Hi, bit of a random question... just wondering if anyone knows of a dog-safe product I could use on the grass to help fix the unsightly 'burn' marks where my dog piddles?!?!  I've seen things that you give the dog to make the urine less acidic, but think that's a bit drastic?  My mum's going mad at the minute, as he'd stopped going in the middle of the grass when he learned to cock his leg, but now he's been neutered, he's more inclined to squat in the middle of the lawn!! hehehe. Thanks.
~Clare

You are right not to want to alter the acidity of the urine.  It can lead to problems with urine infections and even kidney stones.  The best method seems to be to water the area well but of course that does involve being on the spot with a hose or can whenever the dog is likely to wee :)  I suppose for very proud gardners it is a pain but I find nothing kills grass for long and infact once it has got over the initial burn the area generally comes back better than ever.

My grass is a real mess at the moment.  You can't really see it until it gets cut but really its a disgrace and I should be ashamed of myself!!!!!  Is there anything I can do to "help" it get better?

Thanks in anticipation!!!

Annie

We used to use a product called Green Um, we got it from Mark & Chappell over the net but you can get it from PAH, it worked really well but got a bit expensive with 2 largish girls :D Its a tablet that you give to the dog as you would a worming tablet, how many you give depends on the size of the dog...and therefore how much wee they produce!

If you don't want to use the tablets then there is another product, think its called Lawn Rescue, available from garden centres which you just spray on where the dog has been, again this worked really well but instead of burn marks it left the garden looking patchy as they sprayed areas went a lovely lush green, and thickened it up as the sprays turns the urine into a fertilizer, very clever!

We use the method described by Isabel, wherever a dog wees we mark it with a small stone or a twig, fill a bucket of water and tip it on the area. This is easy and cheap and is working but you do have to watch them all the time.....our grass has a few burn marks from where we haven't been paying attention :D Oh, and we try to encourage them to use a gravelled area we have next to the patio, especially first thing on a morning(longest wee :D)

HTH

Emily :)

We just use tomato food mixed in a watering can and the lawn is fine if anything we have extra growth mounds where tess desides to piddle which we have to mow to make the grass look even.  (Strange or what but there is always a cm yellow spot in the middle lol but like i say the growth covers that even when mown???)

Anxies

We had a third of the garden fenced off.
This gives me more control over where the dogs go in the garden especially after thier morning toileting I open the gate and let them play.They generally  come back to thier toileting area if they want to go out of habit consequently saving the grass.

If you're around when she does it, tip a whole bucket of water over the aea, that shoudl do the trick as it waters down the urine adn disperses it.  I have the same problem with our 3 cats (and soon a dog as well).  The water definitely works, but only if you're in the garden at the time of course!