your dog is killing my yard
 

A big thanks to all you dog walkers out there who think MY YARD is your dogs bathroom. You might pick up the turd...how about that pint of urine.
Better yet..why not walk your dog in your yard.Let YOUR DOG crap all over your yard first..then if the little darlin needs a walk...great..at least he won't be leaving his lunch in my yard.
The dead spots in my yard are due to your dog. I don't see any dead spots in your yard..Give us a break.

and so it begins. There is nothing like a good dog poop thread. :wave:

Are there any dog trainers out there? Looks to me that there is some good money to be made by teaching the "poop NOW" and "pee NOW" commands.

But then again maybe it is wild animals that are causing those yellow grass areas. I've seen rats around - do they pee?

go take a nap

My mailbox up north is located at the street and is a vacuum for every dog that comes near it. They stop, they sniff, leave proper notification that they have stopped by and I still have to trim the grass around the mailbox every time I cut. One would think it would be as if agent orange had been sprayed around the mailbox with all the activity there.

Are you sure that it is a dog that is killing your grass?

Hi Bones,
Welcome. Dog pee is a popular topic on TOTV. Methinks most TVers curb their dogs.

However, if you see someone allowing their dog into your yard, you might want to approach the person nicely, and with your best diplomacy, introduce yourself, ask your neighbor about his/her dog-- dog lovers love to talk about their dogs-- and then ask them to not let their dog go on your yard.

That way, you won't make, um... A stink. :)

solution?
 

i have one bush on the corner of my property which has already been killed and replaced once and is now dead again....is there a suggestion on what else might be killing only that one plant? i think it must be a dog, too~

I agree that dog urine, especially female dog urine, could be impacting your lawn. You've made quite a statement so I assume you know for sure that all of the damage is from from pooches.

It's difficult to deal with owners who don't realize that not all of us want our yards used as a rest room by dogs. Honestly, when one dog pees, it acts like a magnet for other dogs...they want to mark, make the territory theirs...it's just doggie instinct.

Is there any product you might apply to the lawn or more specifically, the perimeter of your property so the dogs might not want to enter your yard? I realize I'm asking you to take on an expense you shouldn't have to, but it might work, ill feelings will be prevented and hopefully, your lawn will return to its bright green and lush status.

So true......today's driveway coating thread has slid downward in the rankings now that we have a good dog poop thread above the fold.

Seriously, I think people should take their dog out for a walk after they have done their business in their own back yard. This is why we all own a property of our own and are not renting an apartment on the streets of Manhattan or somewhere like that.

I know this is off topic, but do consider something in the soil. Happened to us in our other house.

Now, back to dog poop and pee... ;)

Maybe you have a different grass than I have in my yard, but the coarse zoyzia grass in my yard hasn't "spotted" or "browned" because of dog urine in the 2 1/2 years I've been watching my neighbors walk their dogs down my street.

When I first moved here I was irritated about the dog walkers (I'm a cat guy) who "allowed" their pooches to relieve themselves in my yard. I've even been "tactfully reminded" that the first 10 ft. is not technically mine. But after a while I noticed that the grass wasn't being affected, unlike my rye grass mixture lawn did up in NJ.

So now I just say hello to my neighbors from my street facing lanai (that at least let's them know I see them) and refrain from stressing out.

(Except for the one guy I saw standing with his dog in the middle of my large corner yard. "Hey, this isn't a public park buddy!!"):)

Doesn't seem to bother the St Augustine grass on our lawn. My Border Collie goes several times a day on it along with other neighborhood pooches. No brown spots.

Okay folks we are coming to The Villages with two ambitious peeing Yorkies. Sammy loves to sniff and lift at every tree or bush that comes his way. Lilly does her business and then sniffs every bodies remaining business. What's that all about?::confused:

When we arrive next month I will try my best to keep these creatures confined to their peeing stations. These Yorkies just love to sniff and pee, dang I love them. But if they do deviate from their territory and pee in your yard, it will just be a little puddle, but Sammy thinks its Lake Michigan, dang these Yorkies.:loco:

This does sound like a dog gone problem and no one should have to hound anyone to keep their pooch in their own yard. When pet urine poodles in the corner of a yard, it can take a husky man to replace the sod. So please just curb your pet and everyone can live happily ever after.

Nice play on words.... :024:

:a20: I think you're barking up the right tree, Chief.

Apparently doggie pee pee can be a problem for lawns...

http://dogs.about.com/od/faqs/f/Why-...s-On-Grass.htm

I have learned that while we bought a CYV with a huge yard, Yorkie Merlin still needs to walk 2 miles before the mood strikes him. Dang yorkies.

Well, it would be more accurate to say "some lawns".

Another Thought
 

We've been here for almost 8 years and had 2 dogs for almost the first 6 until they both died when they were 17. They didn't go for walks (much preferred the cart) but always used our yard, along with most every other dog in the neighborhood. We've always had and still have one of the nicest yards in TV. We had a fenced in yard back home which they always used and never had a problem with it either.

Could it be that a call to your yard service company might help with the brown patches? Those could be due to something that could end up claiming the entire yard.

I think that you will find that if you ask the walkers nicely to ensure that their dogs relieve themselves elsewhere, most of them will be happy to do so. You might even tell them that you don't know what's affecting your lawn, but that it might be something that would harm the dogs or the treatments might and they sure wouldn't want that. In any event, it is your yard and you do have the right to how it is used or not used.

Get a lawn treatment for pests where they put down a pesticide. The company usually puts up a sign to warn of the danger present because of the chemicals. Dog walkers are loathe to walk their dog on a lawn with that sign. Ask the company for a few extra signs. Apply the signs as needed.

Just a thought.

Just go pee on there lawn.

At our former house in VA we had our mailbox on the street. As I was approaching our drive in the car our neighbor was letting her lab poop at our mailbox. I asked her not to allow their dog to do that, she replied"my dog likes to do that here". I said let you dog"do that at your mailbox, don't let him do that again here". It makes it unpleasant to even get the mail. She gave me the "deer in the headlight look".

These people vote

I had the same problem back north and a friend told me to put moth balls by the mail box. It worked seems dogs don't like the smell of moth balls and they stayed away from my mail box even after the moth balls were gone they would just walk on by on the other side of the street. It only takes a few moth balls to do the job.

I played a golf course down in Naples and they put moth balls all over in the bushes and I was told that it keeps the critters (snakes) away.

Now that is a good suggestion Chris.:a20:

We can now discuss whether squatting or lifting the leg will make the spot more intense.

Good morning everyone!:wave:

Perhaps we could start a "Go Pee On Their Lawn" club.

We could have a schedule so we can get full pee coverage; have special events where we pee as a group covering the entire lawn and even have news cover an event to promote our cause. l2ridehd, we'll make you the first club president since the idea originated with you. And Gracie, we'll have you work on a Mission Statement for the group! We might even be able to recruit Fumar as our publicity chairman!

Happy peeing everybody! :wave:

Oh my. I am so glad I can't be good for tooooo long.

And I have good company on here.:wave:

And now back to our regularly scheduled thread on Dog uhh stuff.

I have a female dog , and she pee's in my yard. We must have special grass because we have no yellow spots. Or she has truely amazing pee........

Many people treat their dog like it's a god and don't care what mere humans are experiencing.

Good one! :clap2:

Seriously, this is good advice. Hope your situation improves!

We get these tablets at PetSmart that must change the PH of the pee because since our girls have been taking them...no more yellow spots. And they must taste good because the girls think they are treats. We NEVER let them eliminate ANYTHING anyway but in our yard. I was describing no more yellow spots in our yard.

You can buy a spinkler hear that attaches to a hose that is motion activated and you can give them a good soak if they enter your property line. You can easily deactivate it as well. Just would be hard to use if they are going in a place where company would be coming up to your house.

Bones...I'm a walker with my dogs
 

and also carry bags and attempt to curb them as often as possible.
Perhaps you could make a small sign that says No dogs, please. That
would certainly get attention, mine for sure. Or make a small sign with a
photo of a dog and put a red line through it.

Most responsible dog owners do their best to have their dog urinate not on someone else's lawn, however, it can happen. I carry a small bottle of water with a spray attachment, if mine "go", I first pick it up and then spray water on the area, if they pee, I do the same thing in an attempt to dillute the urine.

Your post is a good reminder to all of us with dogs to try and do the
right thing. In areas where there are no curbs or sidewalks, it is
very difficult indeed. But the vast majority of those of us with dogs
really do our very best to curb the dog, and many have trained their dogs
to "go" in the home yard before setting out on a walk. I'm sorry you are
having this issue.

Always room for one more...
 

When marking instead of just eliminating for need, dogs always seem to have just a bit left. That's the problem with dogs who 'over' mark another dogs spot. I have yet to see a dog on empty. I prefer to walk my dogs down the center of the street in my neighborhood because I don't LIKE the distraction of the scents, but that's another story and you can take your life in your hands that way too (I am not a TV resident yet).
There are products you can spray on your lawn to counteract the harmful effects of dog urine, but it is unfair to make the homeowner who doesn't have a dog, or the one whose own dog doesn't use the front yard pay for it. Even if you can speak to the person you see doing it I am sure you can't 'catch' everyone who walks by. At least I know that's how it is here. And everyone denies, denies, denies anyway. Maybe this will raise awareness. Having a friendly and polite discussion never hurts and I liked the suggestion of talking about the dog first then bringing it up. Great idea.

:doggie::doggie:

As the link that Whalen posted indicates, dog urine can burn grass and plants. It is primarily attributed to the amount of nitrogen in the urine and because different dogs have different amounts of nitrogen...some dogs don’t damage grass, while others do. I’ve had dogs all of my life and I know this to be a fact. I don’t think the type of grass matters, although the overall health of the lawn, the type of fertilizer used and how hot it is might.

My current dogs leave little brown spots all over my back yard. I know they are the cause of it and I accept it as a minor drawback to having my beloved pets. But I don’t expect my neighbors to accept it.

When I walk my dogs through the neighborhood I do not allow them to step one foot onto someone else’s property. They want to ... very badly ... they are drawn to the grass and plants and all the wonderful smells. They try to pull me over to those aroma smorgasbords. They want to sniff out the previous visitors and leave a calling card of their own...but I just don’t let them do it. Such is life, they get over it. There are plenty of common areas and dog parks where I can let them indulge in their instinctual habits without trespassing on and causing damage to another’s property. If during our walks they have a true need to eliminate, then they just have to do it in the street, but in general I keep them on a schedule where most of that is done in my own (brown spotted) yard.

Yes, Its called an air rifle and its made by DAISY.........

Oh Fum. They are gonna take you serious.

He isn't serious anyone...

FUMAR!!!!

I think this is a great suggestion by Indy Guy! A very constructive solution! Should property owners have to go out and buy mothballs? Of course not. But mothballs are cheaper than an air rifle, and they could avert a lot of unpleasantness. :angel: I've used mothballs under the deck at the cottage to discourage skunks. It makes sense that they'd work for dogs.

Also, please don't forget that we have Dog Parks now, ideal for dogs who love to socialize. We don't walk our dogs in our neighborhood, we take them to the dog park where they can run free. They go to the bathroom in our back yard, and I pick up immediately. My big dog causes brown spots on our grass, so I've trained her to go on rock.

No- one is ever quite sure about
,,,, mysterious Fumar!

Mothballs are poisonous to animals.

From the ASPCA:

In the past year, the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) has managed 113 cases of mothball poisoning, and most of those accidents happened during the spring and summer months. According to the APCC’s Dana Farbman, CVT, the ingestion of just one mothball can produce significant illness.

Naphthalene—an offending chemical found in some brands of mothballs—is toxic to dogs, cats and other animals, and if ingested, can cause serious illness, including vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, swelling of the brain tissue, seizures, damage to the liver, kidneys and blood cells, coma and even death.