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How Your Pet Can Damage Your Lawn
Your pet can often be your No. 1 priority, but what about the effect Fido has on your lawn when he goes No. 1 or No. 2? Protecting your lawn from damage is also a priority. But how can your lawn maintenance plan prevent pet damage from happening?
The goal of lawn care is to provide your entire family with an outdoor space that they can appreciate, and your pet deserves a place to play. As it happens, your pet will need to pee. Dogs can be the source of some lawn care problems, but there are ways of preventing extensive problems, such as compaction, ruts and yellowing.
Pet Urine Damage
Urine contains elements similar to the components of grass fertilizer. In small amounts it would perhaps be beneficial, yet too much can cause yellowing to your turf.
Lawn damage caused by animal urine happens because of excessive amounts of pee is often concentrated in one single area. Unfortunately, pets will mark their territory, then return to that spot multiple times as though it is their domain. This causes the same effect as spilling fertilizers on a single spot on your lawn. The concentration is more than the grass can take.
Urine burns the roots, and the grass dies.
Prevention of Urine Damage
If it were possible to practically dilute your pet’s pee, you could actually use it for fertilization. But nobody wants to do that.
Instead, you might care for your lawn by changing your dog’s diet. Increasing your pet’s everyday water intake can be as simple as switching from dry to wet food. Canned pet food is about 70 percent water, thus giving your furry friend more hydration.
It might be out of the question to change your dog’s diet, though, for health reasons. Some dry foods are designed to have water added in those cases, so options are still available.
Additionally, your pet might drink the fresh water directly to increase water intake. This will help lessen the concentration of chemicals in their urine, which may lessen the effects of the urine on your turf, keeping your grass greener.
When it’s time to potty, you might also lead your pet to relieve themselves in a specific area of the lawn, as much as you can. If you put down a layer of pea gravel or mulch or a marking post, like a big rock, it can be an appealing spot for your dog to go. To train them to use it, give them treats and praise when they mark the right spot.
Poop Problems
Poo can affect the quality of the lawn in the same way urine can, for waste contains harmful elements that can kill grass. Because poo is solid, though, it can take longer for the nitrogen to have a negative effect on your turf.
To prevent this from becoming an issue, pick up after your animal as quickly as possible. Regular mindfulness about picking up feces can stop problems.
If you train your dogs to go to a specific area to pee or poop, clean-up efforts would be easier, and damage would not have as much of a dire effect.
Digging and Compacted Soil
Dogs will dig holes, perhaps to bury bones or treasure, but it can leave a bit of a mess on your lawn. The best prevention for digging is training. If you redirect a dog’s attention with a toy or another activity, it will stop them from regularly digging to lessen their energy.
If your animal runs free on wet soil, it can cause the ground to impact, making it harder for grass to grow in that spot. Loosened, aerated soil is the best condition for lawn maintenance. Otherwise, your dog might wear a path in the dirt, packing it together.
Compacted soil isn’t porous, so it can lead to completely bare spots on your lawn.
Prevention Methods
Soil compaction can’t be prevented altogether. Whether you have a pet, weather and dampness can also lead to this issue. Having your lawn treated with regular aeration by a professional can assure that the problem doesn’t get out of control.
To determine a plan for lawn maintenance, do not hesitate to contact us here at LawnCare.Net. We can connect you with lawn care experts in your area that provide multiple services and care plans to fit the needs of your outdoor space.