We love our dogs. Even though we don’t always love what they do to our lawns.

Besides the obvious benefits to your dog’s health (i.e. running out the zoomies), humans benefit from backyard time in a major way. A mere 15 minutes of throwing the ball in the backyard releases happy hormones like oxytocin and dopamine while also lowering the stress hormone, cortisol. But seeing your dog’s urine spots on the lawn can undo all that.

Your pet’s urine and feces can leave behind discolored or brown patches of grass that can be difficult to remove. In the lawn care world, we call this dog spot. Contrary to what you may have heard, dog feces is not a fertilizer. It contains high levels of nitrogen, which can be a lawn killer.

We don’t want any tension between you and your best friend. So let’s take a look at how to fix any dog urine spots on your lawn, and what you can do to prevent them from happening in the first place.

How to Repair Dog Urine Spots in Your Lawn

What should you do about dog urine spots on your lawn? Weed Man’s National Technical Coordinator, Jason McCausland, recently spoke about how to stop dog urine from killing your lawn in an article at Tom’s Guide. So let’s take a deeper dive.

The key problem with pet urine or dog spots is that they look like a dark green margin of rapidly growing grass surrounding a bright yellow patch of dying grass. And that can be easily mistaken for damage from road salts or fertilizer spills. And at the same time, chinch bug damage can look a lot like pet damage. Proper identification is key!

If it is, in fact, dog spot/pet damage, your best bet is to use seed and soil to repair the damage. You’re going to want to use a grass seed blend that is suitable for your lawn in combination with a layer of soil to encourage new grass growth.

Be sure to keep the soil moist with a strict watering schedule for 14 to 21 days after. For best results, we recommend watering in the morning for 15 to 20 minutes per affected area.

At the same time, if you see your dog doing their business, try to act quickly and clean it up ASAP. Water the areas to dilute the nitrogen and prevent further damage.

If you’re experiencing dog spot or any other lawn problems, don’t wait for the problem to get worse! Start right now and get a free lawn care estimate today!

How To Keep Your Dogs From Urinating On Your Lawn

There are a number of things you can do to prevent the damage:

• Clean up the mess as quickly as you can. Don’t let it sit long enough to cause a buildup of nitrogen in the soil. The longer it sits, the more likely it is to cause damage. Pick up the poop as quickly as possible, and for urine, wash it away with a garden hose as quickly as possible.

• Build new habits: You can train your dog to only use certain areas of the lawn.

• Limit Access: Or you might consider using a fence or other barriers to control the area affected by dog spots, and reduce your overall risk.

The best way to mitigate the damage is always to prevent it from happening in the first place.

Experiencing Urine or Any Other Type of Lawn Damage?

As we mentioned earlier, proper identification is crucial when it comes to lawn damage. Is that brown spot from pet urine, or chinch bugs? These two problems require two very different solutions.

We can help you correctly identify the cause, help you fix the damage, and advise you on how to prevent it from ever happening again.

“I live on an acre property of gardens and grass, and between weather conditions, birds, bugs and water restrictions, I have had some real challenges with my lawn these past few years. After 3 years of a losing battle, I called upon Weed Man last year for a solution, and they have created a remarkable change.” - 5-Star Google Review.

Let’s start right now and get you a free lawn quote in a few quick clicks.