Dogs peeing on lawns

[hesperus]

When I was growing up there was this old grouchy guy on our block, who was obsessed with his lawn. He didn't talk much with the other neighbors either. I think I just found him here. Jeesh just put a sign up.

 

[ripper1]

When I was growing up there was this old grouchy guy on our block, who was obsessed with his lawn. He didn't talk much with the other neighbors either. I think I just found him here. Jeesh just put a sign up.

Well, you are just forming an opinion. You don't know me. You are probably one of the people that allow their mutts to **** and piss on people's lawns.

 

[Amethyst]

Well, now I'm curious. What do you do to make them run? Just yell at them, or something scarier?

For a fact, I'm no fan of animals peeing on our lawn. The deer are especially obnoxious, especially since we are not allowed to do anything to them that they really care about.

Oh, they care. When they see me the run accross the street with their pet.

 

[MRG]

I think dog size matters a lot.

And, give the dog a chance to go on your own lawn first. It seems to me that most of the stops after the first are just dribbles for marking.

+1

Our male Maltese lifts his leg nonstop when we're walking. The first time he'll empty his bladder, the rest are for notifications, that are dribbles.

When DW gets tired of waiting I'll pick him up and carry him.

Yes deer, bear, fox and whatever else does it's business wherever they choose. I don't worry about it.

 

[l8_apex]

To the OP - I'm a dog owner but sympathetic to your complaint. I don't have any good answers for you.

I'm curious though to understand how bad is the problem? How many dead spots do you have? How big are they? How quickly do they regrow/disappear?

 

[eytonxav]

In our HOA we have extensive common area with walking paths. The problem we run into is not the pee, but the owners refusing to cleanup their dog's poo. I'm about at the point of deploying surveillance cameras to catch repeat offenders despite numerous communications on the subject and signs being posted.

 

[frayne]

Really, a dog pissing on your lawn gives you heartburn ? First world problem for sure.

With all the engineers, medical types and lawyers here, I predict this threat will devolve into an argument or civil discussion as to the percentage of nitrogen in every fluid ounce of dog urine, followed by the nutritional value for the lawn if the dog is mobile as opposed to stationary while relieving itself and the possible legal routes that are available.

Party on Wayne !

 

[easysurfer]

How about a small sign stabbing into the grass like "Please don't allow dogs on the grass"? I know it is your grass and a sign might be an eyesore, but I think most folks would honor the sign.

There, I refrained from making any pee-pee jokes .

 

[LOL!]

I am curious about the dog pee messing up lawns. I have a dog which pees all over the grass in the back yard and there are zero (0) brown spots. Indeed, later in the season, the green spots are where the dog has urinated.

So why is my yard different from the OP's yard? Can anybody tell me what is going on? Maybe the OP needs some soil amendments to make the soil more alkaline or acidic (I don't know which)? Or maybe the OP has put down too much fertilizer? Or something else?

And yes, I clean up after the pooping no matter where it happens. Or my dog just eats it. My pet peeve is dog owners who don't clean up the poop.

Anyways, does dog pee really kill grass and plants? I think it's a myth. I'm a disbeliever.

 

[calmloki]

Not worth worrying about IMHO, but there are things you can do about it.

https://www.natureslawn.com/product/spotless-lawn/

Or even easier is to just pour a bucket of water on the spot right after the dog relieves itself. The culprit is the salt, not the nitrogen, and it's mainly a matter of diluting it.

The trick, as Braumeister notes, is dilution. I'll add that speed is also important - you don't want to leave that urine sitting on the lawn in its concentrated state. Consider keeping a bucket of water or a charged water hose on hand. When you see a dog starting to pee on your lawn begin dilution immediately by slinging the bucket of water at the dog or spraying the peeing dog with the hose. Responsible dog owners will surely understand if they happen to get soaked as well - after all, your desire to keep your lawn looking nice is only natural.

 

[REWahoo]

Consider keeping a bucket of water or a charged water hose on hand.

Unless you really are the curmudgeon-on-the-porch poster child, that's not practical.

Why not place a motion-activated sprinkler or two in strategic locations? Automatic deterrence and dilution.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0742MB4M...t=&hvlocphy=9028343&hvtargid=pla-362903744098

 

[Choices]

I understand it is female dogs who are the worst offenders. The ladies are less likely to dribble here and there, marking territory, they just empty their bladders. Our soil here in VT is very acidic, I am starting to amend with lime.
Yes, we have brown spots but I ain’t gonna give up our bitch. She is a great guard dog! If the lime doesn’t work, we will try something else.

Picture of offender as my avatar. Yes, that is a bow in her hair

 

[workburnout]

I don't know where you live but around here there are all kinds of animals peeing more than dogs in yards. Deer, and occasional foxes and possums. Mice, squirrels, and other animals all pee on grass. Rabbits. So dogs peeing on yards are the least amount of pee when you add all the pee up from all the other critters.

 

[ripper1]

Unless you really are the curmudgeon-on-the-porch poster child, that's not practical.

Why not place a motion-activated sprinkler or two in strategic locations? Automatic deterrence and dilution.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0742MB4M...t=&hvlocphy=9028343&hvtargid=pla-362903744098

Boy, I think I opened a can of worms....Worms in lawns....hmmm. I smell bacon. Thanks all for your thoughts.

 

[timo2]

This year we have been planting Dog Tuff urine resistant grass. It's not established enough yet to know how well it works for my testimonial, but others like it for that purpose just fine. https://www.highcountrygardens.com/... plugs&utm_term=dog tuff&utm_content=dog-tuff

The bigger problem in my neighborhood is people leaving their dog's poop behind. It is mostly small dogs poop. Do people with small dogs think the poop will just go away? We also get coyote poop blamed on the dogs.

 

[timo2]

Unless you really are the curmudgeon-on-the-porch poster child, that's not practical.

Why not place a motion-activated sprinkler or two in strategic locations? Automatic deterrence and dilution.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0742MB4M...t=&hvlocphy=9028343&hvtargid=pla-362903744098

That motion activated sprinkler could also pass as a home security system, or a teenager sneaking out the window prevention system.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

In our HOA we have extensive common area with walking paths. The problem we run into is not the pee, but the owners refusing to cleanup their dog's poo. I'm about at the point of deploying surveillance cameras to catch repeat offenders despite numerous communications on the subject and signs being posted.

Be thankful that people aren't leaving their calling cards like the Mad Pooper ...

To the OP: Put up a low fence around the perimeter of your lawn facing the sidewalk. That'll deter the female dogs and give the male dogs a different target.

 

[joeea]

Unless a dog pees in the exact same spot over and over again, your dead spots are from something else.

Where one dog pees, other dogs usually respond in kind.

 

[24601NoMore]

How about a neighbor who lets her little dog leave his 'presents' all over the front of our yard when she walks him?

She doesn't even carry a litter bag with her. Just lets the little varmint do his droppings wherever he feels like it.

What galls me is she'll do this even if she knows we see her. Totally does not care. Of course, she's one of those that doesn't do a drop of her own work (has "people" for everything) and appears to be a bit of a princess. But still...

Her excuse was that her dog has "little itty bitty poops - just like little M&Ms". Frankly, I don't care how big they are. Keep your dog from dropping his poo on my lawn.

I swear she brings him onto our lawn to relieve himself so that he doesn't poo on HER lawn. This and other fun "sub life" things is precisely why I no longer wish to live anywhere near a neighbor. 10 or 20 acres with no immediate neighbors is the ER goal.

 

[joeea]

How about a neighbor who lets her little dog leave his 'presents' all over the front of our yard when she walks him?

She doesn't even carry a litter bag with her. Just lets the little varmint do his droppings wherever he feels like it.

What galls me is she'll do this even if she knows we see her. Totally does not care. Of course, she's one of those that doesn't do a drop of her own work (has "people" for everything) and appears to be a bit of a princess. But still...

Her excuse was that her dog has "little itty bitty poops - just like little M&Ms". Frankly, I don't care how big they are. Keep your dog from dropping his poo on my lawn.

We had a neighbor like that, except this dog wasn't itty bitty by any means.

I tried explaining that our young kids were stepping in the droppings. The typical reply was "He's an animal, what can one do?"

Each weekend, I scooped up the poop with a shovel and put it in a pile on their lawn. Eventually, they got the message. They did the scooping for a few weekends, then apparently found a way to prevent it from happening.

 

[ERD50]

I am curious about the dog pee messing up lawns. I have a dog which pees all over the grass in the back yard and there are zero (0) brown spots. Indeed, later in the season, the green spots are where the dog has urinated.

....

Anyways, does dog pee really kill grass and plants? I think it's a myth. I'm a disbeliever.

I'm skeptical as well. Neighbors have BIG dogs, I see them peeing in their yard all the time. They have some green spots, no dead spots. Shade and sun.

They don't water their grass, lawn service does fertilizer and weed spray. And we are in Chicago area - similar weather and probably similar soil and grass types as OP.

Doesn't add up for. Some other cause?

-ERD50

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We have zero brown spots on our lawn from our own dog and dogs that pass by our front yard so I am also pretty skeptical about dog pee hurting neighbors lawns. What about out door cats? Aren't they peeing outside? Our dog goes for a walk a few times a day but in our neighborhood some of the cats are out there 24 X 7, plus raccoons, skunks, hordes of squirrels, rats, mice, flocks of turkeys, and all sorts of wildlife.

 

[Amethyst]

Un-neutered male cats "mark" everywhere they can point their little rear ends at. Usually a tree trunk or fence post though, not the lawn.

They will also "mark" by displaying their solid waste on top of rocks etc. I suppose if one didn't get the male kitten to the vet fast enough, even a neutered male might do some "marking."

Neutered males and females, however, dig little holes and then scratch dirt over the mess, in any soft earth or sand they can find (I once read that the military refers to an on-the-spot, personal latrine as a "cat hole.") But, house cats being small animals, the radius of damage is pretty small too. Also, they don't really see a well-cared-for lawn as a big litter box. Too hard to dig. Now, a flower bed, or kid's sand box? Banzai Kitty!

WWhat about out door cats? Aren't they peeing outside? .

 

[aja8888]

Anyways, does dog pee really kill grass and plants? I think it's a myth. I'm a disbeliever.

After years of study by me walking many owned dogs; big, small, male, female, neutered, un-nutered, I have come to the conclusion (through observation) that only un-neutered female dog urine is deadly to grass but it appears to attract male dogs.

 

[Sunset]

]After years of study by me[/B] walking many owned dogs; big, small, male, female, neutered, un-nutered, I have come to the conclusion (through observation) that only un-neutered female dog urine is deadly to grass but it appears to attract male dogs.

That is really close observation regarding neutering.