About Dog Spots

Tips from Weed Man North Dallas Fort Worth

Animals, especially female dogs, can cause considerable damage by urinating on a lawn. They seem to use locations right off the patio during the winter months resulting in these areas not turning green in the spring.
Animal urine contains soluble salts, urea, and other compounds.
The displacement of animal wastes throughout a lawn will result in a patchy, uneven colored lawn featuring dead spots.
The soluble salts content in urine helps determine how much damage will actually occur. When the soluble salts content is low and the soil affected is moist and fertile, damage may be minimal and show up as faster growing patches of dark green grass. However, when the soluble salt content is high, and the affected lawn is dry, there is strong potential for injury. A margin of dark green, rapidly growing grass may surround a yellow patch of dying grass.
Similar damage may occur from other sources such as from a salt water pool or a fertilizer spill, but these damaged areas won't have the marginal green areas around the patch that is associated with dog urine

Dog spots are often confused with a patch type lawn disease. Practices that will help correct damaged areas are:

Watering deeply to disperse salt concentrations. Refer to our Water Instructions.
In the winter months when the grass is dormant, use a water hose to irrigate the areas right off the patio about once a week to help disperse the urine in the soil.
Rake out severely damaged areas to allow new growth to fill in the area. Seeding is not a desirable solution with warm season grasses.

It may take a few weeks of recovery before the green color returns to your lawn; consult your Weed Man North DFW if you have further questions.