It’s easy to love your dog. But what isn’t as easy is loving what your dog can do to your lawn. If you’ve ever seen brown or discolored spots on your grass, It’s likely from canine urine. While it’s not the end of the world, there are some things you can do to curb the effects and even avoid those dead spots altogether.
What Causes Burnt Grass
The simple answer is urine. When a boy or girl dog pees in the same spot over and over, it can cause the roots of the grass to die. This is similar to adding too much fertilizer to your lawn without a proper amount of water.
Coastal tip: While female dogs get most of the blame, their urine is no different than that of a boy. What is different is the way they urinate.
How to Avoid Lawn Spots
Most of the time, healthy new grass can overcome chemical changes in the soil from dog urine. But, to help avoid burnt and dead grass due to continuous dog urination, try these simple remedies.
Fertilize less. Especially in areas where your dog likes to pee. The nitrogen in their urine mixed with the nitrogen in the fertilizer can cause damage to your lawn.
Spray water where they pee. If you know where they like to urinate the most, spray it down every day with a healthy dose of water. This will help dissipate the nitrogen.
Try a new type of grass. Some pee-friendly varieties include Kentucky Bluegrass as well as Bermuda.
Train your pooch to pee in one spot. If your dog can be trained to pee in one spot off the lawn, do so. There are products available to help with the training, including pheromone posts.
How to Fix Lawn Spots
Repairing dead grass is a quick and easy process. First, remove the dead grass and some of the soil. Replace with healthy soil and sand mixture. Then top it off with grass seed. Water and allow it to grow. If possible, keep your dog out of that area. Some dog owners pre-mix this into a bucket to make the repair that much quicker and easier.
Coastal Has Everything the Country Needs
You’ll find dog training devices, as well as grass seed, soil, fertilizer, and more at your Northwest owned and operated Coastal. Swing by your local store with your dog and pick up everything you need to repair dead spots in your lawn and the training tools you need to change your pet’s behavior.