The telltale sign of a lawn with a dog is the yellow spots burned into the grass. Dogs have urine that is acidic, high in nitrogen, and it is often concentrated. Here are a few tips to keep your lawn green without getting rid of your beloved pooch.
Female dogs have a reputation for creating more urine spots than males. Their pee is the same for the most part, but male dogs lift their leg on trees and bushes. Females focus all of their concentrated urine in one spot, which increases the tendency for it to ruin the grass underneath. If you are able, you can water urine spots and reduce the chance of brown spots. This will reduce the amount effect.
A more practical method may be to water your dog. The more your dog drinks water, the less concentrated its urine will be. This is highly recommended over chasing every urine spot, but if you have an indoor dog you let out to do its business, maybe you can catch it every time it goes.
There are some grasses that wilt at the site of urine, while others are more resistant to its harmful effects. In Georgia, Fescues are more resistant than Bermudagrass. Contact your local extension office for more information.
Dogs tend to prefer a certain area of the yard for going potty. You can prep this part of the yard with mulch or gravel to avoid yellow spots in the yard. It’s kind of like potty training your dog, but they pick the toilet spot ahead of time, and then you make it. Some people recommend potted plants around the area to keep it appealing for a potty spot.
If you feed your dog better food, it will reduce the impurities in its urine. Talk to your vet about urine testing and figuring out what would improve the quality of its urine. There are supplements available to reduce the pH of dog urine, but it can be harmful to the dog, so don’t do anything like this without a recommendation from a veterinarian.
Hopefully it isn’t somebody else’s dog making the spots in your yard, but if it is, put up a fence! You can also fence your dogs into certain areas of the yard if they are the culprit. Lastly, a polite sign can remind dog walkers about the damage they create when they use your yard as their dog’s toilet.
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North Fulton, East Cobb, Cherokee, Forsyth Counties - including Alpharetta, Canton, Cobb, Cumming, Dunwoody, Gwinnett, Johns Creek, Marietta, Milton, Roswell, Sandy Springs
Topics: lawn care
