Why Is My Dog’s Pee Killing The Grass?

Having a dog means yard care can get trickier. Lawn damage can taint your house’s exterior maintenance and is just plain frustrating. No homeowner wants to deal with dead, yellow grass.

The good news: there is a 100% natural solution for this specific problem. Our Dog Rocks stop these burns in just 8-10 hours.

But why does your dog’s pee kill grass in the first place? We’ve got all the answers you need in this article.

NITROGEN

“When your dog eats and digests protein,” Jamie Lovejoy, DVM, of Pet MD writes, “there’s a buildup of nitrogen in the blood, which the kidneys filter into the urine.”

This concentration of nitrogen overwhelms plant life and discolours your grass. This may appear as yellow or brown spots in the yard, or as dead spots. 

Nitrogen itself doesn’t harm your yard. In fact, it encourages grass growth and many homeowners choose to spray their lawns with it. The danger, Dr. Chyrle Bonk, DVM, explains for American Kennel Club, comes from too much nitrogen. “If you already fertilize your lawn with nitrogen and then your dog pees concentrated nitrogen in one area, it can overdo it and kill the grass.”

HOW TO PREVENT LAWN DAMAGE

If an influx in nitrogen is impacting your dog’s urine, how can you address that concentration?

The number one step to take: keep your dog hydrated.

The more water your dog drinks, the less concentrated the nitrogen in their diet will be. If your dog won’t drink enough water on their own, try sneaking fruits with a high concentration of water into their food or treat routine. Bits of watermelon, cantaloupe, apple, and more can help.

Alongside increased hydration, adding Dog Rocks to your dog’s water bowl will decrease those harmful nitrates that stain your grass yellow. Dog Rocks are safe for all pets and do not tamper with pH of your dog’s water or urine. If your dog is less receptive to increased hydration throughout the day, just drinking from their normal water bowl with the Dog Rocks added will make a difference.

THE DON’TS

As frustrating as it is when your dog’s pee is killing your grass, trying to fix the issue the wrong ways can do more harm for your yard and your dog. Here are some ineffective solutions to watch out for:

1. Altering your dog’s urine pH

It’s a common myth that high acidity causes burn marks on grass. This is not true; as explained above, nitrogen is the real culprit. There are supplements and products on the market that can change your dog’s pH. Using these can be dangerous. Tampering with pH can cause bladder stones and tract infections.

2. Letting your dog drink untreated water

In the environment of the home, regulated water and water with Dog Rocks is effective in diluting nitrogen. However, even in an effort to increase your dog’s overall hydration, don’t encourage your dog to drink from untreated water sources (puddles, lakes, etc.). This can minimize the effectiveness of Dog Rocks and even make your dog sick. 

3. Using chemical compounds on your lawn

Chemical lawn care does not directly address the root cause of dog urine lawn damage. As established, this comes from nitrogen in your dog’s urine. The best way to treat this is by addressing the problem at the source: water intake.

Chemical solutions not only fail to revive or protect your yard from yellow spots, but they can also be harmful to your dog. Be careful when choosing to spray your lawn with any kind of chemical product.

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