The Lawn 'Hack' You Want To Avoid When You Have Dogs

For homeowners who love their beautifully manicured lawns, dog urine can be a problem. No matter how hard you try, you probably notice dead spots in your grass where your sweet pup goes potty. Of course, the goal of house training is to get them to pee outside, but when they do, they may settle on a few favorite spots. When your dog selects their favorites, you certainly don't want to discourage them — this can cause confusion and more accidents in the house. To keep your lawn beautiful and your pooch happy, you may turn to internet hacks and find that some sites recommend sprinkling baking soda on areas your dog likes to go. The theory is because baking soda is alkaline, it should offset the acidity of dog urine, preserving your grass.

One reason this "hack" doesn't work is that it isn't acidity that damaging your lawn — the chemicals in your dog's urine are the problem. Specifically, the evaporation of dog urine leaves behind a large amount of nitrogen, which can burn grass as it evaporates. This leaves ugly yellow patches on your lawn.

Sprinkling baking soda on your lawn can actually cause more problems — it's very high in sodium, which can harm your soil environment and cause further damage. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to help reduce the impact of dog urine on your lawn.

Watering your pup's favorite pee place after they go No. 1 helps dilute the concentrated nitrogen and prevent it from burning your lawn. Keeping your grass a little taller than average can also help mitigate the problem. Taller grass means there's more greenery and more extensive roots to absorb the excess nitrogen. Now, no one is asking you to let everything grow wild, but keeping your mower blade set at a height of around 3 inches can save you some frustration by helping prevent damage from dog urine. The taller grass can also help hide any minor brown spots and keep your lawn looking beautiful.