Every pet owner has a little bit of tension about does dog pee kill grass seed? Yes, it’s really a challenge to maintain a lush, green lawn while accommodating your furry friends.
Now you are struggling from the patches of dead grass that are caused by your pooch peeing. One of the most common reasons that damage your beautiful lawn grass is ruined by dog urine.
So, are you confused about how to stop them from happening? In the article, we explore why dog urine can harm grass and how to prevent and repair the damage effectively. So there are best ways can prevent lawn burn from the green grass.
Table of Contents
Why Does Dog Pee Kill Grass Seed?
There is a common reason that happens in your garden, dog urine can affect your green seed due to its high concentration of nitrogen, salts, and acids.
Nitrogen can also work as a fertilizer in a small amount that disrupts seed germination. The major components of dog urine include urea, water, uric acid, lactic acid creatinine, and bilirubin (Chang, Huang, and Li 2018).
The nitrogen and excess salts in dog pee can create spotting and death of turfgrass. Often, causes the darker grass spot but the nitrogen concentration of the pup urine that your lawn fertility status will dictate the green grass response.
But the less fertilizer lawn is less affected by the salt dog urine.
Some of the key factor
- Overdose Nitrogen: The way of evaporation concentrates the nitrogen that overwhelms the grassroots
- Salty and Acidity: these elements burn the soil and create a spot-dead place.
- Sensitive Grass Types: Bermuda and Kentucky are bluegrass very vulnerable than other harder types like Fescue and Ryegrass.
- Fertilizer Levels: For nitrogen buildup due to damage use the pre-fertilizer lawns that are bent to help your grass.
How to Protect Your Grass Seed From Dog Pee
There are several ways for a dog owner to prevent dog urine spots around the grass of their yard. One is to train your pooch for the specific area where you fix it. If you want to give space in a natural or bound place, it would be a separate experience.
Here are some ideas about how to prevent dog urine from killing grass seeds.
- Dog-Friendly Zone: First time you must train your dog for the particular area to cover the mulch or gravel.
- Rotate Urine Sports: To prevent concentrated damage, use a leash to guide your dog to various places.
- Use Grass Mixes: To cover quickly you may use a resilient grass mixer such as Ryegrass or Fescue.
- Dilution is Key: Set up a dog water space immediately where your pooch urinates to dilute the nitrogen.
- Add Barriers: If your newly seeded area is growing but getting bored by your pup then use temporary fencing around to protect them from pets.
How to Repair Dog Urine Damage
You always try to protect your yard from damage, but you can’t sometimes your dog makes a hole because especially the puppies have a lot of energy that they can often devote to digging. Even, sometimes you follow that your dog eats grass.
It typically happens that they want to dig for entertainment, to try to escape and hunt prey such as moles. So repairing your pet’s urine is the best option reseed the same area with pitching their feature is great for grass seeds.
Lawn Repair Ideas
- Mow
- Dig
- Water
- Loosen
- Sow
- Cover
- Water Lightly
- Moisture
However, some of the items can prevent dogs from re-soiling a certain area. Here are a few steps to repair dog urine damage;
- Mow and Dead Grass: To remove the damaged grass or trim the area, also dig out the dead turf.
- Loosen the Soil: Keep the soil good for a rake to aerate the top layer of soil. To get more moisture to improve its ability to retain.
- Flush the Soil: It’s a very common action can do, thorough the water whole area to wash out the the dead grass and excess nitrogen and salts.
- Mix in Compost: Compost is another way you can blend the fresh soil to create a fertile base for new seeds.
- New Seeds: Reseeds the area where sow grass seeds evenly. Also, cover them with a thin layer of soil or compost.
- Water Supply: Keep the supply of the water in the soil moist until the grass grows. Take daily unless the grass grows an inch tall.
Some of the Recommended Grass Seeds for Dog Owners
Sometimes we become worried about which grass seeds for dog urine would a better suited for your home’s grass with pets.
- Fescue: It is very durable and quick to recover as well
- Ryegrass: It is a great quality for high-traffic areas
- Perennial Blends: In the spots, these will ensure coverage
Final Words
Does dog pee kill grass seed, the clear answer is Yes, but does dog pee always kill grass? Definitely, dog urine can kill the grass seed due to its nitrogen-high composition, but with reasonable care, you can get miracle results to get a beautiful lawn.
References
- O’Connor, A.S., and T. Koski. 2010. “Dog Urine Damage on Lawns: Causes, Cures, and Prevention.” CMG Garden Notes #553. Colorado State University Extension Master Gardner Program.
- A. Harivandi, “Lawns ‘n’ Dogs,” University of California Cooperative Extension, 2007.