Treating Pet Stains on Your Lawn

It can be frustrating for anyone who has a pet, whether cat or dog, when you begin to notice holes in your lawn. No not holes from digging, but holes of dead grass.

Yellow grass is very unattractive to the passerby. Personally, I hate looking out the window and seeing all the yellow spots from the dogs.

I've nearly given up on the backyard, as my two outdoof males have killed nearly all the grass in the yard from urine, waste, and running over it constantly. I have been successful at fencing off a small area and growing grass from grass seeds, but that doesn't solve the problem of the rest of the yard.

Nor does it solve the problem of the yellow circles in the front yard from my wife's female Collie/ St. Bernard.

There are a few suggestions that I have for any pet owner in distress of a yellow spotted lawn.

Although, the earth and, more than likely, your fertilizer contains nitrogen, dog urine contains concentrated amounts, which means that it has an extra amount of nitrogen.

This nitrogen disrupts the balance of the dirt, fertilizer, and natural minerals in the ground, and in turn litterally burns your grass.

Usually, you notice ugly yellow spots of grass in your lawn after a female dog has urinated, and that often causes people to think that female dogs are solely the cause for the dead grass.

In reality, the concentrated nitrogen is in both male and female urine, but because female dogs squat, the urine hits directly on the grass and soaks in, whereas male dogs tend to spray over the grass and bushes.

You can purchase one of the many products on the market that you can give your dog to change the make-up of his/her urine, which will benefit your lawn. Some work, and some don't. There are other methods of ";treating"; your dog for a natural and non-problematic issue, but most veterinarians will tell you these methods are all dangerous for your dog's health.

Instead of ";treating"; your dog, you can treat your grass. The easiest method is pouring water over your grass after your dog urinates. If you walk your dog, you can carry a jug of water to pour over the grass when he/she's finished. Or, you can take the water hose and just hose down the area.

The extra water will dilute the nitrogen, which will help your grass live and remain green.

If you're wanting to treat past problems, you may have to dig up the spots, soak them with water, and then lay down new sod or grass seeds.

For tips on growing grass from seeds, you can check out my hub: How to Grow Grass From Seeds.

In order to keep your grass green and healthy, it will be easier if you train your dog to urinate in the same area. The best place to choose, is an area that is already damaged by pet urine.

You may want to consider putting loose dirt, gravel, or stone in the corner of your yard, and training the dog to eliminate there.

To train your dog to eliminate in the same are, you will need to lead your dog to the spot. Wait for him/her to urinate, and then praise him/her with a very positive, high-pitched tone. You may consider treats or a quick tug at his favorite toy.

You'll have to do this a few times for the dog to understand what you're wanting him/her to do. When the dog tries to urinate in an unwated area, tell him/her "NO!" in a deep growl, so that he knows that's not what you want him to do.

You need to make sure that you're dog can tell the difference between your praise and disapproval. If you cannot train this on your own, you may have to talk to a professional trainer.

Make sure that you realized that grass stains and dead spots are not always caused by pets, so some stains may be related to other problems. Consider sending off a soil sample to get the soil tested.