Dog urine killing your grass? Is your lawn stained with urinal stains? (2023)

Want to stop dog pee damage from your lawn?

If possible. By understanding what really causes those unsightly spots and taking the right measures, your lawn can be free of those unsightly brown spots caused by dog ​​urine damage. Dog urine stains are the result of a high concentration of urea nitrogen. Urea is a by-product of protein digestion and is an important part of a dog's healthy kidney function.

Urea is a common ingredient in nitrogen fertilizers. While nitrogen is essential for a healthy lawn, dog urine is definitely overkill.

A healthy lawn is the result of maintaining the right balance between the soil's ability to metabolize nitrogen in the soil and the amount of nitrogen that dog urine sprays onto the lawn. It's almost like balancing a person's food intake with their amount of physical activity and their ability to metabolize food.

Why does dog urine kill grass in the first place?

This is easily explained with a basic understanding of the simple science behind what is going on. Basically, when applied in concentrated amounts, urea and ammoniacal nitrogen are absorbed and stored by the plant as fats and sugars in animals. Like excess sugars and fats, this type of nitrogen can damage plant cell walls and impair the lawn's ability to absorb moisture, resulting in dead brown spots; Basically, in areas that are sprayed with dog urine, the grass becomes very dehydrated.

Dog urine can also add salt. And in some cases, dog urine adds drugs or chemicals to the soil that can interfere with the soil's natural biological processes.

It seems to be a common theme on the internet that dog urine is acidic or has a low pH and will burn the grass. The 'burns' are due to the grass's inability to absorb moisture due to the urea concentration - your dog's urine has not burned the grass, it has robbed it of the water/moisture it needs to grow. Urine pH is usually not a significant factor.

Best and worst practices for preventing dog urine damage.

There are some management practices that can help minimize the severity of urine stains on your lawn, and others that are nothing short of frustrating.

Watering the area immediately after your dog urinates will dilute the urine so that it doesn't concentrate so much in one area, but spreads out that richness. Morning watering right after your dog's death can help even more... This morning watering is especially useful after your dog has urinated in the morning, as urea is naturally more concentrated at this time.

Keeping your dog well hydrated will also help dilute the urea before your dog sprays it all over the lawn.

Build an area of ​​mulch or gravel for your dog to urinate on and get him off the lawn. In short, teach your dog to relieve himself somewhere else (no, not the neighbor's yard).

Try different dog foods and treats. Different dog foods contain different types and qualities of protein, which can alter your dog's urea levels.

Bag and remove your dog's poop. This will stop it from biodegrading and adding extra nitrogen to the soil and is just common sense nonsense.

Reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizer you are allowed to apply to areas available to your dog. While nitrogen appears to have a beneficial effect, even initially in your dog's yard, too much nitrogen (especially when mixed with urea) can seriously impair your healthy lawn's ability to absorb moisture.

Here are some practices that can actually make the problem worse. Yes, worse.

Since dog urine stains are a direct result of excess urea nitrogen, applying nitrogen-based fertilizers to your lawn to encourage growth will only make brown spot problems much worse.

Avoid any treatment that attempts to dampen the lawn's acidity. Dog urine damage is caused by too much nitrogen, which can feel like a burn but is not usually caused by acid; Remember that it is the lack of moisture absorption that causes these brown spots on your lawn.

The amount and concentration of urea is only half the problem. what is the other half

If you're trying to control your dog and his urine by spraying your lawn and what you're trying to do isn't enough, consider improving your soil's ability to absorb the increased levels of urea nitrogen, contained in dog urine, into a nitrate of more turf-friendly nitrogen. This process is called the nitrogen cycle and it can be managed and supported.

SoundSoil has formulated a soil conditioner called LawnMutt that repairs and improves the nitrogen cycle in your lawn soil, helping to prevent dog urine damage and unsightly brown spots that threaten your beautiful lawn.

What are the different types of nitrogen that affect lawn growth or decay?

Although nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant growth, not all nitrogen is created equal. Nitrogen exists in a few different variations or forms. The "nitrogen cycle" is the soil's ability to metabolize and convert nitrogen from one form to another. The different forms of nitrogen that affect your lawn's ability to grow are:

• urea nitrogen
• ammoniacal nitrogen
• nitrogen nitrite
• nitrogen nitrate

The actual differences between these types of nitrogen can be tricky and a little confusing, even for experienced landscapers and gardeners. The most important thing to remember is this: too much urea and ammoniacal nitrogen causes cellular damage and stress in the lawn, but nitrate nitrogen is more easily digested by the lawn, so it won't cause as much nasty damage to your lawn. Turf caused by concentrations of urea and ammonia.

What is the "nitrogen cycle" found in every lawn?

Simply put, the "nitrogen cycle" is the natural process by which the nitrogen in your soil is converted between its various chemical forms.

The nitrogen cycle is a true living ecosystem and will grow or shrink depending on the type and amount of available nitrogen and other soil conditions.

Without a healthy population of beneficial nitrifying bacteria, urea and ammonium can quickly reach levels that are toxic to your lawn. In the case of dog urine, this leads to easily identifiable dead spots in the lawn.

How are fish aquarium filters a good example of the nitrogen cycle?

Do this: googlethe nitrogen cycle, and you'll find plenty of items for riding a bike or starting a new aquarium. I find these articles very informative and a great foundation to gain a basic understanding of the nitrogen cycle.

Aquarium filters use ceramic or plastic rings or balls that allow bacteria to grow. The water is filtered this way and the bacteria that grow there convert the ammoniacal nitrogen into healthier nitric nitrogen, which is then removed by water changes or by plants living in the aquarium.

The nitrogen cycle that occurs in your soil is very similar to the process created by these aquarium filters, but in the case of your soil, bacteria grow on soil particles.

How does LawnMutt work to restore your lawn's natural health and beauty?

Healthy nitrifying bacteria are present in almost all soils, especially healthy soils. Given the right soil conditions, these bacteria will either grow or shrink depending on the amount and type of nitrogen present in the soil.

There are a number of common soil conditions that disrupt these healthy biological processes. Some of these conditions can include excessive salts in the soil, herbicides or pesticides, insufficient organic matter, to name a few, or simply overfertilization.

LawnMutt repairs and restores these unhealthy soil conditions into a healthy, naturally life-sustaining soil condition, while improving the nitrogen cycle in your soil. By repairing unsanitary conditions and adding beneficial nitrifying bacteria, LawnMutt rebuilds the effectiveness of the soil's nitrogen cycle. and avoids that nasty urea-nitrogen based damage.

How long does LawnMutt take to restore healthy soil conditions?

How long does it take? and will it work for my lawn? These are the two questions that almost every new customer asks. We hear these questions all the time from all kinds of people.

Urinary turf damage ceases when the soil's ability to metabolize urea from dog urine is in balance with the amount of urea applied. So those 2 questions are, what does it take to balance the amount of urea applied to your lawn so that it starts metabolizing urea quickly enough?

You already think that the time commitment will be different for almost every lawn. And you are absolutely right. The factors at play in this type of soil remediation are the amount of urea and ammoniacal nitrogen stored in the soil from the dog's urine and the amount of nitrogen fertilizer that has been applied in recent months.

Think of it like this. If someone is 200 pounds overweight, it will take them longer to reach their ideal weight than someone who is only 10-20 pounds overweight. First, they must begin to metabolize the excess they retain, and then they can begin to find the balance between their ability to metabolize food and continued calorie consumption.

As your floor becomes healthier, these new urine stains will decrease in size and severity. Most customers see the improvement process begin 6-8 weeks after initial use and improve over time with repeated uses of LawnMutt. Eventually, your lawn develops a great ability to metabolize urea, which prevents new dog urine stains from forming.

Additional benefits for your lawn with LawnMutt...

Preventing dog urine damage is just one of the benefits you'll get from applying LawnMutt to your lawn. Biologically healthy soil is essential for a healthy lawn and garden. LawnMutt is an ideal soil correction for everyone, including dog-free lawn owners (yep, even if your neighbors don't have a dog to sneak around in the wee hours of the night to do their thing).

• LawnMutt increases fertilizer conversion which is a real benefit for all lawns and gardens.
• LawnMutt Improves Clay Soils: A close cousin to our RestoreClay product, LawnMutt will greatly improve hard, barren clay soils.
• LawnMutt improves sandy soils. LawnMutt contains humus that coats the sand grains and helps add nutrients and build the body.
• LawnMutt significantly reduces the amount of thatch.
• LawnMutt boosts the soil's natural immunity to fungi and pests.
• LawnMutt helps form a deeper and more developed root system for your plants.
• LawnMutt helps neutralize soil pH in all soil types.
• LawnMutt improves water retention and utilization
• LawnMutt adds humus to your soil, a much-needed ingredient for healthy soil.
• LawnMutt buffers ground salts.

Additional factors that can affect the severity of urine damage to your lawn:

Amount of fertilizer applied.The most important factor is the type and amount of fertilizer applied in the past 12 months. Dog urine stains get worse after insemination.

Amount of urine stored in soil.The more you have, the more you have to stream. Imagine being 200 pounds overweight versus 20 pounds overweight, which situation requires more work?

lawn size.Small lawns are exposed to a higher concentration of urea than larger lawns.

age of your lawn.New grass is basically a mat on the ground for the first few months and it takes time to develop a deep, healthy root system that is protected from dog urine. Correct, the grass root system is initially confined to the depth of the grass before it is established.

The summer heat.Dog urine stains are worse in the summer and seem to improve in the cooler spring and fall months. And that makes a lot of sense when you understand that dog urine stains are caused by poor moisture absorption, and the summer heat demands more moisture from the soil and plants. If your weed isn't able to rehydrate itself during the summer months, it will simply dry out faster. Basically, your lawn gets very thirsty in the summer, but it can't swallow the water you give it.

The severity of damage caused by canine urine can vary from dog to dog.

It is not uncommon for someone to have a dog that does not significantly damage the lawn, but to have another dog that damages the lawn. They are different dogs with different levels of urea.

Urea is a by-product of the dog's body that digests protein. Every dog's metabolism and activity level is different. Genetics, animal nutrition and many other factors make this a reality that needs to be considered.

If your dog drinks a lot of water, the urea will be more diluted and less concentrated.

The dog's health plays an important role in its ability to digest protein. And when your dog's kidneys aren't working properly, it can negatively affect your dog's urine urea levels. Bad kidneys, bad spots on the lawn.

Male dogs seem to do less damage than females, depending on how they urinate. Males are more likely to urinate on trees, stumps, posts, corners and walls, while females tend to squat and urinate in a single, flat, concentrated area.

Some medications can also affect the damage done to your lawn by Fido's urination habits.

Supplements you can give your dog to help control and correct mottled grass problems.

Our company specializes in healthy soil products, so the supplements you give your dog, whether through food or water, are a little out of reach. We focus on your floor.

All of our dietary supplement experiences are based on feedback from our customers. I've heard that it might be a good idea to talk to your veterinarian before giving your dog supplements, as they affect the natural processes in your pup's kidneys.

In general, it seems that some can help, others not so much. We've heard from our customers that some work great for some people and their dogs, but don't help at all for others. Many of our customers are concerned about their dogs diet and health and prefer not to give them anything that could affect these things. Other people like the convenience of supplements and trust that they can be a healthy solution for their dogs and their lawn.

Many of our customers have experienced amazing results with their favorite supplements when combined with just a few simple uses of LawnMutt.

The value of using LawnMutt is more than just preventing urine damage.

It's about having healthy soil to grow plants in. The benefits of using LawnMutt on your lawn go beyond just preventing dog urine damage. By using LawnMutt, you can cross two things off your to-do list. With a few simple applications, in just a few months, you can increase your lawn's resistance to dog urine damage and greatly improve your lawn's overall health and growth. Let your lawn thrive. Apply LawnMutt to your floor today.

LawnMutt is as easy to apply as it is to wash off.

LawnMutt is available in pre-made applications based on the size of your lawn. It can be purchased with an applicator or you can use your own.

You can find more information on ourvira-latacollection page. Click the link below for more information.

https://www.soundsoil.com/collections/lawnmutt