Is your dog's urine leaving burn patched on your lawn? Vet Roberta Baxter offers some advice...
(Q) We have a five-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier-cross called Guinness. Our lawn is covered in burn patches where he urinates. We have put rocks in his drinking water, and also tried special tablets. We even put a spoonful of tomato juice in his food, but nothing has worked. Do you have a solution?
(A) Vet Roberta Baxter says: There are several possible solutions to your problem. Firstly, check the protein levels of the food your dog is on; feeding a lower-protein diet may result in less nitrogen being passed in urine, and thus less burning of grass. Diluting urine with a watering can full of water straight after it is passed can also be helpful.
I think the most effective thing to do is to use positive reward-based training methods to teach your dog to wee in one particular location, and not on the main part of your lawn. Also, regular watering and the use of spot-removing lawn treatments that bind protein and reduce scorching, can be helpful.