green lawn with a dog - Knowledgebase Question

La Mesa, Ca
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Question by calsunroxy
April 3, 2009
I have 2 dogs. 1 dog loves to use the lawn as his bathroom. My grass is dying please any advice would be great.


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Answer from NGA
April 3, 2009
There are no easy answers! The best way to help prevent urine burns and dead spots is to saturate the spots with water. This will allow the excess nitrogen to leach or dilute through the lawn and reducing the concentration in one area. It is usually best to treat the areas up to 9 hours after urination and to apply at least three-time the amount of water to urine to the area. Repair or replace the effected spot. As you know, dead spots can either be over-seeded or totally replaced with new seed or sod. If you have a warm-season grass, it will generally repair itself over time through the spreading of stilons and rhizomes over the effected area. The most urine-resistant grasses tend to be Perennial Ryegrasses and Fescues. The worst urine-resistant grasses tend to be Kentucky Bluegrass and Bermuda. You may want to consider re-planting with one of the more urine-resistant grasses. A final suggestion is to train your dog to urinate in certain areas. If you have the time and location of your yard to designate as a "urinating spot", you can simply use an alterative ground covering on that spot. To help your dog utilize this spot, you can try moving her feces to the spot until they learn to associate the smell with the spot. Hope this helps!

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