Your Dog and Burn Patches in the Yard

Burned patches of grass can be caused by excess amounts of salt and nitrogen in dog urine, just as too much lawn fertilizer (also generally high in nitrogen) can have the same results.  Highly acidic or alkaline urine can do the same.  There are many remedies on the internet for those unsightly burned patches resulting from our canine friends’ potty breaks.  Suggested solutions are as wide ranging as is their effectiveness.  Everything from changing the pup’s diet, to products applied directly to the spots, to training your dog to do his duty elsewhere.  Here’s a sampling of what’s out there on the World Wide Web:

• Flush the spot where the dog urinates with water immediately after they go.  As effective as this one is (it simply dilutes the burning agents in the urine to milder levels before they have time to start killing your grass) it’s a difficult solution to stay consistent with if you’re used to just opening the back door to let Rover outside.
• Change your landscaping to something more dog friendly that won’t burn like clover or hardscape.  A more costly though long-term solution that’s very effective.
• Train your pooch to do his business in a designated location.  You trained him not to go inside your Crown Point, Dyer, or Munster home.  Now train him to go in a designated area you covered with sand, river pebble, or even artificial turf.
• Add lime to the soil of your dog’s favorite spots.  This changes the pH of your lawn soil and gets rid of burn spots.  It’s easy and inexpensive.  You just have to stay consistent.

And don’t overlook the possibility of neighbor’s dogs or wild animals visiting your yard, in which case a fence might be your best bet.