Lawns - Dogs vs. Grass

Any dog owners out there with some suggestions on how to avoid dark green patches on the lawn?

Since we've been feeding the "lawn protection" treats, the brown burned-out spots have gone away. Now we have dark green patches (which seem to be growing clover :confused:). I also keep a watering can outside and try to water the grass down after she goes.

We have only been here a month and the grass had been a bit neglected by the previous owners... would it help to fertilize or treat the lawn with something?

The dark patches sound like a different variety of turf has replaced the previous, where the 'dog patch' compromised your lawn.

If you used a patch kit, it probably contained a fast germinating grass seed. If the rest of your lawn isn't that type of grass, then the colour will be off. The kit will quite often list the type of grass being used.

If the new cover is a broadleaf plant (not a grass), seeds may have blown onto the bare patch or dormant seeds in the ground may have germinated with the newly available light. It could be clover...

Since this lawn is a new adventure for you, it might be a good time to start thinking about doing an inventory of what you have and then deciding what you want to do. If a pristine lawn is your ultimate goal, then it might be an idea to develop a program for your lawn which might include soil analysis, amendments, topdressing, overseeding, aeration and fertilizing.

Dog vs. Grass - dog wins every time.

Try to limit the dog to a section of lawn so the rest does not get exposed to the chemicals in the urine.

I had the same problem, and we realized that we did not fertilize our lawn enough. The dog urine kills the grass where it is more concentrated and fertilizes it where it is not, and our grass grew back thick and green. We used the "lawn-protection" treats but we don't anymore because our dog is on adult dog food. Puppy food has a lot more protein which can cause the brown spots on your lawn.