Preventing Dog Damage in Your Lawn

While we love Fido dearly, we don’t necessarily love what he does to our lawn. Digging and running aside, we’re specifically referencing the brown spots that result from our furry friends relieving themselves on the lawn.

DID YOU KNOW?: Urine damage is a leading cause of dead spots in lawns.

If you’ve never made the connection between your dog’s urine and the browning of your lawn, now you know. The damage is due to the nitrogen content in the urine. Much like if you spill fertilizer on one area of grass, this element “burns up” the grass in the area where it is concentrated by drawing the moisture out of the grass plants. Hot and dry conditions are a catalyst for the damage, so Middle Tennessee and Nashville landscapes are particularly susceptible.

Related Article: How to Best Protect Turf from Scorch
 

Pills and foods are on the market that claim they reduce or dilute the nitrogen in a dog’s urine, but none have been specifically proven to work. There are some measures you can take, however, to alleviate urine damage from your precious pups.

Training to use one area of lawn

While this is easier said than done, it is feasible. If you have an area of your lawn that is secluded, this could be a perfect designated grassy puppy pad for bathroom trips.

Immediately watering

You can “rinse off” or dilute the urine by immediately dousing the area in water. However, it takes a large volume of water and rarely do people have time or energy for this method.

Alternative material

Most dogs prefer to relieve themselves on grass, but if they don’t mind, owners can set up a gravel patch for use. The dog will still need to be trained to use this area, but can avoid any brown patch altogether.

Use your neighbor’s lawn

Just kidding! We absolutely don’t encourage this. Be a good neighbor. 

If you’re looking for someone to help with your lawn issues throughout the year, give us a call. We’ll be happy to offer a free estimate for your lawn.