Last Updated: 19/06/2025
How To Stop Dog Urine Burning Your Grass
Is your dogs urine burning your prized lawn? Find out from our vet team here.
Author: Dr Carla Paszkowski BVSc (Hons)
Reading Time: 17 minutes - medium read
Is your dog's urine turning your lawn brown? It's not just the holes they dig! Those unsightly patches of dead grass are a common problem for pet owners.
What causes this damage? And what can you do to protect your lawn? Let's find out.
Is it actually the dog urine killing the grass?
First, it's important to be sure it is actually your dog's urine causing the problem, and not something else like a disease of the grass or neighbourhood dogs getting in. You might be seeing brown and yellow patches, or dark green spots, on the grass. Here's a little guide to help you determine if it is actually dog urine causing the issue.
A tip for figuring out if the grass has been burned or if it is diseased is by grasping the grass shoots and lifting them up. If the roots are firmly attached, it's likely to be urine burn, whereas if the roots are loose and come out of the ground easily, it's more likely to be caused by a bug or grass disease.
Brown patches
If your lawn is yellowing or turning brown, this means it is dying. Many things can contribute to yellow or brown patches, such as insects, pests, and lawn fungus in the soil. To determine if the grass is brown from dog urine, you should see the following features:
- A dead patch surrounded by a ring of dark green grass. Dog urine turns grass brown, however as the urine flows away from the centre, it becomes less concentrated. This means that the area surrounding the patch doesn't die, but may actually get a little extra nourishment as if you used fertiliser.
- Grass that doesn't come out of the ground when you pull on it. Grass that is infected with fungus also has weak roots and detaches from the dirt with ease. However, dog urine doesn't affect grass root strength.
Green spots
On the other hand, sometimes dog urine turns grass dark green. This actually indicates a malnourished lawn - if your grass is deficient in nitrogen, it uses the nutrients provided in your dog's urine to grow back healthier and more lush. To remedy this, you might like to apply a nitrogen-rich fertiliser to the rest of your soil.
Why does dog pee kill grass?
The component of dog urine which kills grass is actually the nitrogen compounds. Dog urine naturally contains a lot of nitrogen-containing waste products. Many assume that the problem lies with the urine's pH, and refer to 'acidic' urine causing the problem. But this is incorrect; the culprit is the nitrogen, not the pH.
True urine scalding usually occurs when your dog urinates on the same patch repeatedly. Many dogs instinctively prefer to allocate one section of their territory as their 'toilet area'. This is great for keeping other parts of the yard waste-free, but can really concentrate the urine in one area of grass.
The effect of male vs female dog pee
The amount of urine being deposited onto one patch of grass contributes to the severity of lawn scald. For example, female dogs are more likely to cause urine scalding on the grass, as they tend to void their entire bladder in one go, rather than marking around the yard in smaller amounts like males. Likewise, a large dog is more likely to cause the problem than a small dog, because a larger bladder means a greater quantity of urine.
Does your dog's water intake impact it's urine?
Absolutely. It makes sense that when your dog is hydrated, their urine is more dilute, and the concentration of nitrogen is lower. This means that grass burn is less likely to occur if your dog's water intake is increased. There are many ways to increase your dog's water intake, which we delve into below.
How To Stop Your Dog's Pee From Killing Your Lawn
So now that you understand what causes it, let's talk about a solution. There are a few principles involved in treating the problem:
1. Dilute the dog urine
The solution to pollution is DILUTION! Diluting the urine can be achieved both by keeping your grass hydrated, and by keeping your dog hydrated.
- Hydrate your grass: Water is the key here. If you can manage it, try to saturate the area of grass with water right after your dog pees on it. Grab the hose or a bucket, and get watering!
- Hydrate your pooch: On the same train of thought, you should also try to dilute the urine itself by encouraging your dog to drink more water. More dilute urine = less concentrated levels of nitrogen in the pee.
How to encourage your dog to drink more water? Obviously we can't reason with a dog and ask them to drink more water. We can however use little tricks to get them to drink more, such as:
- Keep water sources fresh and plentiful. Try adding a couple more dog bowls to the household and clean the bowls every couple of days.
- Provide a water fountain. Moving water seems more fresh and enticing to dogs, and can help increase their water intake.
- Try adding ice to the water, or use a freezable chilled bowl. Some dogs are more inclined to drink chilled water - and really, who doesn't love a nice cool drink!
- Introduce some wet dog food. If you only feed your dog dry kibble, it can help to mix a little wet food into the diet. The higher water content will help keep them hydrated and dilute their urine.
- Provide some doggy ice blocks. You can make your own at home by simply freezing a little mince or wet food into a container of water.
2. Reduce nitrogen in the urine
You can decrease nitrogen products in your dog's urine via a couple of different ways; the first is via nutrition, and the second is with supplemental 'lawn burn products'.
A quick google search might point you towards these 'lawn burn products'. These are designed to be added to your dog's food, but are mostly only available overseas (not in Australia). Unfortunately, many contain methionine to decrease the urine pH. Not only is decreasing your dog's urine pH not going to work (because remember, it's about the nitrogen, not the pH!) but it can potentially lead to urinary issues and crystal formation or bladder stones if fed to a healthy dog. Therefore, we recommend erring on the side of caution and avoiding food additives like these. Try nutritional modifications instead.
Try a new food
While there aren't any diets created for the express purpose of reducing nitrogen in the urine, it can help to feed a high quality diet that doesn't exceed your pet's protein requirement.
Nitrogen is a secondary component from protein metabolism, so it follows that excessive protein = excessive nitrogen in the urine.
Many diets these days contain a little too much protein - over 35% dry matter sometimes. While this doesn't do any harm to a healthy dog, and can actually be very beneficial in active or working breeds, it isn't ideal to overload your dog with protein if they don't need it.
Another dietary trick to help reduce nitrogen in the urine is by feeding a food containing Yucca shidigera. This natural plant is very fibrous, and is often used in pet food recipes to increase fibre content. It is also sometimes used to decrease litter box odour in cats.
Yucca shidigera helps bind the nitrogen in the urine, so that less is excreted onto the grass. See our suggestions below for some diets that contain Yucca.
Finally, if you are currently buying a cheaper pet food, it can also help to swap over to a better quality, premium dog food in general. Cheaper pet foods often contain poor quality, less-bioavailable sources of protein, which aren't able to be used by the body as easily and tend to get excreted in the form of nitrogen.
Best dog food to reduce nitrogen in urine
With all this in mind about protein levels, quality, and Yucca shidigera, we have found a couple of options which might be perfect for lawn-destroying dogs.
1. Savourlife Lite - this premium diet is 22% protein, which is certainly sufficient for a normal adult dog but doesn't overload their body with excess levels. It contains Yucca shidigera (listed as 'yucca' in the ingredients). It is made in Australia and premium quality - and even donates 50% of profits to rescue shelters. Note: as this is a 'lite' food, it might not be ideal for underweight dogs.
2. BlackHawk Chicken and Rice - this diet is also 22% protein and contains Yucca shidigera (listed as 'yucca' in the ingredients). It is also made in Australia and one of our most popular brands.
What about water additives? Dog Rocks are a product that are available in Australia. They are natural rocks designed to be added to your dog's drinking bowl. This product claims to use magnet technology to draw out tin, ammonia and nitrites from the water. However, efficacy and reviews for this product are mixed at this point.
3. Train your dog to pee somewhere else
As discussed earlier, grass burn occurs only in areas where your dog pees repeatedly. So, it can help to train your dog to urinate in a location that is less visible. This approach is very effective for owners who do not want to change their dog's diet, or who can't always be around to hose the grass every time their dog lifts his leg.
How to train a dog to pee in one spot
The process is similar to toilet training a puppy - put your dog on a leash and wait in one area of the yard until they 'go'. Give them a reward such as a training treat and repeat until the process is learned.
4. Change your lawn
If you feel that you've tried everything and haven't found a resolution, it might help to replant your yard with a tougher breed of grass. The most resistant grasses tend to be perennial rye grasses and fescues, while the most sensitive tend to be Kentucky bluegrass and Bermuda.
With all that in mind, we hope that your lawn will be lush and green in no time. If you have any questions about whether the recommended diets or products might be appropriate for your dog, don't hesitate to ask our team of veterinarians!
Further Reading
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Sun 10 Dec 2023
Written by Dr Carla Paszkowski BVSc (Hons)Dr Carla Paszkowski BVSc (Hons)
Veterinarian
Dr. Carla graduated from the University of Queensland in 2013 with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science and worked for a number of years in small animal clinics across South East Queensland. While Carla enjoys most facets of clinical veterinary work, she holds a special passion for feline medicine, pocket pets, and nutrition.
