Training & BehaviorMy dog's pee is burning my grass. How do I stop lawn spots for good?
I'm sorry you're dealing with this frustrating problem. One of the biggest issues here is that it is a "multi-factoral" problem, and sometimes the solution also has more than one part-- rather than just 1 product that will solve the problem. *Usually lawn burns from urine are caused by excess nitrogen. Nitrogen is a byproduct of protein breakdown, and so dogs on a high protein diet are more likely to have urine that results in "burning" grass. A high quality, moderate protein diet would be a good choice and may help if your not already feeding something like that. At her age and breed (a 1 and 1/2 yr old german shepherd) she does not need more than 27% protein, and as low as 22% is fine if she's very active; if she is not leading a "sporting dog" lifestyle (long runs with you, etc-- 60+ minutes of exercise a day) even as low as 18% is fine.
*If the yard is fertilized, it may already have a significant amount of nitrogen in the fertilizer. Decreasing the frequency at which the yard is fertilized may help.
*Though not fast, easy, or convenient, you can train your dog to urinate in a designated spot, such as 1 area of landscaping with mulch or rocks.
*When your dog does urinate on the grass, immediately dilute it with water. (either with a hose, or if its very cold where you live, take a bottle of water out with you and dump it on top of the urine to dilute it.
There are also products (many of which it sounds like you've tried) that bind nitrogen in an attempt to decrease the amount of nitrogen in the urine. these products usually contain Yucca schidigera. This is preferable to products that contain methionine as the active ingredient, because those products change the pH, which may not be optimal for urine health.
I hope that helps you! Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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