Dogs – and sometimes outdoor cats – can damage lawns. This damage is easy to spot and to distinguish from any other sort of grass ailment: a patch of yellowed grass surrounded by a ring of lush, deep green grass is a tell-tale sign, especially if it happens to be in a spot where the dog is known to do its business. What causes this damage? How can it be prevented, and how can it be repaired?
How Pets Damage Lawns?
Pets urine damages lawns. Canine urine has high concentrations of chemicals such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. In lower concentrations, these are actually fertilizers, which explains the green ring around the burned patch. Yet in the concentration present in dog urine, the chemicals are more than grass can handle. Furthermore, this urine also contains salts, which is deadly to grass. Over enough time, cat urine can do the same thing, except cats a) have less urine to begin with, and b) have urine that is much more diluted.
Not all dogs damage lawns equally. Because they typically do not squat, and because they are intent on marking their territory in a number of places and, thus, relieve themselves in lots of spots, male dogs tend to do less damage than female ones, which often go in one place at a time. Furthermore, small dogs do less damage than big ones, and tiny ones may do no damage at all.
Furthermore, damage happens more frequently in the summertime than in other parts of the year. This is because in the summertime, the soil may get dry, making grass and particularly grass roots “thirstier”. Grass roots will, therefore, more readily absorb more of the liquid (and thus, nitrogen, salts, and other chemicals). Finally, lawns over thick clay soils will see the worst damage because the clay tends to retain liquids that the grass absorbs.
Reducing or Preventing Pet Damage
The best way to keep pets from damaging lawns is to keep them from going there, but this tends to be unrealistic. If the dog is going to go, it is best to restrict his or her places to areas that are either out of sight or where grass is not present, such as places covered in mulch or gravel.
Additionally, the dog could be encouraged and given the opportunity to drink more water, which will dilute the urine at the source. Also, certain kinds of foods claim that their nutrients are absorbed more readily into the dog’s body and are therefore less likely to be passed as waste.
If the dog has gone on the grass, a good strategy would be to find the place where he or she has gone and apply water, which will dilute the chemicals. Following the dog around with a bucket of water would be very helpful, though not very practical. Occasionally watering the entire lawn will also make the grass roots less likely to absorb urine. Finally, letting the grass grow a little higher might mask the damage (and, in fact, is also better for crabgrass control).
Repairing Pet Damage
Once grass has died, it will not come back to life. Sometimes the remaining grass will creep into the area and grow new plants, but there is no guarantee this will occur. The best bet is reseeding the lawn in the damaged spot. This basically requires removing the dead grass and planting new grass seeds of the same type as the lawn currently, or a close relative. This should be done in early spring, just about the time when grass comes back to life from the winter and new seeds sprout. There are some who recommend scraping some of the soil under the dead grass away and then aerating, but if not done perfectly, this can further damage the soil (and grass). It might be best to leave this to professionals, who will know what type of seed to plant and how to apply the proper techniques to heal the lawn.
In the Tri-cities area, Promier Landscapes can help with maintaining a beautiful lawn, or bringing damaged lawns back to life. Promier has been providing lawn maintenance and landscaping services for 20 years. For more information, call (423) 872-2988 or fill out the form on the website.