Summer is almost here and that means most people are spending much more time outside. With that comes the question we are asked on a regular basis “How do I get rid of the pee spots on my lawn?”
Why does my dogs pee turn the grass brown?
The main contributor to spots on a lawn is caused by the ammonia nitrogen levels in the urine. If you grew up on a farm like I did, you would be very familiar with this smell!
While you may know that nitrogen is something that can be good for a lawn, too much of a good thing can be detrimental. You may have used a high nitrogen fertilizer or spilled too much fertilizer in one area and had a similar result in the past.
Read more about fertilizers here: http://mylawn.care/2019/06/12/why-does-lawn-fertilizer-matter-for-healthy-turf/
Preventing pee spots
A healthy lawn will be much more resilient to damage caused by a dog’s urine.
Water
If your dog is not getting enough water, it can make the nitrogen levels higher.
Additionally, you can spray or pour some water on the area your pet urinates immediately after to dilute it.
Grass seed
The type of seed that you are growing on your lawn can play a factor. Rye grasses and Fescues tend to be more resilient than Blue grasses and Bermuda grasses. Of course, you will want to be growing the proper type of grass for your climate zone, so this may be counter intuitive.
Read more about grass seed here: http://mylawn.care/2019/05/15/what-do-different-types-of-grass-seeds-do/
Fertilizers
If you are fertilizing often or using high nitrogen fertilizers this can compound the effect of the nitrogen levels in the urine and make the lawn much more susceptible to damage.
Using a slow release fertilizer can help lower the amount of times you are fertilizing. A fertilizer with the proper NPK levels at the right times of the year can help ensure your lawn is as healthy and resilient as possible.
Bathroom area
You can create a small area of your yard dedicated to being your pets bathroom. This area can be pea gravel or mulch, kind of like a plantless garden, and train your pet to use that area specifically for bathroom times. Here is an article on how to do so: https://www.cuteness.com/blog/content/how-to-build-a-backyard-dog-potty-area
Repair
There will be times when you are unable to prevent damage to your lawn and need to fix pee spots.
- If the grass in the area is truly dead you can dig the area out, add some good quality top soil (weed free and a 6.5ish pH level) to bring the area back to the level with the rest of the lawn.
- Seed the area liberally with a good quality perennial grass seed, preferably a mix high in fescue and rye grass if this will be an ongoing problem and your climate zone welcomes this type of seed. Read more about climate zones here: http://mylawn.care/2019/05/22/why-are-provinces-and-climate-zones-a-factor-in-planting-or-maintaining-a-lawn/
- Add a thin layer of topsoil over the seeds to help protect them and keep the area moist for the germination period.
For the best seed and fertilizer to help with this problem visit: http://mylawn.care/store/
If you would like to hear more on another topic, or have any questions on the above, feel free to comment below or email us at [email protected]. We are here to help!
Neighbour dogs DO sometimes stop to pee on our lawn (not as much as they used to since those neighbours moved!) but we used Epson Salts and water. It did seem to work for a bit? Otherwise, this sounds crazy, our three little dogs pee on the driveway!?? Hubby uses a solution to rinse it all down….we have no idea where they learned that from!
Maybe they just care about your lawn!