My poor lawn... Dog Pee

[RuKiddingMe]

Well with the mild temps lately the snow is pretty much all gone in the yard. I have noticed that i have ALOT of yellow dead spots in the yard from my little buddies favorite peeing area. What works best for nuetralizing the pee? I have heard that tamato juice works well and I have tiny treat looking thing to mix with the dogs food on the pet stores. Anyone have any other options??

Oh yeah, got any ideas on what I can apply to bring the already dead lawn back to good?

RU

[leechlake]

Basically nothing works after the spots are there. Here's what you do during the year. Take a fertilizer spreader and spread Gypsum on the lawn, not lime, gypsum. It improves the situation, doesn't solve it. Basically, the nitrogen in the urine is burning the lawn, all the "tips" don't do it. Another, impractical, solution is to immediately dilute with water after your dog pees. I did this, we built a new house and put in 50 yards of shredded mulch around the house and invisible fence that keeps the dogs off the grass and only on the wood chips. Kind of an extreme solution but it works.

[spinach]

The only solution I have found is also gypsum. This does not fix the bad spots but it will help prevent future spots from occuring not, 100% but it does help. I would recommend raking the bad spots and applying new seed when temps hit around 50 or so during the day. Apply gypsum in spring and fall if possible.... Spinach

[Evenflow]

The only thing that helped to stop the spots for me was increasing the availablity of water to my dog. We put a few water buckets strategically placed around the house where the dog liked to hang out. It stopped the spots from being brown and turned them into green spots. Keep in mind, getting your dog to drink more water will make them pee more often.

[woodman]

I have been told to add some tomato juice to their water so it will decrease the acid in the pee. I have not done this, but it is worth a try.

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Keep the lines wet!

Woodman

Today's Tackle
Air Plugs

[TV BOY]

The spots are basically a piece of over-fertilized grass. There is too much nitrogen dumped in one location. The edges are usually greener, because they get the fertilizer boost without the burn. Females usually are worse because they squat (dumping the nitrogen in one spot) vs lifting a leg somewhere.

Acording to research at Purdue University, the tomato juice (which is very acidic) may only work due to its salt content. The dog would drink more and therefore dilute the urine. However any diet modification can have additional side effects--bladder stones could result form juices.

Its the nitrogen in the urine that harms the lawn not the pH. The amount of protein in a dogs food could also be adjusted based on its activity level. Premium dog foods with more digestible proteins may help. Watering the grass frequently is the best way to prevent nitrogen burns or training the dog to go on rocks, mulch, etc.

[irvingdog]

The Gypsum breaks the clay bond in your lawn. This allows greater drainage, therefore "washing away" some of the urine situation. It also helps buffer the urine to a degree. Premium food, very regular watering (try a timed sprinkler. little bits of sprinkling after the dogs usual pee times), aireating the lawn, and taking them for walks. This allows them to pee on the neighbors lawn.

[Dano2]

where do you get gypsum?
fleet, walmart,menards, or wherever they sell fertalizer or lawn products?

Any certain Kind?

Is it safe for your pets? my labs will eat anything.

thanks