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Dogs urine making brown spots all over the lawn
kazhughes697
Posts: 2
What is the best solution to stop brown patches on the lawn through my dogs urine. Please advise as the problem is getting worse. My lawn is also like a bog as it's clay
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Now the easiest way to prevent the burn marks is to dilute the urine with a watering can of rain water. Of course this only works if you can follow your hound around and won't help your clay situation.
Could your dog be trained into peeing in one area? On a tree bark chipping special area for example so the grass will be left alone?
Come spring you might want to start thinking about caring for your lawn: aerate it to improve drainage and start a system of sprinkling compost and sand on the top finely to be naturally to boost the quality of the land. Til then I'd advise (as with all lawns over winter) that you try to not walk on it to avoid the soil getting compressed and the grass further damaged.
Well we've had the same thing this past summer with Barney pup, you can follow him round with a watering can and dilute the high nitrogen urine but it's not exactly practical, in this weather especially. You can train them like friends of ours have, to pee on a bark or patio area. Another alternative is the 'dog rocks' from Australia that you put into their water bowl, however, they have to sit in the water for 10 hours before effective & I'm not convinced the impact over time is going to be positive for the dogs health. We've resorted to taking him out the front for toilets/on his walks. Certain dog foods will promote higher nitrogen levels in their pee but this Spring I've got a hell of a job re-seeding.
Edit: Exact same advice on exact same minute Clarington
Last edited: 15 January 2017 16:58:43
Last edited: 15 January 2017 16:59:46
Funny you mention dog food Mark; we have always been very lucky with Reggies pee spots. Only during the driest of summer do we get damage to the lawn if I get lazy and fail on my watering can duties. The rest of the year we never notice any patches. I often wondered why; he's raw fed so maybe that affects things.
Everyday is a school day!
Yes definitely Clarington! We've just changed over to raw so hopefully this Summer will be a doddle. I look into food brands out of interest and agree that raw is most natural, there are so many unassuming dog owners feeding brands like Pedigree, without realising it's the equivalent of McDonalds for humans. There's a brilliant website called www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk, which tells you of red listed ingredients etc! What breed is Reggie?
Last edited: 15 January 2017 17:16:01
Yes, it would be rude,philippa
Last edited: 15 January 2017 18:16:56
I have to inform you that 'dog rocks' are nowt but a useless gimmick. The only solution is to follow the bitch around (cos dogs pee up stuff then lawn damage is less) and dilute the offending pee puddle!
Raw diet is fine if you buy from a couple of UK companies, none of the others chose to submut themselves for testing to prove their nutritional content. It is a bit of a fad (if you are using a high quality diet anyway and nothing from the rubbish end of the spetrum) and not really particularly 'natural' but thankfully these days tends to have fewer nasty bacteria present and can happily provide good nutrition. It is only a few years since the advice was to deal with dogs fed on them as if they needed barrier nursing to protect yourself.
I accept that my lawn looks a bit scrappy at times thanks to madam's wee and to answer the final question which I am sure is on everyone's lips, I feed my dog a high end processed diet.
Your spot on Philippa, I had a near perfect lawn but knew this would be short lived once we got our little dog, I did my best to get her to toilet in one area of the garden at first, but in the end I was great full just to get her house trained, OK the lawn might not look like a bowling green but I'm sure it's worth it for the joy the pets give us.
Mark: Reggie is a German Shepherd. I prepare all his meals myself on a 75 / 10 / 15 meat / offal / bone ratio. He has more bone than they normally recommend due to IBS and this is what we have found suits him best.
My lawn will never look perfect. It has a built in worn patch known as doggy race track and a few holes dug by accident.
Kaz: if you only have a little lawn have you considered artificial?
Ah lovely Clarington, you sound like a responsible owner.
Anything that contains vegetable oil, animal 'derivatives', cereal & preservatives/additives is much to be avoided as can be seen by provided link. Very much a 'if you wouldn't have your kids on it 24/7, don't expect the dog' mentality in this household..
Each to their own Steve..
Kaz, I would also recommend artificial grass or no grass at all? A garden can still look perfectly nice without one
Last edited: 15 January 2017 21:30:50