JB Instant Lawn Blog

Man's Best Friend.

Jun 4th, 2018

Man's Best Friend. Lawns not so much...

One of the most common calls I get and the cause of mysterious lawn damage--- is dog urine.

Dog urine is very toxic to lawns and can burn out areas all the way down to the base killing the turf completely!

Think of it as a very concentrated form of liquid fertilizer that undeluted will burn your lawn.

Dog Urine has many of the same elements as fertilizer- Urea Nitrogen being the main culprite in the burning.

If your furry friends happen to be female- the damage can actually be a bit worse.

Female dogs- (like my two shepards)- tend to urinate squatting in a low and focused manner and often in the same spot over and over...

males tend to urinate in a more spread out manner and like to mark if different areas.

So what can be done to avoid seeing these damaged areas caused by man's best friend?

The first and best approach would be to have the dog(s) do their business in another area if possible.

For example- I have created a small dog run with wood chips as the regular go spot.

Another approach might be to direct the dog(s) to different areas to avoid constant use of one spot.

Also- Avoid letting the dog(s) on the lawn as much during dry hot times that will make the burning worse.

If possible - run water on the area where the dog has urinated to dilute the Urea. This may help reduce the damage some *some.

There are also products out there that claim to help reduce the toxicity of dog urine including certain foods.

But I have yet to hear of anything that really works great...

To repair dead areas- I have had good success with using peatmoss and JB Instant Lawn Seed to match the original stand of grass.

Now you might have an idea why you are seeing those mystery dead spots in the lawn!?

Still I wouldn't want to be without my four legged kids :)

Enjoy the Summer and Keep it Green!