The best way to repair urine spots on your grass is to dilute the area with water immediately after your dog pees.
We recently filled in the area where our old swimming pool was with dirt.
After we put the dirt in we leveled it out and laid sod.
Our lawn looked the best that it has in 20 years.
For 3 days.
And then the urine spots started to show up and my lush green grass was no more.
Last fall we started laying sod and we’ve been putting it down in sections.
We’ve spent well over $500 in sod and I’m not complaining but it bums me out a little bit.
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Now, I’m not the type of person that’s going to cry over this and curse the dogs for peeing in their yard, but I have to admit that it looked nice for a few days.
Our backyard is there for the dogs.
I have one plant that has survived them all and that is it.
I don’t plant things because I know that they’re not going to last and any changes we make to the yard always have the dogs in mind.
However, I’ve weirdly become a little obsessed with keeping the urine spots to a minimum.
I’m not going to block the sod off but I have found a few ways that worked and some that didn’t work for us but might work for you.
Why Does Dog Urine Burn The Grass?
Your dog’s urine burns the grass because it contains a high amount of nitrogen.
Nitrogen is “the waste” in urine and it’s the result of protein breaking down through your dog’s normal body processes.
One myth is that people that have female dogs have more urine spots because they squat whereas male dogs lift their legs and pee on something.
I’ve never had a female dog but have at least 20 urine burns on my grass right now.
It’s called some male dogs squat and some short dogs lift their leg on anything.
Rinse The Dog Pee From The Grass Immediately
Dilution is the easiest way to prevent urine burns on your grass.
Simply spray the area immediately where your dog peed with a garden hose or rinse with a bucket of water
I do try and do this but with 3 dogs it’s easy to miss when one of them pees and obviously with the amount of urine burns my grass is displaying, I’ve missed a lot.
Train Your Dog To Pee In a Designated Area Of The Yard
Training your dog to pee in one specific area of the yard is another option.
It’s pretty simple to set up a designated area but you’ll have to put some time in and train your dog to use that area.
There are non-toxic pheromone-infused yard stakes that are supposed to prompt your dog’s natural response to urinate or some people use a designated area of rock or mulch.
Just make sure if you’re using rock or mulch that it has good drainage or you rinse it regularly.
We did install a real fire hydrant several years ago in the back corner of our yard.
The plan was that it would give the dogs a designated spot to lift their leg and pee.
The only dog that has ever used it the way it was intended to be used is Odin.
Options To Repair Urine Burn Patches On Grass
I’ve read a few different ways to repair patches of urine burn other than tearing up the grass and laying new sod which I’m not going to do because our sod isn’t even a month old yet.
Scotts EZ Seed Dog Spot Repair Sun and Shade
This is a combination mulch, seed, and soil amendment specially designed to repair pet damage and grow grass anywhere, guaranteed.
It has a special salt neutralizer that helps repair areas in your lawn burned by dog urine and it includes a tackifier that helps keep seed from washing away.
It says that it can repair up to 100 urine spots on your lawn and it has a lot of good reviews on Amazon.
Grass seed + Water + Toilet Paper
This is the option I’m experimenting with right now.
You simply fill a bucket or container with a little bit of water, toilet paper and grass.
You want the consistency to be almost like a paste.
Before you play it down on the burn patches you want to make sure to rake the dead grass out then you spread it on the burn patches.
Make sure to water at least twice a day.
The toilet paper is supposed to help keep the seed from washing away and deter the birds from picking it up.
Mine is holding steady and the dogs have not bothered it at all.
Just Seed
You can take your chances by just removing the dead grass on the urine patches and throw some seed down and hope for the best.
Best Grass For Dogs
I’ve found conflicting information on the best type of grass that is most resistant to dog urine burn but it seems like the majority of experts say that Ryegrass, Fescue, Bermuda, Zoysia and Perennial Rye are good choices but some also said that Rye and Bermuda are the least resistant.
Regardless, keep in mind that no grass will be totally resistant to dog urine and the type of grass that grows best in your yard can vary by region.
Do Grass Saving Supplements For Dogs Work?
I’ve never used them so I can’t say based on experience but grass-saving supplements are designed to change the pH of the urine and some add additional salt to the body, but remember, urine burn on grass is caused by nitrogen.
It’s always best to check with your veterinarian before adding any new supplements to your dog’s diet but I am not a fan of altering my dog’s pH.
When you do this you risk creating urine crystals or bladder stones which will cause much bigger issues than urine burns.
The medications that contain salt are supposed to make your dog drink more water and in turn, their urine will be more diluted.
Giving your dog any amount of unnecessary salt isn’t the best option and it can cause harm to pets that have underlying kidney or heart disease.
If you have concerns about your dog’s urine you should always speak with your veterinarian before trying any other products.
And since I know someone is going to mention the dog rocks that you put in a dog’s water bowl, yes, I’ve heard of them and no I’m not ever going to use them.
My first reason is that Leroy used to swallow rocks so that wasn’t an option.
Second, these rocks remove nitrates from the water and the nitrates in water aren’t the issue.
It’s the nitrogen from the protein that your dog is eating.
And last, science doesn’t believe that these work, so there’s that.
Here’s our progress after 1 week of using the grass seed + toilet paper
Obviously, we’ve had a few other urine spots that have popped up in the grass over the last week so since I’m out of seed I’m going to purchase the EZ Seed so I can compare the two.
I’ll come back with updates!
Updated 7/19/2021
Coming back with a grass update.
The urine patches that I did with the DIY seed and TP has come in nicely!
It’s nice and thick and the dogs left these areas alone for the most part!
I did buy some Scott’s EZ Seed Dog Repair to do some bigger patches that actually weren’t caused by dog urine but by a family gathering we had.
I’m still waiting for the results because we had SO much rain a few days after I put it down and some of it may have washed away.
I’m probably going to put some more down once the ground dries out.