brown grass

[BooyHoo]

i am in a new house that has a garden and the grass is going brown in patches. i am guessing due to dog wee. is there anything i can do to keep it green?

[boohoohoo]

Yes, bitches urine will wreck lawns!!! I have two! Apparantely, you can by rocks from pet shops which you leave in their waterbowls (have no idea how they work - sorry) or I have also heard that a tin of tomatoes on top of their food will help. I think its something to do with the acid in their urine.

Sure someone much more knowledgeable will be along in a mo!

[boohoohoo]

Hang on, might have read your post wrong! Do you have dogs! Sorry, if you dont, then you will have to replace that part of the lawn as the chemicals in the dogs wee will have destroyed it.

[BooyHoo]

it's a male dog, un-neutered, but still lots of brown grass. i did hear that vinegar in his water will stop it but i feel mean putting vinegar in his water so haven't tried it.

[Carrotsandcelery]

I have a male, neutered dog and the same problem.

I have heard about some sort of Australian stone that can sit in their waterbowls which prevents the problem but I don't know if it works.

I shall watch with interest.

[BooyHoo]

really?? i'll have to replace all the grass?

[boohoohoo]

We tried the rocks, but both the dogs kept picking them out of the waterbowls and refused to drink with them in, then tried tin of tomatoes in their food, they just looked at me as though I was mad and having a laugh and refused to eat! Tried re-seeded parts of the lawn, you have to make sure you dig out all of the roots, but again we had no luck with that, in the end we dug the bloody lot up, made a patio and a bark play area.

Thought it was only female dogs who caused this, so I got that wrong, sorry. Maybe ask in the gardening section about re-seeding the parts of the lawns that have been damaged, thats just what happened to us, but Im sure someone more knowledgable will be more helpful

[BooyHoo]

oh goodness, i hadn't realised the damage was permanent. it is only a small garden so thankfully should't cost too much. i need to get a cure for the browning forst though before i shell out for re-seeding.

[Pisky]

We're trying to train our pup to go on the concrete to avoid this - she's getting the idea but got to be quick if we are the other end of the garden!

[minimu11]

Dogs and bitches both do this to grass - a small amount of cheap tomato ketchup in their food will stop it.

[StayingDavidTennantsGirl]

There are tablets you can get from the pet shop, called Green'ums, which have the same effect on the pH of the dog's urine as tomatoes, and our lab will happily eat them out of my hand.

I have to say I haven't noticed the patches on the lawn being permanent, except where she goes back to a particular spot over and over again.

[BooyHoo]

thank you all. i will try the tomato ketchup.

[Cheria]

I have heard the following - not sure if any of them are true (don't care enough about my grass to try ):

• tomato sauce or concentrate in food as someone said above
  
• sprinkle a handful of sugar on the damaged grass
  
• pouring sugary water or left over flat fizzy drinks could work too
  

And as they always go in the same places, would it be possible to train him to go elsewhere?

As I said, not sure if any of the above work (other than the prevention method)

[BooyHoo]

yes good idea to train him to wee in one spot. i'll start on that today with him. and will try the sugar too. thanks

[Pawsnclaws]

We trained our dog to go in the same place (gravel) - basically every time he started to wee on the grass we gently shoved him towards the gravel. When he went in the right place we gave him a treat. Only took two days to get the idea!

[emptyshell]

You mean grass isn't meant to be that colour?