How to Repair a Lawn Damaged by Dog Urine

by Felicia Williams

If you own a home and a dog, you are familiar with the dreaded lawn burn patches caused from dog urine. It seems that Fido has an uncanny knack to never pee in the same place twice. If Fido urinates three or four times a day, you can bet your lawn will have three or four new burn patches to add to your collection. What's an owner to do? Repairing lawn burn isn't as difficult as people make it out to be. It just takes consistent effort until you see an improvement.

Here's how to repair a lawn that has been damage by dog urine:

Train Fido to pee in one spot. his is the first and most important step. Do not proceed to step two until you and your dog have mastered this task. No sense in reviving your lawn and getting rid of all of the burn spots only to have Fido burn it out again. Dogs are smart. With consistency; Fido will learn were to and not to pee.

Rake your lawn thoroughly. Whether or not to rake the entire lawn depends on the time of year and the condition of your lawn. If you live in an area of the country where lawns requires clean up after the autumn leaves and harsh winter, then raking the entire lawn is a good idea. If your lawn is in good condition, except for Fido's urine burn marks, then rake only the burnt portions of the lawn.

Apply lime to the lawn. Putting lime on your lawn, especially in the parts that are burned, serves to raise the pH to a level that promotes grass growth. Remember, the reason dog urine burns the grass is because it's highly acidic. Lime serves to combat the acid levels. For more information on your soil's ph read Changing pH in Soil.

Put down grass seeds. If the remainder of the lawn looks fine, only place grass seed in the areas of the lawn that are burnt and in need of repair. If the entire lawn is in need of sprucing up, then place grass seed accordingly.

Keep your lawn watered to help the grass seeds to do their job.

Fertilize your lawn with a pet friendly fertilizer to help promote stronger and healthier growth.

Keep the lawn adequately watered for the next four to six weeks. Within that period of time you'll begin to see your grass grow. The dog's urine burn marks will begin to disappear and your lawn will look much healthier.

About the Author: Felicia Williams is a wife, mother and grandmother who likes to write about a host of topics.

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Last Modified: 24 March 2020