use for your dog, though I can't attest to how effective they are or if there is any long term impact on your dog's health.
Step 7

Of course, you can always be straight-forward about the issue and either fence off the lawn area, replace the lawn with hardscape (brick, cement, gravel or the like) or train your dog to go to a limited area to do his or her 'business'. These are probably the best, long term solutions.
Step 8

Be aware that in larger lawns, areas that are not repeatedly peed on will grow back -- sometimes lusher than before due to the nitrogen. But small lawns that are constantly inundated are likely to be a problem. Hopefully, one of the above suggestions will help control, if not prevent, ugly pet spots in your lawn.