How To Treat Dog Urine Spots on Grass: 5 Proven Methods

One of the challenges of being both a homeowner and a dog owner is how to maintain your lawn. Dog urine is notorious for damaging grass and lawn maintenance can often become a nuisance and serious challenge.

Minor damage often resolves itself as the grass produces more growth. However, there are some things that you can do to help your lawn out and keep it healthy and looking green. Let’s take a closer look.

Before You Start

It’s important to have realistic expectations with lawn care and raising a dog, especially if you frequently let your dog out in your yard. There are some methods that you can try to keep your grass from dying.

However, you’ll most likely still encounter some brown patches. So, you’d be working to contain a certain area in your lawn that your dog can relieve itself rather than keeping your entire lawn green.

The 5 Ways to Treat Dog Urine Stains

1. Hose Down the Grass

One of the most effective ways to keep your grass green is to hose down the area immediately after your dog urinates. The best way to make this method successful is to hose down the patch of grass with three times as much water within 12 hours after your dog urinates.

You can further increase your chances of success by sticking to a consistent schedule of when you let your dog out on your lawn. Keeping a schedule will help you to anticipate when you should water your lawn and prevent overwatering.

2. Keep Grass Length Longer

Longer grass tends to be hardier than shorter grass. It’s also more likely to brown more slowly and recover more quickly from damage.

Keeping your grass length between 2-3 inches can help the grass survive heavier concentrations of dog urine. However, just keeping your grass longer won’t prevent it from browning. So, it’s best to use this method in conjunction with other treatments, such as watering down areas that your dog peed on.

3. Use Dolomite Limestone

Dolomite limestone can be used to neutralize the acidity of dog urine and restore balance to soil pH levels. If you want to try using dolomite limestone, make sure to pre-treat your lawn properly.

Hose down the affected area with water to rinse out any residual urine. Remove any damaged and dead grass along with the top few inches of soil. Sprinkle a handful of dolomite limestone around the area and use fresh soil to cover up any deep holes.

4. Plant Hardy Grass Types

Some grass types are more resilient than others and may stand a better chance against dog urine. Fescues, Kentucky Bluegrass, and perennial ryegrass are hardier types of grass.

Fortunately, not all hardy grasses are rough and sharp. For example, Kentucky Bluegrass is a very popular type of lawn grass because it’s soft yet tough. It can withstand heat and drought better than other types of grass and is also resistant to pests and diseases.

If you plant new grass seeds, make sure to give the seedlings enough time to establish themselves before letting your dog romp around them. It may be helpful to fence off the area with stakes and mesh until the grass matures.

5. Use a Soil Testing Kit

Since plants need nitrogen to grow, some grass spots may actually thrive when your dog urinates on them. If your lawn is looking lumpy with thick brushes of grass, try using a soil testing kit to determine if the soil is lacking in nitrogen and other essential nutrients.

Depending on test results, you can alter your soil composition by adding fertilizers and new soil. This can help even out grass growth. Just make sure to keep watering areas that your dog urinates on to avoid browning.

The 3 Ways To Prevent Urine Spots on Grass

Along with treating grass, you can also train your dog and make some changes to its routine in order to protect your lawn.

1. Train Your Dog to Urinate In a Designated Area

If you regularly let your dog out on your lawn to go potty, you can create a designated potty area so that dog urine concentrates in one spot.

You can start by setting up an enclosed area and leading your dog to this spot. Do not let your dog out until it pees, and praise and reward your dog every time it successfully relieves itself in the area.

To encourage your dog even further, you can follow up potty time immediately by offering your dog to play his favorite outdoor game. This will associate potty time with playing and can help your dog waste less time and pee more quickly.

As your dog gets used to peeing in one area, you can remove the fence once it consistently goes to the area on its own to pee.

2. Test Your Dog’s Urine

You can request your veterinarian to take a urine sample and do testing or urinalysis. A urinalysis can help determine the pH levels of your dog’s urine and scan for any crystal formations.

Depending on test results, you can make alterations to your dog’s diet to change acidity levels or prevent crystal formations.

There are some supplements that claim to change urine composition so that it doesn’t damage the grass. However, these supplements need further research to prove their effectiveness. So, it’s best to be cautious and not overly optimistic about them.

3. Keep Your Dog Well-Hydrated

If your dog does not typically enjoy drinking water from a bowl, you can use other creative ways to introduce more water into its diet. You can swap out a stationary bowl with a water fountain. The sound and motion of moving water can entice and encourage animals to take a drink.

Another way to add more water to your dog’s diet is to use broths, gravy meal toppers, or wet dog food to your dog’s meals. Just make sure to check the ingredient list first to keep yourself from buying food that contains high levels of sodium.

Conclusion

Keeping lawns healthy and green can be a difficult challenge for dog owners. There are special ways to treat grass after a dog urinates, but it’s more effective to change up your dog’s outdoor routine or diet in conjunction with lawn care and maintenance.

It’s going to require making some changes, but with a little work, you’ll be able to find a combination that works for you and keeps your lawn as healthy as possible.

Featured Image Credit: Ching Louis Liu, Shutterstock