It seems that if you have a dog you can’t have a nice green lawn. Dogs are known for digging holes and when they use the bathroom, brown spots start to appear. The spots can make the grass look dead and patchy. No one want to have a lawn with patches so can you have a pet with a green lawn? There are ways that you can have both but there are things you need to do. Pet urine is a problem because the ammonia in the urine doesn’t mix well with plants and grass. Using some tips and tricks can help keep the lawn looking its best under less than ideal circumstances.
Mickey’s LawnScapes offers helpful tips for how to keep your grass and lawn green with a pet dog.
Offer Dog’s Lots of Water to Help Stop Killing the Grass
The urine from your pet is heavy in ammonia and even nitrogen. These are things that are not good for the lawn and will lead to damage and even killing the grass. There are two ways to dilute the urine that you just cannot avoid. One is to encourage your pet to drink water often. You can leave water out in the house and outside so that there is always a nice fresh bowl. The more they drink the more the urine will naturally be diluted. The other thing that you can do is when you take your dog out for a potty break is to watch where they go. Once they are done you need to grab the hose and wash around the area for about ten seconds. This will dilute the urine in that area and lessen the chances of it killing your grass. You need to be sure that you watch the pet each time so you can dilute when they are done.
Mow Grass Higher
Taller grass means deeper roots, and deeper roots mean a hardier lawn. Letting your grass grow tall will make it tougher so that it can take more of a beating from your dog without dying.
Reseed Lawn with a Damage-Resistant Grass Type
There are many different types of grass and only some grass types can survive your dog running, playing and going to the bathroom on them every day. If you often find dog urine spots or bare patches from wear and tear in your lawn, the reason may just be that you have a weaker, more delicate grass type. Consider calling Mickey’s LawnScapes to replace your current lawn with a damage-resistant grass type, such as tall fescue or Kentucky bluegrass. And if replacing your whole lawn sounds like too big a project, we can still help your lawn out by reseeding or laying new sod only in your dog’s favorite spots to play or go potty!
Install Hardscapes
If you don’t want your dogs to damage your grass, offer them areas to play where there isn’t any grass at all. You can replace some of your grassy areas with hardscapes, mulch, or groundcovers for a dog-friendly landscape. You can have paving stones or concrete installed to make a dog path or patio where your dog can play. Mickey’s LawnScapes recommends using smooth materials that won’t hurt your dog’s sensitive paws, and lighter colored materials that won’t absorb as much heat as darker ones.
Sod Installation, Grass Reseeding, Lawn Mowing, Hardscape Installation & More in Amagansett, Aquebogue, Baiting Hollow, Calverton, Cutchogue, East Hampton, East Hampton North, Greenport, Jamesport, Laurel, Mattituck, Montauk, Nassau Point, Northville, Northwest Harbor, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southold, Springs, Wading River, Westhampton Beach in East End of Long Island, New York
Mickey’s LawnsScapes offers many lawn maintenance services including sod installation, reseeding and mowing as well as landscape design and installation. Call us today!
