JoeyBean
Albany, NY
MH
Posts:280
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| 07/14/2010 7:03 AM |
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We just did a huge amount of landscaping in our back yard and put a ton of new topsoil in and seeded everything. Anyway, Joey's pee is ruining our new yard. I know there are lots of supplements that are supposed to stop this from happening. Are these things healthy?? Do they actually work? I'm a little apprehensive to spend money on something like this. |
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:6748
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| 07/14/2010 9:05 AM |
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| I just hose down the areas where mine pee and that takes care of the problem. I have more of a problem with Ringo lifting his leg and peeing on shrubs and plants, but I also hose down where the girls go as well. I do this at the same time I water my pot plants which in the heat of summer is usually every day. In the fall and spring when it is cooler I don't do it as often. In the winter, I rarely do it. This seems to work for me. My grass is St Augustine. |
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Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
     
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
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JoeyBean
Albany, NY
MH
Posts:280
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| 07/14/2010 10:45 AM |
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Bev-
Its a good suggestion but i don't think it would work for us. when joey has to pee we just let her out into the fenced yard, so we don't necessarily see where she pees to be able to hose off. And she doesn't stick to one spot there are brown dead patches EVERYwhere!!! |
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pixie bee
MH
Posts:3915
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| 07/14/2010 10:50 AM |
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If you use well water you may want to stay away from anything topical.
You may have to start walking her and teach her the yard is not for 'doing business'.
I know it's rough, I walk my dogs,always have, and it is bothersome sometimes - I pick up 4-6 poops a day, you know how many that comes to in a month????
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"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:6748
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| 07/14/2010 11:53 AM |
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Here is a good article on brown spots on the lawn.
www.peteducation.com/article.cfm
Maybe some of the tips will help.
pixie - Try picking up poop after three shorthairs, soon to be four. I have to pick it up daily or it just gets out of hand. I have a nice size backyard, and they always go poop in the same two or three places in the yard, so that helps. |
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Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
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everbell
Kanata, ON
MH
Posts:2737
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| 07/14/2010 12:14 PM |
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I wish we could pick up poop daily! Since Raz is a poop-eater, we gotta be out there faster than her ... not easy in -20 degrees in the winter!!!
Back to the topic at hand, I had just gotten my grass nicely recovered while Raz was off having babies, and Bo has browned up another good chunk of it (grrr... lazy boy! Lift your leg against the fence!!!)
The very worst we replaced with river rock, and the rest I spray with water asap, and use a patch filler. Other than walking for every pee, I don't know how else to stop the damage.
I did read that if you water it right away, dog urine is actually a really good fertilizer. It's too concentrated, which is why it burns the grass. So, keep a hose or a bucket of water handy and it might just do the trick. |
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Joce and Rich
Bogart and Shiraz (GSPs)
Roxane (RIP: 1995-2009) and Tiger Lily (Cats)
The Everbell Adventures |
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Splat
Illinois (Northern)
MH
Posts:2438
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| 07/14/2010 1:54 PM |
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| My boys have not turned the grass brown...while having Maddie at the house I noticed brown spots in the yard...so is it just the females that turn it brown? |
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http://www.perfectpedigrees.com/4genview.php?id=2553
http://www.perfectpedigrees.com/4genview.php?id=2554 |
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:6748
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| 07/14/2010 2:10 PM |
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Dog pee is high in nitrogen which in the right quantity is a good fertilizer. That is why diluting with water works. Boys aren't as problematic is girls because the boys 1) usually lift their leg against something so not as much hits the grass, and 2) spread the pee out over many spots because they mark more, whereas girls squat and pee in one spot.
The link I posted also suggests getting your dog to drink more water so their pee is more diluted that way as well. The only problem with that is they have to go out more often. |
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Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
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Gatormom
St Paul, MN
MH
Posts:193
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| 07/14/2010 5:52 PM |
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I haven't had a female in 22 years, only male dogs, and yes, it seems that it is the female urine that browns the grass.
The problem I have is with keeping grass in my back yard, so it is thin, and I have to supplement it with seed every year. When the snow melted in the spring of 2009, I reseeded,and the grass grew in well, but got torn up with Gator running. Gator (3 yrs old) is a tennis ball fiend, and his ball playing,and running laps chasing squirrels seems to tear up the new grass.
Again this year, the back yard was essentially dirt. We talked about resodding the back yard, especially since we planned to sell later this year,and move to Florida, but with the oil spill in the Gulf, we're in a lets wait and see mode regarding the move. So instead of sodding, I decided to try seed again. I also put in a large patio, to reduce the area that I had to seed. The grass came in great on the south facing 1/2 of the back yard, which is a less traffic area for Gator )we aso have a good sized vegetable garden and an above ground pool on that side. The north 1/2 of the back yard is where the patio is and where Gator likes to catch his tennis balls. There is an area where he seems to rip out the grass (especially when it is wet) faster than I can reseed. Yesterday, while throwing tennis balls to him, I was trying to come up with alternatives to grass, maybe mulch, rocks, etc. I did move his kiddie swimming pool that area yesterday. I know Bev (Texas Belle) has a very interactive back yard for her gang.
I read an article recently, where Harmon Killebrew (an old time MN Twins BB Player) whose dad used to throw balls to him and his brothers as kids, responded to the mom's complaint about the worn-out grass, saying "we're raising kids, not lawns". So I'm adopting the attituce that here we're raising a healthy, happy dog, not lawns. |
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Barbara
Kaiser (1996-2010)
Gator
I am simply thankful that least dogs exist, and I'm humbly aware of how much less a person I'd be - how less human, if they did not exist - Rick Bass |
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DesertRoseKennel
MH
Posts:1033
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| 07/14/2010 7:24 PM |
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Two comments:
1. It is the female's urine that kills grass. Hence why we have no grass - plus it toughens the feet to have just rocks in the yard.
2.
pixie - Try picking up poop after three shorthairs, soon to be four. I have to pick it up daily or it just gets out of hand. I have a nice size backyard, and they always go poop in the same two or three places in the yard, so that helps.
HA! Cry me a river - try SEVEN shorthairs and a dachshund.
Oh yeah, plus 5 horses... |
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"Our dogs are bred to be champion hunters who sleep on the bed"
www.desertrosekennel.com |
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Patti
Scituate RI
MH
Posts:78
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| 07/14/2010 7:34 PM |
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| I gave up the fight on the dead grass spots when I had my female dalmatian but it doesn't seem to be a problem with the two I have now. Poop isn't much of a problem. They go for a walk every day and get most of their business done off site. |
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Texas Belle
Austin, TX
MH
Posts:6748
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| 07/14/2010 11:13 PM |
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Gatormom - I got rid of most of the grass in my backyard for just the same reason you are describing. I put in the paths river bed gravel, but around the patio (high traffic area) I used crushed granite. I have grass on both side and the rest is TX natural. I love my dogs more than my yard, so except for one small bed I fenced, the yard belongs to the the dogs. It is easy to maintain and drought tolerant.
Jean - I knew you would respond. LOL But lets face it, after a certain number it just doesn't matter any more. Still prefer to scoop the poop as opposed to no dogs. |
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Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna)
Yellow Rose GSPs
"A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato |
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everbell
Kanata, ON
MH
Posts:2737
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| 07/15/2010 5:22 AM |
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Similar to Bev, my decision was to have my flower beds in the front yard and limited garden in the back. Really, this is their play area, and I just manage the destruction.  |
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Joce and Rich
Bogart and Shiraz (GSPs)
Roxane (RIP: 1995-2009) and Tiger Lily (Cats)
The Everbell Adventures |
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Splat
Illinois (Northern)
MH
Posts:2438
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| 07/15/2010 5:26 AM |
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| If someone needs grass you should come get mine! Well we are country so it is mostly weed...but it grows green and fast...we should mow about twice a week but we are lucky with our busy lives if we get it once a week usually we get to it every 10 days...I even let my horse out of her pasture to eat it down and she can't keep up with it! |
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http://www.perfectpedigrees.com/4genview.php?id=2553
http://www.perfectpedigrees.com/4genview.php?id=2554 |
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CL66
MH
Posts:399
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| 07/15/2010 6:03 AM |
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| splat you are so lucky, can you send some my way for my lawn and my horses!!!! the dogs turned the lawn yellow with pee (both boys) and now the sun's baked it all to hay. Sob. I guess i've stopped stressing about the dogs staining it though. LOL. |
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pixie bee
MH
Posts:3915
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| 07/15/2010 7:14 AM |
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We have weed/grass on our property and I swear, nothing can kill it - and it's great for palnting birds.
So there's your answer - get rid of the lawn and grow weeds.Who needs the fancy sod anyway? |
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"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle
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vnrose53
MH
Posts:321
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| 07/15/2010 11:01 AM |
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I guess I'm the only one who uses those supplements and I do think they work although before I began I did read the naysayers reports. Unfortunately I still have some brown spots because my grass doesn't spread, and reseeding is hopeless with the Bigfoot clan! I've been using it for over 3 years and have never seen any digestive or health issues. |
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boognish
Idaho
MH
Posts:105
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| 07/20/2010 2:02 PM |
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Put a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in their water dish every day to neutralize the ammonia in their urine. |
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