I've tried the special stones in the drinking water, the tomato ketchup in the food, and rushing out to pour water where Nelly, my spaniel, has peed. Nothing seems to work.
It got so bad that the grass died away altogether, so I temporarily fenced off the lawn - Nelly can't get onto it at all - with the aim of reseeding it, even though this seems to be futile because once she gets back on to the newly-grown grass the patches will appear again.
Just recently, though, a thought came to me while walking her in the little park opposite our house that it might all be due to the type of grass. One day I noticed that the grass in our park, which is regularly mown and kept short like a lawn, has not a single brown patch on it, despite the fact that Nelly pees there almost every day, as do lots of other female dogs?
I then noticed too that in our other walking area, Wimbledon Common, no brown patches are to be seen.
I can't think why this hadn't occurred to me before but then, surely, if it was as simple as that, grass seed companies would have cottoned on to it and be making millions out of selling dog-urine-proof grass, as this does seem to be a universal problem for people with female dogs and everybody wants a green lawn. It would be a huge market. But if it's not the type of grass, why are there no brown patches in parks? Has anyone got any clues?
A dog walking friend has just told me that she believes the grass used in council parks - when they sow it from scratch - is different to the usual grass sold in garden centres and is more of a heavy-duty type. Bearing this in mind, I went to a garden centre and bought one that was described on the packet as being tough and containing "fescue" grass and have reseeded the bare patches with it. I'm not holding out much hope, but fingers crossed.
Just out of interest, I'm contacting our council parks department, hoping that they will tell me which grass seed they use.
I did hear that clover is not affected by dog urine because of its deep roots, so if my new seeds don't do the trick, and the council can't suggest anything different, I could try and track down some clover seeds, although that might be difficult.
Failing that, we will replace our dear little lawn with bricks.
Will let you know how we get on and if anyone has any better ideas, apart from those I've tried, do say.
Julia Lewis, by email
Have you tried adding a little apple cider vinegar to the drinking water?
ReplyDeleteIt is less likely to be the type of grass which it is the problem but the type of urine!
ReplyDeleteLike so many things it all comes back to food. You don't say what you are feeding but I believe that a high quality food fed sparingly will de-toxify the dog's system and result in a lees toxic urine. I recommend a whole grain based food which is low in fat and protein with no colourings or other chemicals.
Clover is mentioned under 'alternative lawns' in Alan Titchmarsh's 'How to be a Gardener': "white clover (Triflium repens) makes a very good 'lawn'. Sow it in the same way as a normal lawn, using clover seed that you can buy from specialist seed firms. It's much less trouble than grass - clover stays green in dry weather when grass looks like hay, and its full height is only about 5-8cm, so it doesn't need regular mowing. Clover is a mass of flowers in summer and very attractive to bees, so if you want a 'play' lawn for children, simply mow down the the flowerheads to prevent your kids from being stung by foraging bees". Sounds great, but no mention of resistance to dog pee unfortunately!
ReplyDeleteHi everybody
ReplyDeletethanks so much for your suggestions.
HandsOnPaws, I certainly hadn't heard of cider vinegar used in this respect but I often use it myself in cooking. Sounds worth a try.
John Burns, she's on the BARF diet, as per Ian Billinghurst's methods, which is raw, meaty bones every day, plus a bowlful of ground up veggies with things like raw egg, oil, and a little mince added.
It has no wholegrains apart from sometimes some coarse porridge oats, or oatbran.
You would probably think it too high-protein, but she does look wonderfully healthy on it.
Clare M, you made clover sound rather a nice alternative to grass. I read somewhere on the Internet that it wasn't killed off by dog pee because of its long roots.
But, helpful as these suggestions are, it doesn't explain why my local park has no brown patches. Why does my dog's pee kill off my grass but not the park's?
I am going to get in touch with Merton council and see if I can talk to one of the parks team.
Julia
I'll take a wild guess that Nelly is entire. The urine burn often seems to be linked to female hormones; though the type of grass in the park might be different, there is also an awful lot more of it, and many bitches are spayed.
ReplyDeleteYou are feeding the best diet possible; please don't change to a far more inappropriate one! I don't like the idea of additives to food to stop a problem like this - though cider vinegar is sometimes used as a dietary supplement anyway.
Two suggestions. Does Nelly pee on command? If not, teach her to - very easy with bitches - and to use one specific area of the garden. The other is a bit more drastic, but I was looking at artificial grass at a stand at Crufts, and some of it looks fairly realistic. It's supposedly easy to pick up from, and can be hosed down to clean - and no more mowing!
Christine
Hi everbody
ReplyDeleteChristine, you are right, Nelly has not been spayed.
Re artificial grass, I'm sure it looks much better than it used to, but I have a absolute craving for real, growing grass, probably the result of living in South London and having a tiny garden that is bounded by the high brick wall of an industrial estate. I want to look out on to green grass that is actually growing and I rather enjoy mowing my tiny patch - well, I used to, before it disappeared.
Also, my dog loves nibbling grass and rolling on her back in it.
I tried phoning the council but all I got was recorded voices. Even if I had got hold of a real person, they probably would not have been able to answer my question off the top of their head, or even after careful consideration.
I'm aware that no-one nowadays wants to be put in a position where they are giving advice or recommending anything, so I'm probably wasting my time. Perhaps its a trade secret and they won't divulge where they get their seeds from.
I'd just love a word with what used to be called a "groundsman" - or "groundsperson" as you'd probably say nowadays, who knows all the ins and outs of grass growing.
However, I found an "ask Merton" email address that you can direct general queries to, so here's hoping someone will respond to my message.
I wonder if they have ever been asked such a question?
Julia
Hi Julia. The really reliable - and long term way I would deal with this is to have a section of your garden devoted to 'toileting'. A small slabbed area, or gravel, can be easily kept clean and hygenic. Depending on the dog, and the time you have, a temporary pen surrounding it can be a good idea too (puppy pens are inexpensive if you buy online and they are perfect for this). It is very useful for wet days when the grass would quickly become trampled and ruined. As dogs can sometimes prefer a grassy surface I sometimes lay a roll of turf on the area at first. This accustoms the dog to the idea of toileting in that area.
ReplyDeleteYou will at first need to go back to a bit of basic toilet training, with rewards and encouragement for your dog to toilet in the new space. This can be made easy by hanging a treat pot up (out of dog's reach) in the area so that they dog learns to locate the treats by sight and smell - then pee - then you reward.
Not a perfect solution I know, but a good compromise and it means your lawn stays lovely!
I also have this dilemma with my bitch.Have tried the rocks and tomato sauce in her food. I feed Burns and she looks fantastic, but unfortunately mr Burns this has not helped my grass! we have come to the last resort of designating an area of the garden to her.
ReplyDelete