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I recently purchased my first single family home. Lawn work is a bit foreign to me. The previous owners didn't take take care of the lawn very well but I found myself researching, asking questions, and applying what I learned. I think the lawn looks a lot better now but I need a good way to deal with dog urine / burn spots in the lawn. As of now I have begun following my dog around and soaking his areas with water after he goes. I'm not sure if this has been effective. I've also read about neutralizing your dogs urine with a different diet but I was wondering how others have dealt with this problem. Any help would be appreciated.

we put 2 teaspoons of tomato juice in the dogs food twice a day, over time it changes the PH of the urine enough to not kill the grass. Some dogs never know it''s in there, some you have to start with just a taste, then work your way up. Mine are big dogs (2) 70 lbs + Labs and they pee like pouring it out of a bucket

One thing we discovered by accident was diet has a lot to do with it. Feed your dog the best dog food you can afford. We switched our dog over to organic food years ago and then recently to raw food. Raw ground lamb patties and a dehydrated veggie mix that you add hot water to and soak for 5 minutes, and an ocassional raw lamb femor or turkey neck, and not only does he act like a much younger dog most of the time (he's now 13), and is generally much healthier, but his urine seems to be a lot less harmful to the grass now. Female dog urine is much worse than male dogs' from what I've read. I had never heard fo the tomato juice, I can see the merit and its hard to argue with results. I'd try that also.

Thanks for the advice. I've heard good and bad things about the tomato juice method. Considering I have a 129 lb dog and a 85 lb dog this should be interesting.

Oddball said:

One thing we discovered by accident was diet has a lot to do with it. Feed your dog the best dog food you can afford. We switched our dog over to organic food years ago and then recently to raw food. Raw ground lamb patties and a dehydrated veggie mix that you add hot water to and soak for 5 minutes, and an ocassional raw lamb femor or turkey neck, and not only does he act like a much younger dog most of the time (he's now 13), and is generally much healthier, but his urine seems to be a lot less harmful to the grass now. Female dog urine is much worse than male dogs' from what I've read. I had never heard fo the tomato juice, I can see the merit and its hard to argue with results. I'd try that also.

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The first statement that you made ...... "Feed your dog the best food you can afford" was a good suggestion. After THAT, you went downhill in a HURRY.

Being a veterinarian since 1983 and earning my Critical Care board certification I feel more than qualified to post this rebuttal.......:wink:

ANY raw food is NOT good for ANY dog. Basic rule of thumb is: If it isn't commercial dog food, and YOU wouldn't eat it, then don't give it to the dog! Raw meats and eggs, etc are a death sentence. Sure, some might get along fine on a diet like that, but 98% will end up with skin problems & stomach problems. Cancer in dogs has also been linked to these "raw diets" that you are recommending.

Feed your dog (or cat) Purina O.N.E., Beneful, or Iams and rest assured that they are getting the balance of nutrients that they need to live a long and healthy life. There ARE other brands out there that are also good foods, but they are usually much more expensive and give nothing more in return. Avoid: Ol' Roy, Alpo, Kibbles 'n Bits, & Pedigree. (I'm sure there are many folks here that will challenge that remark. But do a few years of research and then tell me your professional opinion)

In the end ...... if you own a dog, then having yellow spots in the yard is part of the game. Making an irresponsible change to the animal's diet to get rid of the spots isn't being a good owner.

FWIW ......... :thumbsup:

I have to agree, There are too many things in raw foods, cook meats and other 'raw' animal products...

You may get buy with not doing it, but it is going to catch up with you... You should not eat raw meats and for the same reason your pets should not.

Hidalgo... "Feed your dog (or cat) Purina O.N.E., Beneful, or Iams " are these not mostly dog foods... will a cat be okay on a dog food diet...? Like Beneful? Just curious and it seems you would be the one that knows... Thanks, :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

Hidalgo... "Feed your dog (or cat) Purina O.N.E., Beneful, or Iams " are these not mostly dog foods... will a cat be okay on a dog food diet...? Like Beneful? Just curious and it seems you would be the one that knows... Thanks, :smile:KennyV

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Sorry about that Kenny. :ashamed: NO ... a cat should not eat dog food (although many dogs find cat food delicious ) Purina makes a fine cat ration under the O.N.E. label. Iams cat food is also a good choice. To my knowledge, Beneful isn't offered in a feline formula.

The whole pet food market is flooded with advertising and appealing commercials. Unfortunately, you could compare it to the car market or even the LAWNMOWER market. :laughing::wink:

Some folks ride a "Brand Z" tractor for 15 years with no problems even though it is a known "lemon". Pet foods are the same way. "Fido" might get along perfectly fine on Alpo and raw meat and live for 25 years. But that doesn't make it a wise choice for everyone else. Sometimes folks just beat the odds ....... :wink:

Then there are the folks that say that our dog's ancestors (and the wild wolves and coyotes) live on raw meat, roots, and berries and they get along just fine. What they are failing to understand is that most of these wild canines rarely live past the age of 4 years! And our current pets have evolved from domestic breeding and bear little resemblance to their "ancestors".

Guys, don't get me wrong ....... I too HATE the yellow spots in the grass when our dog urinates in the front yard. But we consider our dog a part of the family. So we made a choice. It's either the dog ... or the yard. Honestly, it doesn't bother me that much and it really isn't that bad except in the early spring when the bermuda is still a little weak and trying to get going.

And he's a LARGE dog .........

I found that mine doesn't do the damage he used to by keeping fresh water around all the time. I drink a lot of water and he drinks when I do. He drinks a lot and pees a lot and he no longer kills the monkey grass when he "waters" it.

It may not work for everyone, but it is worth a try.

Yep ... that is a factor. The more water intake, the more the urine is diluted. :thumbsup:

Well they both drink as much as they can but they just have some potent urine.

Xave, are a LEO? If so, please accept my most sincere congratulations for doing a job that is difficult, and most times underpaid & under-appreciated.

My hat's off to you! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Yes I am. I'm living my childhood dream and enjoying every minute of it. Is it hard? Without a doubt there are times that test my abilities, patience, and restraint. It comes with the job but happy to do it. Thanks for noticing.

There are more ways to deal with dog urine burn spots in your grass than you might think! My dog was killing our grass so i decided to get knee deep in research on what I can do to fix/avoid it because I'm in a rental home and I have the nicest landlord in the world. He let us get a dog and our rent is less than it should be.
Anyway, all you have to do to your dog's diet is add Brewer's Yeast and make sure he or she drinks lots of water.
I also spray the spots with lime which, to my surprise, worked! I'll include a URL that you can refer to for some more excellent pointers that helped me.
Sprinkler Juice: Reasons for a Patchy Lawn

Usually Male Dog urine will not affect the grass, Female Dog urine is more acidic and will burn spots into the grass.

I find that spreading a few thousand pounds of powdered limestone every year really helps. Another good cure would be to spread crushed oyster/clam shells fo rthe calcium and lots of potash.


Would Anyone like to help clear out some brush and do some raking? Bring your rakes, pitchforks wheelbarrows and ATVs with wagons if you have them . We pile it all up into burn piles. Have a few beers and Ill take you out on a Fishing Charter next Spring.


Capt@WickedGoodOutdoors.com

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wickedgoodoutdoors said:

Usually Male Dog urine will not affect the grass, Female Dog urine is more acidic and will burn spots into the grass.

I find that spreading a few thousand pounds of powdered limestone every year really helps.


Capt@WickedGoodOutdoors.com

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I'm curious to know how Lime has this effect? Like I said earlier, I too have sprayed lime juice on urine spots in my yard and it worked wonders. Anyone have a scientific/experienced answer to why this works so well?

The Glove

Lime is used on AG crops to raise the pH of the soil... It will sweeten the soil making it Less acidic...
Urine is uric acid... some is more acidic than others.... Lime will raise the pH number, and add calcium to the soil. Both good things for most all living things.. :smile:KennyV

Xave said:

Well they both drink as much as they can but they just have some potent urine.

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Your dog looks beautiful ... Urine is a problem for the lawns but as the vet said feeding anything RAW is not as good as it sounds, Tomato's might help in diluting the dog urine to the extent its not harmful for the garden, but what worked for me is placing a fence around the garden and not letting in the dogs, this is by far the best method to avoid what's being done, another thing could be that you make a place for the dogs to go pee this 'might' work for some dogs, as for the place that got burned mow, aerate and overseed the patch, rent an aerator form the Home Depot tool rental and aerate the whole lawn while your at it .. oh wait I think its the raining season in your area?

KennyV I don't know if you have Big R stores but we have them here and they sell Iams for both dogs and cats.

Hidalgo said:

The first statement that you made ...... "Feed your dog the best food you can afford" was a good suggestion. After THAT, you went downhill in a HURRY.

Being a veterinarian since 1983 and earning my Critical Care board certification I feel more than qualified to post this rebuttal.......:wink:

ANY raw food is NOT good for ANY dog. Basic rule of thumb is: If it isn't commercial dog food, and YOU wouldn't eat it, then don't give it to the dog! Raw meats and eggs, etc are a death sentence. Sure, some might get along fine on a diet like that, but 98% will end up with skin problems & stomach problems. Cancer in dogs has also been linked to these "raw diets" that you are recommending.

Feed your dog (or cat) Purina O.N.E., Beneful, or Iams and rest assured that they are getting the balance of nutrients that they need to live a long and healthy life. There ARE other brands out there that are also good foods, but they are usually much more expensive and give nothing more in return. Avoid: Ol' Roy, Alpo, Kibbles 'n Bits, & Pedigree. (I'm sure there are many folks here that will challenge that remark. But do a few years of research and then tell me your professional opinion)

In the end ...... if you own a dog, then having yellow spots in the yard is part of the game. Making an irresponsible change to the animal's diet to get rid of the spots isn't being a good owner.

FWIW ......... :thumbsup:

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I find this post very interesting THANKS for posting.

Could you comment a little more on dog food I feed my male dog IAMS and sometime Science Diet he likes to have a change once in a while.

What is your opinion of the Science Diet it states the first ingredient is fresh chicken.

Wow this post was interesting thanks for sharing

KennyV said:

Lime is used on AG crops to raise the pH of the soil... It will sweeten the soil making it Less acidic...
Urine is uric acid... some is more acidic than others.... Lime will raise the pH number, and add calcium to the soil. Both good things for most all living things.. :smile:KennyV

Click to expand...

Very cool. That would explain why it works so well! Thanks Kenny! :thumbsup: