Having dead spots in the lawn where a dog urinates is a concern for a lot of folks. Dog urine is alkaline but very high in nitrogen. The causes of the brown (dead) spots are a normal effect of liquid high in nitrogen being applied to a small area of a lawn. The sex of a dog is not the issue even though female dogs have been the main culprit. The reason is female dogs squat to urinate unlike male dogs that tend to raise a leg on vertical objects. It’s not recommended to alter a dog’s diet or adding dietary supplements to remedy this situation. It will have very little, if any effect and can cause urinary tract problems.
So how do you fix the problem? The first step is training the dog not to pee on the lawn. Your next step is to dilute the urine at the source by increasing the dog water intake. Adding water to hard food or top dressing with can food is an option. Third step is to water the area after the dog urinates thus diluting the urine.
For years, people (me included) have recommended lime for treating the effects of dog urine spots in the lawn. Lime is used to temporarily change the acidy in the soil to a more neutral pH. Since dog urine is alkaline, lime should have no effect on the spots. That means, myself and a lot of others, have been wrong. But, having used lime on urine spots in the yard with “ok” results I did some looking on the net. I found several articles regarding the use of lime to neutralize soil acidity caused by too much nitrogen fertilizer.
