A home with a grassy backyard is a great place to raise a family with pets. Lawns make suitable play spaces for children and dogs because they are soft and comfortable to walk or run on. Additionally, their organic qualities mean lawns offer a cooler, cleaner surface option over gravel, concrete, or even mulch.
However, many homeowners worry their dogs can damage a beautiful lawn and make it unattractive or, worse, dead. Read on to discover ways you can still have a healthy lawn and your furry friends together at the same time.
Eliminate Elimination Problems
Most lawns that share time with dogs sport classic brown spots from dog urine. High levels of nitrogen present in dog urine can burn grass. The key to a lawn without dead spots from dog elimination is simple when you make a few changes.
Change the Area of Elimination
You can cut back drastically on lawn damage when you change where your dog urinates. Rather than let your dog freely urinate anywhere, dedicate one small area to this necessity instead. For example, choose one corner of the yard comprised of gravel, mulch, or even clover instead of grass. Just make sure it feels pleasant under your dog's feet.
Male dogs like to mark their territory when they pee on a hydrant or tree, which is actually better for lawns because most urine does not form a large puddle on grass. You can encourage this habit even if you don't have trees. Your male dog might like a stick, pole, or other similar object to do their business on as long as it is located in a dedicated corner away from your lawn.
Water Down Nitrogen Levels in Urine
Because nitrogen in urine causes browning, you can dilute nitrogen levels so your dog's urine will soak harmlessly into the grass instead:
- Give your dog plenty of water to drink, or consider a switch from dry food to wet food, which provides more water in their diet.
- Hose down the area of grass after your dog urinates to disperse and wash away nitrogen.
These methods that water down nitrogen work well if your dog will not stick to a dedicated elimination area like a pole, tree, or corner.
Retrain Digging Impulses
Another way dogs may ruin a grassy yard is when they dig holes. Your yard may look like a minefield because your dog likes to engage in this destructive behavior, but he or she is actually usually signaling they may have a problem.
Digs may dig when they are bored, seek a cool place from the sun, or chase after prey. Your dog might just need extra ways to burn off excess energy that don't involve your sod. Take your dog to a dog park for more exercise. Or, consider toys that require work to dispense treats.
Provide shade on hot days so your dog can relax in comfort and not turn up damp soil instead. Install a canopy or doghouse or add a few fast-growing trees to your yard.
Finally, your dog may dig to chase after prey like rats, mice, gophers, or other rodents. Ask an exterminator to check your property for these pests that like to encourage your dog to become a digger.
Start With the Right Grass
One way to help your lawn coexist with your dog is to start with the right grass. Weak, patchy grass is much more susceptible to damage. Healthy, established sod with deep roots is better able to withstand an active dog.
Pick the right kind of grass species suited to your climate that can grow back quickly and recover in case of minor damage. Species like Kentucky bluegrass and fescue might work well. Speak to
Novasack Turf Farm
about sod for your yard whether you have children, pets, or both.
