doggy urinating causing brown patches

lorimarga – posted 25 April 2003 08:35

Help! We got new tall fescue sod laid in our backyard. It took beautifully, so after a month or so we let our kids and dog back in the yard. Now, every where the dog pees, a few days later, there is a dead brown cirle. Obviously, we are trying to curb the dog now, but how do we repair the dead patches already there?Thanks!lorimarga

ted – posted 25 April 2003 09:43

i had 3 large dogs on tall fescue. if the fescue is fertilized and maintained properly you shouldn’t have any problem. you may have to do some training with the dog or make some adjustments in how and where they go out. this issue was addressed previously in another post, with a wide range of responses, but make sure you are treating the animal responsibly- it’s not the dogs fault. when did you sod it? where do you live? and , also, there’s a product in the hardware stores or thru mail order catalogs, that is a spot seed and patch product with some in it to neutralize the acidity. Teach the dog to go somewhere else, take him ( or her) on a walk to another less maintained area in the neighborhood ( my personal favorite) and reseed and maintain your lawn you should have no problems.

old tom – posted 10 June 2003 10:12

Dog urine has a high percentage of available nitrogen and where the dog pees becomes toxic and a process called palosmosis where by the plant has a natural defense aginst such contamination by release stores of water with the plant structure however if the volume is greater than the available water to dilute the plant will die

Stop ythe dog peeing there or if he does heavy watering of the peed area Note that if you want fine turf grasses water should only be applied as and when needed note as a matter of course just enough to keep the grass growing is key

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 28 June 2003 01:32

There is a range of balance between carbon and nitrogen in the soil. When that balance is upset either direction, weird things can happen. With the urea in the dog pee you are imbalanced toward the nitrogen side. If you add carbon back, you can reestablish the balance and the grass should start to regrow there.

I’ve had success clearing up my dog’s spots with a handful of table sugar on each spot. Sugar is a CARBOhydrate that can release the carbon readily. Molasses also works. Just add sugar and water.

A year ago I treated a couple spots with sugar in mid winter and ended up having to mow in January as the grass surpassed 8 inches tall amid the dormant grass in the rest of the yard.

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 28 June 2003 01:44

I didn’t explain that last post very well.

There are microbes in the soil that process the urea in the dog’s urine to turn the urine into a nitrogen available to the plants. There is a large number of microbe species involved in this process. In fact, there is an entire food chain of thousands of crobes involved. Normally microbes get their sugar from the roots of plants. A natural balance of microbes will be established depending on the amount of sugar they get from the roots.

When the amount of urea outstrips the ability of the microbes to process it, then the entire food chain in the soil becomes stalled until the nitrogen gets processed. When you add the sugar, the microbes start to multiply rapidly with that addition of pure microbe food (sugar). The increased population of microbes can handle the excess urea and turn it into fertilizer. That’s where the sudden greening and growth came from in my yard last year.

Using sugar will take about 3 weeks to show results. It takes the microbes that long to do the processing and get rid of the extra nitrogen. A dash of compost on the sugar always helps speed things up.

USELESS DOGS!!!!! – posted 10 November 2003 13:06

E]Originally posted by ted:i had 3 large dogs on tall fescue. if the fescue is fertilized and maintained properly you shouldn’t have any problem. you may have to do some training with the dog or make some adjustments in how and where they go out. this issue was addressed previously in another post, with a wide range of responses, but make sure you are treating the animal responsibly- it’s not the dogs fault. when did you sod it? where do you live? and , also, there’s a product in the hardware stores or thru mail order catalogs, that is a spot seed and patch product with some in it to neutralize the acidity. Teach the dog to go somewhere else, take him ( or her) on a walk to another less maintained area in the neighborhood ( my personal favorite) and reseed and maintain your lawn you should have no problems.[/QUOTE]

WHERE DO YOU GET OFF STATING IT IS NOT THE DOGS FAULT. IF WE COULD GET THE WOMEN OF THIS WORLD TO START CARING FOR THE YARD, MAYBE WE COULD BE RID OF THESE USELESS DOGS. NOTHING ADDS MORE INSULT TO INJURY THAN TO HAVE TO HAVE AN UNWANTED DOG [EXCEPT BY THE WIFE AND KIDS] COST AN ARM AND A LEG FOR VET BILLS, FOOD, ETC… THEN HAS THE AUDASITY TO KILL MY BEAUTIFUL LAWN. AND AS FAR AS YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITE TACTIC TO TAKE YOUR DOG TO ANOTHER AREA OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD, IF YOU LIVED IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND TOOK YOUR USELESS DOG TO MY YARD FOR BATHROOM PRIVELIGES, YOU MAY FIND YOUR DOG WITH A SERIOUS CASE OF LEAD WORM!!!!!

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 17 November 2003 09:57

Obviously from a cat person!!

organic1 – posted 06 April 2004 15:08

Female dogs tend to have more of an effect than male dogs. You can put zeolite on the area where the dog went to neutralize it. Zeolite grabs up the ammonia real well. I use straight zeolite for cat litter.

BGturf – posted 13 April 2004 11:21

Water it in wiyh a hose.

gnuelnivek – posted 12 May 2004 21:16

quote:Originally posted by Dchall_San_Antonio:I didn’t explain that last post very well.

There are microbes in the soil that process the urea in the dog’s urine to turn the urine into a nitrogen available to the plants. There is a large number of microbe species involved in this process. In fact, there is an entire food chain of thousands of crobes involved. Normally microbes get their sugar from the roots of plants. A natural balance of microbes will be established depending on the amount of sugar they get from the roots.

When the amount of urea outstrips the ability of the microbes to process it, then the entire food chain in the soil becomes stalled until the nitrogen gets processed. When you add the sugar, the microbes start to multiply rapidly with that addition of pure microbe food (sugar). The increased population of microbes can handle the excess urea and turn it into fertilizer. That’s where the sudden greening and growth came from in my yard last year.

Using sugar will take about 3 weeks to show results. It takes the microbes that long to do the processing and get rid of the extra nitrogen. A dash of compost on the sugar always helps speed things up.

A couple of questions 1)Do you used refined or unregined sugar and 2)do you add it straight to the the burned area?

sdbaroni – posted 14 May 2004 20:03

Is there a way to stop dogs from peeing in a spot. My front yard (talle fescue) seems to be the favorite pee spot for any dog walking by and therefore it is in bad shape in one area. I’ve tried using a combo of black pepper and red pepper to keep the dogs from liking the spot. Anyone know of any other way?

Thanks,

sdbaroni

svcrawf72 – posted 17 May 2004 10:45

Damn, it will grow back. I have a few brown spots from pee but if that is the worse of your problems about dog pee, be thankful.

Dog Killer – posted 17 May 2004 19:36

sdbaroni

Rat Poison in some chicken bites or something like that might do the job.

[This message has been edited by seed (edited 17 May 2004).]

GiLLRaker – posted 13 June 2004 10:44

Spread Moth balls around the area dogs urinate in. It works, tried and proven method.

If you’ve ever noticed, most dogs will sniff around before they do their business. They don’t like the smell of mothballs, so they move on.

I’ve been recommending this to my customers for years. It really works.

luvablebear64 – posted 13 June 2004 15:22

Would not lime do the same as sugar in reviving the brown spots in the yard?

Mad – posted 17 October 2004 10:25

I moved into a new house over a year ago and had I known I had inconsiderate idiots for neighbors, I would not have bought the place. Both next door neighbors have dogs and they allowed their dogs to use my lawn for their potty and of course they were well trained by the time I moved in so they continue to do so. What is it about pet people who think those of use who don’t have pets are just dying to have their pets come crap or pee on my lawn?

After working two years to get a new lawn established it is a mosaic of brown and green, mostly brown. The neighbors lawns; nice and green. So short of shooting the idiots that own the dogs, are there treatments that can be used to keep the dogs from peeing on my lawn?

tony – posted 12 May 2005 12:28

i keep the sprinkler set in the back yard,,when i send the dog out to pee i trun it on and she stays away from that area…

Ed77 – posted 29 May 2005 20:23

The sprinkler idea sounds real good, but as a child we always used something much more potent on neighbor’s dogs, and they used it on ours when there was a problem. The product at the time was marketed as ‘Hi-Life’. It was nothing more than Carbon Disulfide. ..A couple of drops in the hairy portion of any animal(humans included) results in a burning sensation they will never want to repeat. One treatment was all it took on the worst of offenders, but they did often react violently to the application with a lot of running and scratching and other attempts to stop the burning. It even worked well on obstinant bulls!

…The burning in your lawn signifies a condition of low microbial activity, resulting in a low buffering capacity. What you need to look into is ways to boost the microbial abundance in your lawn and therefore reduce the chemicals you are using.

DogRock – posted 28 August 2005 03:43

If you all look up dog rocks on the net, they help with the patches on the lawn. They are an australian product, and I can tell you they work!

AMCalla – posted 28 August 2005 22:05

I found a better way to teach a dog not to do his “business” in my yard. I taught the owner. A dog has to go and they will always go where another dog has gone or where they have gone before. It isn’t their fault. It is the owners who let their animals take “reality breaks” in their neightbor’s yard.

Here is how I broke my neighbor. I have 2 English Mastiffs (big at 159 and 137lbs). After catching my neighbor letting her dog take care of business in my yard, I told her it was disrespectful. The second time I found the evidence, I took the harvest from the next time I did “poop patrol” in my back yard and deposited it in her front yard.

Now I do “poop patrol” only about once a week so imagine the size of the harvest…

Problem Solved!!!

Aaron

FedUp – posted 05 September 2005 15:01

My disrespectul neighbors have an English Mastiff and a Black Lab. As irresponsible pet owners, they don’t think they have to put them on leashes when they let them out of the house, even though they have no fence, and there are leash laws in our state. The woman has pulled their English Mastiff off of me, in my own yard, without a word or apology — just walks away with her dog. Their dogs make deposits in all the neighbors’ yards, and often roam freely. Someone sent them a nasty letter, and they insist it was me because I returned some of their doggie deposits onto their front and back doorsteps. The woman accosted me at my front doorstep with nasty vergal insults and her own indescribable ugly letter to me. The man once pulled a BB gun on my kid during a squirt gun fight with their kids. These are dispicable people who only think of themselves, and don’t care about the law or rights of other people. They are inapproachable. What can one do? If I call the dog catcher, it will take too long for them to get here. I have countless photos of the dog piles in my yard, even samples in baggies in the freezer, and their cars parked illegally in front of my fire hydrant, partially blocking my driveway; eggs in front of my house, chalk graffiti on my driveway, their cigarette butts in my yard, their dogs unsupervised. My HOA won’t allow even an ornamental fence in the front yard. I want to keep these 8 people and their animals off my property. Their entire family was witness to their cat brutally attacking my 20-year-old helpless cat on my back deck, and they never even moved to retrieve their cat; just went on playing in their yard; had to spray their cat with water to get it to leave my yard. These people are the worst.

FedUp – posted 05 September 2005 15:06

I forgot to mention there are MASSIVE brown areas just in front of their front and back doorsteps where they just let their dogs go, and there are brown spots in my yard, too. If I try to sell my house (I would love to get away from these people), who would want that next door? They decrease my property value.