Each room in your house may be pup-proofed, but what about your yard? If your doggo likes to spend time romping around in your backyard, you may familiar with those infamous brown, yellow, or bare patches scattered around your once-green grass.
The bad news: dog urine can wreak significant havoc on your lawn.
The good news: there are a few steps you can take to keep your dog-friendly yard looking healthy and green all summer long.
Why Does Dog Pee Ruin Grass?
Even if your dog doesn’t do much digging, he can still inadvertently damage your lawn by simply doing his business in your backyard.
This is because dog urine contains high amounts of nitrogen—a natural result of digesting protein. While this is perfectly healthy for your dog, the same can’t exactly be said about your lawn.
Many lawn fertilizers use small amounts of nitrogen. When your dog adds his urine to the mix, those high levels of nitrogen can essentially over-fertilize the grass, leading to those pesky lawn burns.
Your pup’s pee may also contain salts and other compounds that can alter the pH of the soil, giving your grass additional side effects.
Why Do Some Dogs Do More Damage Than Others?
Have you ever noticed that some dogs seem to wreak more havoc on lawns than others? There’s a common misconception that female dog urine does more damage to lawns than male dog urine, but this isn’t actually true.
Male and female dog urine has the same chemical makeup, meaning that your dog’s sex has nothing to do with the damage you’re seeing in your backyard. That said, it is true that female dogs do tend to create more urine-related lawn burns than males.
This has nothing to do with genetic makeup, though—it’s about the way your dog pees! Female dogs tend to squat while they go; male dogs lift one leg, peeing on trees/objects and spreading it out a bit more.
It also depends on how often your dog uses the same spot to do his business. Simply put, any dog that squats to pee and/or frequently goes in the same spot is likely to do some damage to your lawn.
5 Tips to Keep Dog Pee from Ruining Your Lawn
Of course, the solution to your lawn problems isn’t to keep your dog cooped up inside. Instead, try some of these expert tips so you can have a healthy dog and a healthy lawn.
Tip #1: Designate a Dog-Friendly Bathroom Area.
You don’t necessarily want to stop your dog from using your yard as his bathroom—after all, it’s a preferred alternative to using the floor or carpet in your home!
Train your dog to limit his bathroom business to certain areas of your lawn, such as a section of grass with low visibility.
You could also skip the grass altogether and opt for mulch, gravel, or stones. Just make sure the area is smooth, soft, and paw-friendly.
Tip #2: Switch to Dog-Friendly Grass Alternatives.
Life hack: if you don’t have grass, your dog can’t ruin it. Try switching to synthetic turf, or non-toxic grass alternatives such as Irish moss or creeping thyme.
Some grass blends are more durable than others, so it may be worth consulting with a professional landscaper to build a lawn that works well for you and your pup.
Tip #3: Keep Your Dog Hydrated.
Whether you’re worried about your lawn or not, it’s always a good idea to make sure your dog is drinking plenty of water. Hydration isn’t just important for your pup’s health—it can also help your lawn.
Staying sufficiently hydrated helps to dilute your dog’s urine, minimizing those harsh effects on the grass. Of course, that can also mean more bathroom breaks for your dog… but the trade-off is well worth it.
Tip #4: Spray Down the Spots.
In addition to diluting your dog’s urine, you can also dilute those pee-soaked areas of your lawn by spraying them down with a hose. Just note that in order for this method to be effective, you’ll need to hose down the area immediately after Fido does his business.
This may not be the most efficient option, but it’s certainly easier on your pup’s paws and digestive system than soaking your lawn in chemicals.
Tip #5: Use Pet Honesty’s GrassGreen+ Chews.
The right supplements can do wonders for the health of both your dog and your lawn.
Pet Honesty’s GrassGreen+ Chews use a blend of natural ingredients such as probiotics, enzymes, DL-methionine, cranberry, and apple cider vinegar to balance those rich nitrogen levels in your dog’s urine.
Not only can these premium chews help to minimize grass burns on your lawn, but they’re also designed to boost your dog’s digestion and immune system. Plus, they come in a tasty duck flavor that your pup is sure to love!
Sources:
https://lawnlove.com/blog/dog-pee-kills-grass/
https://www.pennington.com/all-products/grass-seed/resources/healthy-lawns-and-happy-dogs
https://www.petmd.com/dog/care/how-keep-dog-pee-ruining-your-lawn
https://www.thesprucepets.com/dog-urine-brown-spots-on-grass-1118287
