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Pet Tip of the Month
Dealing With Dog-Induced Lawn Burn
Burned-out, brown spots on your lawn can be one of the bothersome problems that come along with the joys of dog ownership. Many people, mistakenly believe that burn spots result from the urine of female dogs. This is only partially correct. Urine and feces of both male and female dogs can cause this problem.
Both urine and feces contain nitrogen, a by-product of protein digestion, which causes the dead spots you may see on you lawn. In small quantities, nitrogen actually has a fertilizing effect and will cause the lawn to "green-up". In fact, many people deliberating apply nitrogen-containing fertilizer to their lawn. At issue, is the level of concentration on any one spot. Dogs, particularly female dogs, squat to urinate and deposit a high concentration of nitrogen in one area. Male dogs, on the other hand, are more likely to mark in several areas, leaving smaller amounts. This is where the myth about the gender difference arises. Lawns on which chemical fertilizers have been applied are most susceptible to lawn burn from dogs.
Strategies for reducing lawn burn include the following:
  • Pick up feces regularly to eliminate one source of nitrogen lying in concentrated amounts on the lawn
  • Pour water on spots where dog urinates within eight hours to dilute the nitrogen concentration
  • Train the dog to eliminate in a particular area of the yard by repeatedly taking them there and rewarding them when they do what they're "supposed to". An area with four to five inches of pea gravel is ideal. You can also encourage this behavior by pouring their urine or placing their feces in the area you want them to use
  • Dilute the nitrogen concentration by adding water to their dry food
  • Feed a premium quality dog food which will result in more of the protein being absorbed by the body and result in a lower nitrogen concentration in feces and urine.

Brown spots will eventually recover if not constantly "re-treated" by your dog with nitrogen. For large spots, you may want to consider reseeding or resodding the lawn.