I have a yellow lab and she is burning the grass with her urine. I have done some research and see different things to try. Id like to know what you do and what your results are. Ive heard trying tomato juice and other broth items, that really doesn't change there nitrogen level but it does increase there thurst which will dilute there urine. But it also said its not recommended to change there diet without checking with your vet. It says that it can give them kidney and heart problems. I have called the vet and they didn't have much to say other then trying the tablets or biscuts that a few companys make to resolve this issue. I have tried a brand that petco carries for about 2 months and didn't have great results. Thanks for your input!! p.s. I tried doing a search on here and I kept getting a servor error.
Females also tend to do more damage to grass than males. You could always "fertilize" the area she pees accordingly. For instance, we usually throw down a bunch of lime in the dog's pee area before winter. The alkaline offsets the acidity and we avoid the spring kill-off when the snow and urine melts.
Get rid of the grass. Take it out to a farm in the country and let it go. Put up posters in your neighborhood that say "free grass to a good yard"
Or, you could attempt to train your pup to go into a homemade litter box. Pick out a section about 4'X4', use some 2X4's to frame it out. I used 1/2" gravel for the first 1", then used sand to fill in the rest. When you think your pup needs to eliminate, take her out to the "box" when she goes, reward her with tasty treat, like chicken, or whatever he/she prefers. When you take the pup out, say, go to your Box, you may have to use a leash at first, but after awhile, he/she will get the idea. I did this and it worked pretty good, although I had a male, but he sqwated to pee...lol Buy some extra sand to replace the "dirty" sand when you clean it.
I trained my dog to go in the natural area in my yard which is equivalent to Hammer's suggestion. I used the command "all the way" which he understands means go to the natural area. The only time I have an issue is when I'm out of town and have someone watch him that isn't consistent in giving the command. After all, he's a male and like all males he's always looking to take the easy way out. No command equals peeing on the grass.
Another thing..keep a bucket of water handy, just in case the pup goes on the lawn, pour some water on the pee spot, and the nitrogen won't harm the grass..
I use the grass saver brand chew tablets for my female. No issues from the vet side of things, and no yellow grass. We are really happy with the results.
The back I don't care so much about, but I'm anal about our front yard so she knows to go over to the side in the ivy. I had read the tomato juice thing too but never tried it. Like Kenny and Mongo said, if she or another dog ever does pee in the front, I just fill a watering bucket and dump it on the spot - it dilutes it enough so that it doesn't burn. It just sucks with fescue because it doesn't fill back in.
We never saw any grass burning with our shepherd/husky female, but the new husky/beagle female has burned a couple of spots in the back yard. It doesn't bother me though... less to mow
Maybe my country upbringing is about to make me sound stupid. But i have to ask, what is a "natural" area of a yard?
I'm with you. I figured it was the area without the AstroTurf and was still infected with weeds and nature stuff.
I was thinking about making a designated area for her to use. I'd prefer not having to do that, buuuut that might be my best solution.
Go Hawthorne PD on it! "You kill grass I kill you!!!!!" BLAM BLAM!!! Best to designate a business area
