Dogs & Lawns

I think there is no denying that dogs and lawns go together a little like chalk and cheese.

Let's delve into some of the problems and potential solutions if you do want both in perfect harmony.

Straw like patches in your lawn?

A dog's urine contains nitrogen which converts to nitrates.  Urea also contains potassium and phosphorus, all of these components are found in fertilisers and are essentially good for your lawn.   The issue with dog’s urine though is that urea has a very high concentration of nitrogen.  You will often see a patch of longer green grass as the urine is very high in nitrogen however this can be so high in fact that it will actually leave patches of dead grass and destroy your lawn. 

So what are the solutions?

You could try one of the products on the market that claim to help, although feedback about the effectiveness of these are mixed.

You can dilute the area with a bucket of water every time the dog urinates on the lawn or keeping the lawn irrigated may also help to dilute the issue.

Ideally keeping dogs from using the lawn as a toilet is ideal but we realise this isn’t possible for a lot of people so remove any dead patches of lawn with a wire rake and overseed as often as you would like.