JoAnne Skelly: Dog urine on lawns

Sondra, a reader in Minden, asked a question about her small male dog urinating on her lawn and yellowing the grass. She has tried everything, but nothing has worked to fix the problem. She wondered if there was something she could put on the lawn to neutralize the urine. Many lawn owners are also dog owners and have this same concern.

I had thought it was only female dogs’ urine that caused the yellowing and dieback. However, I found a publication from Colorado State University Extension at https://cmg.extension.colostate.edu/Gardennotes/553.pdf that points out that a lot of “urban legends” have risen around the topic of dog urine on lawns, the first of which is the “only female dogs” myth.

It’s dogs that squat that cause the problem, because their squatting concentrates urine in a small area. Another legend is that certain breeds are more likely to cause spotting. Actually, any large breed of dogs is more prone to cause issues since they produce a greater quantity of urine. However, small dogs spot lawns also, particularly when confined to a limited area.

The yellowing or browning, or, alternatively, excessive greening and growth, are not a result of urine being alkaline. It happens because urine has a high quantity of nitrogen, which is a salt as well as a necessary nutrient. Because of the excess quantity it burns the grass blades as well as leaves or needles on other plants.

Many products are supposed to “cure” this issue including supplements to reduce urine alkalinity in dogs. Be careful before using anything because many things can harm your dog. Do not add baking soda, potassium citrate or other salts to dog food.

Always contact a veterinarian before giving a dog a urine-affecting supplement because you can cause urinary tract and bone problems in your pet. Unfortunately, there aren’t products to neutralize the urine. Gypsum and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) are often suggested but may only compound the issue. Dishwashing soap can burn grass.

The only complete solution is to train your dog to use a non-turf area for puddling. This is probably hard to do with a pet already accustomed to using the lawn. It requires you to be an active and diligent trainer, following your dog around every time it has to go.

Sometimes increasing a pet’s water consumption will dilute the urine, but don’t increase salt or use other home remedies or additives to increase water intake without consulting your vet. Heart or kidney problems may result.

When spots are super green, try increasing the fertilization of the remainder of the lawn to mask it. For yellow spots, increase irrigation of the spots to sufficiently wash urine out.

They often come back green the following year. For dead spots, you will have to dig them out and reseed or resod. Nevada Division of Forestry Nursery will open Thursday-Saturday from 9:30 a.m. through 3 p.m. for native plants for conservation plantings for those with one or more acres outside any city limits.

JoAnne Skelly is Associate Professor & Extension Educator Emerita at University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. Email skellyj@unr.edu