Dogs peeing on the lawn can mess up the garden. The urine of the four-legged friend burns away the grass and it takes months before the bare spots are green again. Why is it that a dog’s pee has such nasty consequences for the lawn?
And what can be done about it? The easiest solution of course is that you don’t let the dog and the bitch pee on the lawn, but take him and her for a walk so that they can urinate outside the garden. But what if she still shines in the garden and he still puts his paw there?
Dog pee and urea in the grass
A dog pee on the lawn gives an ugly dead spot. This is due to the substances in the urine of the dog. The pee contains urea, a substance similar to ammonia. The urea is converted to nitrate and concentrated nitrates burn plants to death. The urea content in a dog’s urine varies. It is present in the most concentrated form in the pee in the morning. That morning pee can also cause nasty scorch marks in the garden.
To drink water
If the dog has drunk water and then urinates, the concentration is significantly less. In a low dose, urea is a fertilizer that makes the grass thrive. The problem occurs precisely when the concentration is high.
Dark green spots on the lawn
Something special happens to the place where the dog urinated. Nitrate is the fertilizer that feeds the grass. At first, the area around the puddle turns dark green and the grass grows lush. The grass does less well in the middle of the puddle. It turns yellow and dies, eventually leaving a bare patch edged with greener grass.
Watering can
Anyone who has seen that the dog has peed in the garden should immediately go after it with a watering can and dilute the pee. Then the area will not kill the greenery, but fertilizer will remain.
Female and male
The dead sod problem mainly occurs in females, but that has mainly to do with the way they urinate. The females sit and the males look for a tree or bush to lift their paw against. The bush against which the dog pees will get the same nasty yellow spots from the pee.
Horse and cow
A horse or cow standing in the meadow also lets large puddles of urine shine over the grass and there are no brown spots. This has to do with the composition of the pee and the amount of protein that the animal consumes. Dog eats more high-protein feed than horses and cows that eat grass and that makes all the difference in the urine they pee on the grass.
What to do?
How can you prevent the ugly dead spots in your garden? What to do or not do?
- The most obvious solution is not to let the dog pee in the garden.
- The owner can also walk behind the dog with a watering can and water the spot as soon as the pee is done.
- Some give the tip that tomato juice helps with the food.
- Allowing the dog to drink enough and always having water ready for the dog to reach also helps to dilute the harmful concentration of the pee.
- Dog Rocks would miraculously remove the substances from the water that are disastrous for the turf.
Stones in the water
An innovative product is advertised that would prevent the yellow and dead spots in the lawn. It concerns igneous rock from Australia, which comes from a special quarry. The stones counteract the annoying reactions to the green because they ensure that the dog drinks purified water.
The Australian stones contain no chemicals and it seems to have been scientifically tested that the stones purify the dog’s drinking water so that there are no substances in the dog’s urine that cause the dead spots in the lawn.
Dog Rocks
Dog Rocks are one hundred percent natural stones. The stones are placed in the dog’s drinking bowl and absorb the substances from the water that cause the brown spots in the grass via the puddle. The stones would have paramagnetic properties and an ion exchange with various minerals would occur.
The stones are not magnetic but respond to a magnetic field, according to the ad. The ion exchange in the drinking water of the dog ensures a lower nitrate content in the urine. Less nitrate means no burn marks on the lawn. If the dog drinks water that has had a Dog Rock in it, then according to the advertisement there is no problem with the lawn. Dog Rocks can be used for two months, after which they must be replaced with new ones.
Sod
Once the garden has been destroyed by those dead spots, there is work to be done to repair the damage. It is possible to make the ugly spots green again, but that takes some effort. The dead spot can be replaced by healthy sod. You can also dig out the yellow spot, throw some new soil on it and sow on that piece of grass seed. This spot can then be covered with moss or other organic material and sprinkled with water. After a few weeks, there is grass again.
