Dog pee destroys my lawn - how to prevent this?
Discussion
base said:
Personally I have 4 dogs and this is a real issue for me, I find it hard to sleep at night knowing my lawn in degrading because of the animals that I have, The one cheeky monkey is sat at my feet right now, with "that face" (all true dog owners know "that face")
I find the best solution is to go and urinate on the lawn with them after all if you cant beat em join them.
Fecking lawn nazi's whatever next ..................a badger ran into my car can I claim from the RSPCA or DEFRA ?
Bit of an oft reply, which I could understand if they were threatening to rehome the dog or have her put down but the OP wasn't ranting about his dog, just asking for ideas or tips. Large yellow patches of dead grass can be unsightly if you like a decent garden (which is possible even if you have dogs!!) and if there is a simple solution to reducing it then it really isn't the big deal you've now made it seem.I find the best solution is to go and urinate on the lawn with them after all if you cant beat em join them.
Fecking lawn nazi's whatever next ..................a badger ran into my car can I claim from the RSPCA or DEFRA ?
bexVN said:
Regardless of the pseudoscience or not I know people have used Dog Rocks and believe they have worked.
I don't doubt that they sincerely believe that, Bex, but I can't see any way that it could work.Would you not agree, though, that even trying to mess with urine chemistry is potentially dangerous and irresponsible?
otolith said:
bexVN said:
Regardless of the pseudoscience or not I know people have used Dog Rocks and believe they have worked.
I don't doubt that they sincerely believe that, Bex, but I can't see any way that it could work.Would you not agree, though, that even trying to mess with urine chemistry is potentially dangerous and irresponsible?
Many believe they change the pH of the urine but they don't.
Edited by bexVN on Saturday 23 March 21:03
otolith said:
I would say some vets will sell them because they know they don't work - anything which did work would be potentially dangerous, IMO.
If they work, they do so by removing nitrates from the water the dog drinks (they reckon this is what burns the grass) This will have no effect on the dogs body systems. If anything reducing the intake of nitrates is a good thing!Mammals mostly excrete nitrogen in the form of urea. I would be amazed if you could even detect changes in NO3 concentration of drinking water in total nitrogen concentration of urine. The numbers just don't make any sense. I reckon you could give your dog distilled water to drink and its urine would still kill grass.
bexVN said:
If they work, they do so by removing nitrates from the water the dog drinks (they reckon this is what burns the grass) This will have no effect on the dogs body systems. If anything reducing the intake of nitrates is a good thing!
The majority of nitrates in a dog's urine will end up there after the dog's liver extracts what the body needs, the rest is put into the urine to get rid of it. The nitrates end up in the dog's bloodstream as components of deconstructed amino acids - proteins, which make up a large percentage of a dog's diet. The nitrates, in the most part, are not coming from the water source. Presumably you drink the same water as your dog, do you think your urine would scorch a lawn? I don't think it would.More to the point, I don't see why this is such an issue. It's a lawn for god's sake, it's not a fashion show. You have a dog, or dogs - why would you try to alter their physiology for the sake of not getting a few dead patches on your lawn? If it really bothers you so much, get astroturf.
Mastodon2 said:
bexVN said:
If they work, they do so by removing nitrates from the water the dog drinks (they reckon this is what burns the grass) This will have no effect on the dogs body systems. If anything reducing the intake of nitrates is a good thing!
The majority of nitrates in a dog's urine will end up there after the dog's liver extracts what the body needs, the rest is put into the urine to get rid of it. The nitrates end up in the dog's bloodstream as components of deconstructed amino acids - proteins, which make up a large percentage of a dog's diet. The nitrates, in the most part, are not coming from the water source. Presumably you drink the same water as your dog, do you think your urine would scorch a lawn? I don't think it would.More to the point, I don't see why this is such an issue. It's a lawn for god's sake, it's not a fashion show. You have a dog, or dogs - why would you try to alter their physiology for the sake of not getting a few dead patches on your lawn? If it really bothers you so much, get astroturf.
And I do know how the body excretes by products etc thanks!!
My point was that the dog rocks do not alter the dogs physiology so are very very unlikely to be harmful, which had been the main concern raised and probably the most relevant if the OP wants to try them!
otolith said:
OP does actually say that he tried the rocks and they didn't work.
That's true he did! Wasn't til I re read that I realised he was referring (or at least very likely to be) to the same thing!
High protein diets can cause it as well but if the OP dog is on a good diet I wouldn't change it just for a stained lawn.
Cider apple vinegar has been mentioned and I've seen that mentioned before but I don't know why it should work or how. An educated guess would suggest changing the urine directly, so I would be more cautious with this. Would need to look into it more first. However it has been used as a natural remedy for all sorts of things and I'm not aware of any harmful side effects if used carefully.
bexVN said:
No not really. Vet practice's do actually sell them and I've never known a dog end up with bladder problems that have used them. Feeding poor quality dry dog foods and treats causes a far greater problems, I'd say that was more irresponsible.
Many believe they change the pH of the urine but they don't.
I,d be interested to know why certain dry dog foods can cause problems. We use Wainwrights s and James Wellbeloved for food and treats, mainly due to our Border Terrier, which may suffer from food allergies, as well as a few pedigree chum dry treats.Many believe they change the pH of the urine but they don't.
Edited by bexVN on Saturday 23 March 21:03
M001 said:
bexVN said:
No not really. Vet practice's do actually sell them and I've never known a dog end up with bladder problems that have used them. Feeding poor quality dry dog foods and treats causes a far greater problems, I'd say that was more irresponsible.
Many believe they change the pH of the urine but they don't.
I,d be interested to know why certain dry dog foods can cause problems. We use Wainwrights s and James Wellbeloved for food and treats, mainly due to our Border Terrier, which may suffer from food allergies, as well as a few pedigree chum dry treats.Many believe they change the pH of the urine but they don't.
Edited by bexVN on Saturday 23 March 21:03
Apologies to OP for going off topic.
Edited by bexVN on Sunday 24th March 18:26
M001 said:
Cheers Bex,
I was just curious as our Border has been a lot better in himself, less lethargic and few stomach problems since we changed his diet and stopped giving him rawhide chews.
On topic, we tried the dog rocks and the tablets, neither seemed to make any difference to the lawn.
Foods with lower cereal. content such as the ones you mention do tend to be better for a lot if dogs so very likely to have helped his digestion I was just curious as our Border has been a lot better in himself, less lethargic and few stomach problems since we changed his diet and stopped giving him rawhide chews.
On topic, we tried the dog rocks and the tablets, neither seemed to make any difference to the lawn.
flatsix3.6 said:
Is'nt tomato sauce high in salt.
The low salt version also works if you're worried about salt levels - given what most dogs eat unsupervised, a small bit of ketchup is unlikely to cause issues 
We've never had a problem with this, but a friend's lab/collie cross creates the yellow patches, and a dash of tomato sauce worked a treat. Dog is supremely fit and healthy, so I guess it's ok so long as the overall diet is good. You don't need much - a teaspoon worth twice a day works for them.
Not sure what science causes it, but may also be worth trying out different foods to see if that helps.
For what it's worth - we've used Dog Rocks, and had huge success. Our lawn was a wreck and I was as sceptical as anyone but it is clear to see after having used them that they are working! We've had no brown spots since and zero change to the dog's diet or anything else in their lifestyle. Our lawn was a mess for 10 years + after having dogs after dogs after dogs, so these, for us, are a godsend!
As a previous volunteer for Guide Dogs uk, we have to train the dog to go on a specific paved area, and I have to say as a previous pet dog owner also, this is definitely what I will be training future dogs to do! as its just so much easier to pick up and power wash once a week and no more stained grass or hunting the garden for poo!
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