Yellow Pet Markings

[tealitup]

With all of the snow gone, I now see yellow dead grass marks from the dog. Any advice on how to energize these areas?

[LwnmwnMan2]

I've heard gypsum helps

[hoggs222]

I haven't tried gypsum. I've just always raked them up and thrown down some patch stuff from scotts. New grass in a few weeks.

[Powerstroke]

I've heard gypsum helps too. My yard recovered pretty well after last winter and the spots were pretty severe. I didn't do anything, but I do make sure to water those areas well so that the urine stays diluted.

[hoggs222]

Would it be best to do all of the raking, crabgrass etc before putting down the gypsum?

[Sandmannd]

Yea, rake it up good. Try to get the ground loosened up a little too. Then put some gypsum down and then get the scotts patch repair. I go through that every spring and it works great.

[hoggs222]

Do you guys put gypsum across your whole lawn or just the dog spots and curb areas?

[Sandmannd]

I just go accross my whole yard with it. Doesn't hurt anything.

[keith schultz]

For anybody that does not know ????? Gypsum is sort of a lime based product, meaning that it sweetn's the ground. so it kind of lowers your ph factor.

[hoggs222]

Sandman,

Do you concentrate more on the yellow spots though or just use the same amount across the whole yard?

I've got around 3/4 of an acre. The 40# bag says it's going to cover around 1000 square feet. I'm going to need around 15 bags then? I believe an acre is around 43,000 sq ft - the area of the house and driveway.

[Sandmannd]

If you have that much to do, I would just go through the yellow spots and a little out from there. If you have the time and money to do your whole yard, I would do it. You just never know where they will go.

Do you have a male or female dog? Females urine is a bit more potent so if you have a female it's an ongoing pain. Once you get it done you should be good for the summer, but usually come back every spring.

I know I put this in another post but I'll do it here as well. My brother is a landscaper and always has questions about the yellow spots. He told me to give the dogs tomato juice with their food. It seems to help, won't take care of the problem, but cuts it down. I asked a vet and he said what it does is make the pooch a little more thirsty and they drink more water. This in turn dilutes the urine so it's not as potent on the lawn.

[LwnmwnMan2]

 Originally Posted By: Sandmannd

If you have that much to do, I would just go through the yellow spots and a little out from there. If you have the time and money to do your whole yard, I would do it. You just never know where they will go.

Do you have a male or female dog? Females urine is a bit more potent so if you have a female it's an ongoing pain. Once you get it done you should be good for the summer, but usually come back every spring.

I know I put this in another post but I'll do it here as well. My brother is a landscaper and always has questions about the yellow spots. He told me to give the dogs tomato juice with their food. It seems to help, won't take care of the problem, but cuts it down. I asked a vet and he said what it does is make the pooch a little more thirsty and they drink more water. This in turn dilutes the urine so it's not as potent on the lawn.

This is what I've been told by customers and friends as well.

[hoggs222]

I have a fixed female and a non-fixed male. The female goes, but then the male goes right on top of hers, right away. So it gets a double dose.

Where do you guys buy your gypsum? I got a few bags at lowes, but they were $5 each. I always thought that it was only $2-3 per bag.

[Dotch]

Not to rain on anyone's parade here, but a few things before someone grinds up their drywall trying to get gypsum: Gypsum does not change the pH of the soil and the pH of the dog urine is not the cause of the problem. It is due to a high urea form nitrogen concentration in the urine. Female dogs are usually more potent but a male that was fixed prior to "leg-lifting" can be almost as nasty. I have both and they tend to use different areas of the yard to do their business. Both areas have the damage. Gypsum may help but the response may be due to a change in soil physical properties. It also should be mixed into the soil rather than spread on top. Dilution with water, the sooner the better after urination is still the best bet. There was a recent article by U of M Extension Service horticulturalist Carl Hoffman in the Land Magazine regarding this and another article that was posted somewhere in the Hunting Dog forum (might've been by LABS4Me) details the cause and solutions to the problem. Whoever posted it, I bookmarked it long ago and the info is on the money. It can be accessed at:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/turf/dog_lawn_problems.html