Yellow Spots in lawn

[huntingmaxima]

Is there an additive you can put into the water dish to cure this?

[vetobe]

I too have this problem on a regular basis especially in spring time. Some people believe it is the pH which the tablets that you can find at any pet store are supposed to change. I am not a fan of giving these tablets since they can change urine acidity and predispose dogs to bladder stones. Others think it is the nitrogen in the urine. I have tried gypsum from home depot - no luck. I have tried watering the area right after my dog pees - a big pain but works. Finally, I have just trained my dog to go in one area and then reseeded and topsoiled that area on a regular basis. Hope this helps.

[SportFishin']

Hi guys,

Tomato juice is the additive to their dry kibble (about a 1/2 cup).

Then when summer comes around we have a cherry tomato plant for the dogs to graze off of seems to do the trick every year.

Regards,

Chris

[huntingmaxima]

SportFishin, I have heard the same thing about tomatoe juice but was affraid to mention it. Now I know that I will try it. Was waiting for someone else to mention it. Thanks.

[MIKE IN lINO III]

During the summer we plant a special garden just for the dogs. All tomatoe plants. We have to put up a fence to keep them out.

Mike

[Dahitman44]

Wow -- will they really eat tomato juice?

I know I won't

[Sutty]

I used to give my dog tomato juice and it seemed to work fine. After a while though she got a bladder infection. I was going to try the gypson this year...

[LABS4ME]

I have a degree in Horticulture... trust me Gypsum will do nothing! Do Not waste your money or time! Buy some good topsoil and seed and fix the areas that way.

Good Luck!

Ken

[Dahitman44]

labs --

Is that the best option --seed and move on.

[LABS4ME]

I've heard varying reports on the tomato juice... I guess it's up to you to decide if you want to try it and see if it works.

Topsoil and seed or re-sod is the only way to address the damage. I personally do not let my dogs have free reign in the yard as to where they go to the bathroom. They are conditioned to go in the same place every time. I have a few acres now and they know where to go... and it's not in the yard. I have quite a bit of native grass and they go about half way down the drive and go to the bathroom. When I lived on a standard city lot, they either went on the vacant land at the end of the block, or in the 8'x8' timber box I built and filled with pea rock. Not real big on the yellow spots myself... They're easy to teach where to go if you put a little effort in to it. Iput some chicken wire around the timbers with a narrow opening in one corner, I'd walk them on a leash into it and let them off and command 'go potty'. After they did I told them good dog. Then the chicken wire came down after a couple weeks and I'd walk them over there, and make sure they stayed in the timbers and went to the bathroom. They eventually get to the point where they will just go there by themselves when they need to go.

Good Luck!

Ken

[slotlimit]

Did this ever work with an intact male? I live in the country and take my dog out in the field. He will now run their, take a dump and a wiz. But it seems he always has enough to water every tree, tire, etc.....

[LABS4ME]

I have an intact male... I live on 3 acres. He knows the yard and assoc. trees / shrubs and tires are off limits. In fact it is rare to see him mark a tire anywhere. He also squats about half of the times he pees instead of lifting his leg.

They all know to go down the drive and into the naturla area to go to the bathroom. It just taks conditioning and training...

Good Luck!

Ken

[slotlimit]

Their is a product called Lawn Guard. It looks like little dog treat you give to your dog every day and it should cure your problem.

[Tripleplay]

Labs,

Do you do anyting to the pea rock to "cleanse it" after it gets used heavily. The reason I'm asking is we now have our dogs for the most part using the landscaping rocks outside the back garage door but it has be getting a bit smelly and I'm really concerned about it when it gets hotter outside.

We also have an Invisible Fence and both dogs did a great job of checkering my front yard which explains why I was looking for yard advice! I've always gone the rake the dead stuff up a bit and over seed route so that looks like the only option. Used gypsum as well and sounds like I can just skip that step going forward.

[LABS4ME]

Just a good hard soaking with a garden hose. I blasted it down through the rock to the bottom. I had fairly sandy soil so it would all leach into the soil relatively quick.

At my buddys house we did a paver area that drained into a 4" pvc pipe cut in half. This drained into a 40 gallon drum buried in the soil with drain holes cut in the bottom. We filed this with river rock. He would rinse off the paver and wash it all down into his doggie septic system. No clean-up, no mess, no smell. Worked great! Just more work for you to build!!!

Good Luck!

Ken

[311Hemi]

From a DVM from Purdue University:

Dietary Modification Techniques

A great many dietary modifications for dogs have been tried, often based on home remedies or anecdotal experience. A veterinarian should always be consulted prior to making any dietary modifications, whether they include additions or subtractions from standard nutrient guidelines. As stated earlier, the pH of the urine has little or no effect on the urine damage to the lawn. The addition of acidifying agents, including nutritional supplements like D-I, Methionine (Methioform), Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), or fruit juices will have no benefit for this problem and may predispose the dog to an increased incidence of certain bladder stones. Likewise, alkalinizing agents, including baking soda and potassium citrate can predispose to other types of bladder stones or infections. The addition of any of these supplements has enough potential to cause harm, with limited to no known benefit for the lawn, and are not recommended.

When owners have reported successes, as is sometimes the case on internet forums, liquids likely improved the situation because the urine concentration after treatment was diluted. Safer ways to accomplish more dilute urine include feeding canned food, moistening dry food with water prior to feeding and adding salt or garlic salt to the regular food. One particular home remedy, tomato juice, likely has its primary benefit through both increased salt and water intake. While salt will make the dog drink more and dilute the urine, increased salt intake can cause problems for dogs with existing kidney or heart conditions. Owners should not alter their dog’s diet without consulting with their veterinarian.

Dogs with more dilute urine may have to urinate more frequently as well and need more frequent elimination opportunities. While specific breed differences haven’t been noted, smaller dogs produce less urine than larger dogs so are dumping less nitrogen waste. Dogs with bladder infections often demonstrate an urgency to urinate and typically squat several times, leaving small amounts or drops each time. These dogs may be less of a problem for lawns than normal dogs who empty their whole bladder in one sitting. Dog owners who actually note that their dog’s urine is no longer causing lawn burn, without having made any changes, should have their dog examined by their veterinarian and a urinalysis performed to make sure there are no medical conditions causing this change.

The other option to consider besides diluting the urine is to reduce the amount of nitrogen waste being dumped in the urine. The average family dog doesn’t have the activity level that requires as high a protein level as most commercial maintenance dog foods provide. Although, dog food purchasing often reflects consumer perception that high protein equals better food, in fact moderate to low protein foods are often adequate for all but the most energetic, working and hunting dogs. When examining a food label, protein content must be compared on a dry matter basis and unfortunately, it is not like comparing apples to apples. Dry foods vary in how much moisture they have, so the protein percent listed can’t be immediately compared to all other foods. Canned foods will have a much lower protein percent listed than dry foods but also have much higher water content.

The quality of the protein also has an impact since some proteins are highly digestible, meaning less is dumped in the feces and possibly the urine, than other proteins. In general, the premium and super premium pet foods, available from pet stores and veterinarians, will have higher quality protein and more digestible proteins than standard grocery store brands. The higher digestibility translates into smaller fecal size as well. It is probably best to discuss individual pet needs with a veterinarian or nutrition consultant in the practice to determine what is the best fit, based on feasibility, palatability and economics. In many cases, if a dog food is currently providing good, overall nutritional support for the pet, diluting the urine by simply adding water to the food may be the easiest place to start.