How do I stop dog urine from killing grass?

Question

Everywhere I've lived, the dog urine just kills the grass. I've found nothing on the internet and the garden person at the local hardware said it's impossible. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

I think some lateral thinking is required. I'm going to assume the dog is yours. If not, then you need to look at fencing, calling your city's animal services, etc.

Here are the options that come to mind:

• Train your dog. Despite the proverb, even adult dogs can be trained.
• When you choose a new dog, try to go for a male. It is a myth that bitches have hormones which kill the grass. Yes they have different hormones in their urine, but the quantities are far too low to have vegetative effects. Male dogs mark their territory - spreading their urine around. The dead patches are just fertilizer burn - basically the bitch does it all on one spot. (our male dog has only produced a dead spot when he has pee-ed in the same place for weeks on end)
• As it is just fertilizer burn, watering down with a hose afterwards may be effective.
• Walk your dog regularly (and clean up after them). They will then mainly pee elsewhere. First thing in the morning, and perhaps again in the evening. Also a way of getting some exercise.

Answer 2

Not sure what kind of grass you have, but some grasses are more resilient to dog urine such as fescue and perennial rye-grass. You could try reseeding in areas that your dog frequently uses with these grasses and see if that helps with dog spots or flush the area with water, like Mike mentioned, but keep in mind where the runoff flows.

SOURCE- Fix Dog Spots on Grass

Answer 3

What about dog rocks? They sell these at the vets in the UK, and provided your dog doesn't refuse to drink the water to which they've been added, they do a good job of neutralising dog urine before it exits the body.