dog spots

[greebs]

this happened last year and looks like it might again this year. the grass in the areas where dog does her business turned yellow over the winter. part of the problem this time around is that there was dog dung that got covered by early snow and we never got it picked up.

we give her these pills that are supposed to neutralize her urine and I honestly think it's her dung that is causing the problems because it's yellow wherever we found the dung. obviously we need to get it picked up but does anybody have any solutions to maybe neutralize those areas now before ground thaws that might prevent having to dig up a bunch of areas and replant in the spring? maybe it's too late but figured I'd ask if anybody knew.

[Phred52]

greebs, Last spring I had the same thing in my yard. I'd heard years ago to sprinkle 'Barn Lime' on the affected areas. I did that and it took a while but the spots did fill in. Whether it actually was due to the lime or not, I can't say, but the spots did eventually blend in that they couldn't be found. Phred52

[LwnmwnMan2]

Gypsum.... lots of it.

[greebs]

thanks for the tips. I'll sure be willing to try since it's a lot of work to dig out sections of turf and replace them.

[echo2010]

Gypsum.... lots of it.

I have heard that....where would i buy it?

[Boxcar Wllie]

Give the Dog a small bite of a banana once a week. Does the same thing as the pills.

[Tom7227]

You can buy gypsum or hydrated lime at most of the big box stores, garden stores, feed mills, hardware stores. Cheap stuff but great.

I had a guy claim that some of the dog foods limit the extent of the brown spots. I use Native 2 dog food and don't have much trouble and I have two Brits and keep them on a rope so there's a lot of stuff in that radius of the yard.

[CJH]

I have used Gypsum with good results. How soon should we be putting it down, now that the snow is just about gone? Any benefit to putting it down now, so its there when the ground thaws?

[echo2010]

I bought a big bag yesterday and went ahead and applied it... It said it would cover 13000 sq feet but i laid the whole thing out heavy in my front yard. It said to apply at any time and it doesnt appear you can over do it so once i get out there and rake it good I will probably go ahead and hit it again.

[hotrod1]

what exactly does the Gypsum do for the dog spots and making the turf recover?

The reason I ask is that everyplace I have looked online says that dog urine doesn't change the ph in the soil. "dog spots" in lawns are the result of to much nitrogen in one area...Just like spilling fertilizer...you get browned out spot with a dark green ring.

My recomendation would be to get out and soak down the area as much as possible even though it may be to late. If the lawn was healthy, it will fill back in over time on its own.

Train the dog to go in a designated area.

[CJH]

I always thought the gypsum neutralized the salt, which is what kills the grass. Could be off base there. It does seem to help salt damage around sidewalks/driveways.

[echo2010]

Yes, it will fill back in eventually...but it takes quite some time...

[Jim916]

From what I have read that in the winter the urine will kill the grass since it is not growing. Add that it is dead and will have to be reseeded. That is what I will be doing the spring.

[lindy rig]

From what I understand the gypsum helps improve the soil, particularly with areation.

[DuckDog]

Last year I bought two bags of gypsum and applied it as soon as the grass was gone. I also put a very small layer of black dirt over top of the pellets (to keep it in place). Worked wonders for me - I should say I over applied the gypsum

[scsavre]

This will be my second year as a home owner and Dog owner of my own so I hope to learn some good tricks here.

As someone else said about sort of flooding the spot with water. Worked pretty good on my lawn. time consuming though. Took about a month to get green again. I just raked out the dead stuff and soaked it a couple of times. The grass did recover good as new each time though.

Luckily the dog does her business in the woodchips now, unless she is on her chain for too long.