Dogs produce an average of 400-800mL of urine per day, most of which is going in our backyard. Are all of us dog lovers destined to have hideous, patchy lawns for all eternity or is there an easy fix we could implement to help our lawns stay green?
As a dog owner, you’ve probably noticed those unsightly yellow or brown patches on your lawn caused by your pup’s urine. The high nitrogen content in dog pee can burn grass and leave dead spots if not treated properly While you can’t eliminate nitrogen from your dog’s urine completely, there are several steps you can take to reduce nitrogen concentration and prevent further damage to your yard.
Understanding Nitrogen in Dog Urine
Nitrogen is a nutrient found in all living tissues and is crucial for plants and animals. In dogs, nitrogen comes primarily from metabolizing proteins in their diet. As proteins are broken down, nitrogen is filtered out by the kidneys and expelled in the urine.
Dog urine contains about 95% water and 5% various solutes like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc The high nitrogen concentration in a small amount of liquid burns grass upon contact Even female dog urine with more volume can damage lawns due to frequency in one area.
How Much Nitrogen is Too Much?
Normal nitrogen levels are beneficial for grass growth. But concentrated urine causes rapid nitrogen spikes that overwhelm and dehydrate grass roots. According to scientists, urine patches from an average dog on a meat-based diet can contain nitrogen levels up to 5 times higher than what turfgrass needs.
The best way to prevent urine spotting is reducing nitrogen concentration through diet. Monitor your lawn when first training puppies or adopting adult dogs to identify problem areas.
Strategies to Reduce Nitrogen in Urine
Increase Water Intake
Encouraging your dog to drink more water dilutes urine and reduces nitrogen concentration. Add water to their kibble, offer broth, or switch to a wet food diet. Provide fresh water frequently. Increased hydration benefits bladder and kidney health too.
Feed a Low-Protein Diet
Since protein metabolism produces nitrogen, reducing protein content in your dog’s diet directly lowers nitrogen in their urine. Consult your vet, but moderately decreasing protein is safe for most dogs, especially low-activity house pets.
Use a Urinary Food
Prescription urinary or bladder health diets are formulated to promote diluted urine These foods have reduced protein, minerals that inhibit crystal formation, and ingredients that increase thirst. They help manage urine issues in prone dogs
Supplements
Some supplements claim to alter urine pH or reduce nitrogen. However, veterinarians caution against attempting to manipulate urine composition without medical oversight. Changes to urine acidity/alkalinity can cause health issues and supplements may not be safe.
Increase Fiber Intake
Adding fiber sources like pumpkin, sweet potatoes, oats, etc. can promote regularity and increase nitrogen binding during digestion so less ends up in urine. Too much fiber can cause diarrhea though, so transition gradually.
Avoid Fertilizers
Using nitrogen-heavy fertilizers in addition to dog urine pushes lawns over the edge. Opt for low or no-nitrogen products designed for dog owners. Consider soil tests to determine if nutrients other than nitrogen are needed.
Lawn Care for Dog Urine Damage
While the above tips reduce future nitrogen burn, you’ll also need to care for patches where grass is already damaged:
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Re-plant dead patches with dog-friendly grass seed blends. Use a starter fertilizer to establish new growth.
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Rinse away urine immediately with a hose to prevent nitrogen concentration and burning.
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Allow excess urine to fully soak into soil instead of runoff. Deep watering also helps dilute nitrogen deeper into soil.
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Maintain optimal soil pH – urine acidifies soil over time so monitor and amend regularly with lime.
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Fertilize at moderate levels based on soil tests. Look for balanced organic options vs synthetic nitrogen-heavy products.
When to See the Vet About Urine Issues
Most healthy dogs maintain normal urine nitrogen levels and pH. But certain medical conditions can alter urine composition, especially liver or kidney disease. If you notice symptoms like abnormal urine color or odor, lethargy, increased thirst, or accidents, see your veterinarian.
Likewise, consult them before making major dietary changes or trying supplements marketed to alter urine. Providing ample clean water, following veterinary nutritional advice, and prompt clean-up are the best ways to tackle urine spots while keeping your dog healthy. With some patience and persistence, you can have both a healthy pup and a lush green lawn.
Is There a Way to Lower Nitrogen Levels in My Dog’s Pee?
The pet product industry has caught wind of this shared desire for less nitrogen from their pet, and a few products have come out on the market. One of the more popular items are called Dog Rocks – actual Australian rocks that are sold for the sole purpose of lowering the nitrogen in your dog’s pee, thus avoiding those nasty burnt patches that are assumed to be the result of that.
How does it work? The idea behind this is that the rocks are paramagnetic (meaning slightly magnetic) – and will attract and absorb certain impurities such as tin, ammonia and nitrates (the water soluble form of nitrogen) that is typically found in tap water. While arguably most if not all rocks have some level of paramagnetism, Dog Rocks say they are “used by over a million dog owners worldwide to help stop pet urine from burning their grass.”
Here’s where their pseudoscience gets a little hairy. To start, the average level of nitrates in our drinking water is relatively low. The Environmental Protection Agency moderates a maximum nitrate capacity of 10mg/Liter. Since a liter of water weighs 1,000,000 milligrams, we are really talking a mere 0.001% of your tap water could contain nitrates. Secondly, as discussed earlier, the majority of nitrogen found in urine comes from metabolizing protein, a natural process that cannot and should not be avoided.
So rocks might not be the answer, but there could be a way to slightly lower the amount of nitrogen that your dog is outputting. You may think to have your dog drink more water in order to dilute the nitrogen levels, but with your dog’s urine already being 95% water, I doubt it would have that much of an effect. Your best bet is to look into a new pet food brand that has a lower protein content – less protein means less nitrogen produced. You may want to talk it over with your vet first, but this could be an appropriate choice especially if your dog’s has a generally low activity level.
What is nitrogen and why is it in dog pee?
Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plants, animals, and humans. Although the air we breathe is around 78% nitrogen, the gas form is hard for us (and your dog) to utilize in the body. Instead, we use a compound version of nitrogen that be obtained when ingesting protein.
In most if not all mammals, when protein is consumed (from meat, dairy, etc.), it is broken down into amino acids that will support any number of systems such as Muscular, Integumentary (skin), Cardiovascular, as well as hair and nail growth. The process produces the byproduct ammonia, which then forms with carbon dioxide to produce urea, a nitrogenous compound. The remaining nitrogen is eventually filtered out through the kidneys and discharged within the urine.
Urine (whether human or canine) contains about 95% water while just 5% contains added solutes that include nitrogen – as well as phosphorous, and potassium. Although the ratios can differ due to the diet and size of the animal, the general chemical structure is quite similar to what you’d find in store-bought fertilizer.
So why is nitrogen in fertilizer good and nitrogen in urine is supposedly bad? The idea is when it comes to gardening, whenever you have too much of something, it can cause a depletion in something else. So if too much nitrogen in the soil, it can cause other vital minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium to decrease.
Unhappy dog owners blame their pup for dispensing heavily concentrated nitrogen in one area as oppose to fertilizer which can be evenly spread in a controlled fashion.
What if you could get your soil to properly distribute, and utilize your dog’s urine? In our opinion, one of the the best ways to avoid yellow spots is to maintain a healthy and thriving lawn that can handle the amount of pee your pup puts out on a daily basis. Learn how in our article, 5 Steps to Maintain a Healthy Lawn That Can Withstand Your Dog’s Urine.
HOW TO PREVENT DOG URINE SPOTS & STOP DOG URINE KILLING GRASS
FAQ
How do you reduce nitrogen in dog urine?
Encouraging your dog to drink more water is good for their skin, bladder, and digestive health. Plus, the increased water consumption may have the added benefit of reducing damage to your grass. According to Bonk, feeding a raw or homemade diet that is less processed can reduce the amount of nitrogen in their urine.
Why is my dog’s pee so high in nitrogen?
Dog urine regularly contains high levels of nitrogen because of the protein they eat. The more protein your dog eats, the higher the nitrogen levels in the urine. Any dog has nitrogen in their urine. However, because female dogs squat to urinate, they are more likely to damage your lawn.
What can I feed my dog so his urine doesn’t kill grass?
The best treatment is a product called Green Grass. It is a treatment that is mixed in with your dogs food and is safe for your dog but keeps the urine clear and prevents burning or staining of the grass. While there are other treatments and supplements on the market green grass is the best.
How to decrease nitrogen in urine?
Increasing alkali supplementation decreases urinary nitrogen excretion when adjusted for same day nitrogen intake – PMC.