Pets and Your Lawn

 
Pets and Your Lawn

Jonathon Scully

In recent years, the Bureau of Statistics reported that almost 38% of families own a dog and 27% own a cat. Out of these, 75% consider their pet to be part of the family. Sometimes, letting pets have the run of the garden means letting the garden or lawn suffer. In this article, I give you some tips on how you can have a happy and healthy pet as well as a lush and healthy lawn.

If you have a dog and a lawn, then you've probably also had 'Burn Spots'. These are the ugly yellow spots caused from your dog's urine killing the grass. The nitrogen in your dog's urine causes the problem and it is more common in households with large female dogs. Here are a few things you can do to alleviate this problem: -

* Try training your dog to urinate in a specified area.

* If your dog doesn't want to do this, try watering down the area as soon possible after the dog has urinated, as this will dilute the nitrogen levels.

* Heavily watering the brown spots will flush the area and help the healthy grass around the spots to grow and replace the dead grass.

* Adjust your dogs diet slightly to reduce the nitrogen levels. A high protein diet can do this but discuss this change with your veterinary first.

* Add water to your dog's food to dilute the nitrogen. Beware of commercial products that claim to solve the problem as they are often designed to make your dog thirstier. This causes them to drink more water but this can also result in unpleasant side affects.

* Burn spots will be a bigger problem in a lawn that is fertilized more regularly - try to water the full lawn for a few days after fertilising.

* Some grasses are more sensitive to nitrogen. If you're thinking of replanting, try using a tougher more durable grass such as fescue. Clover lawns are also recommended, as clover doesn't stain the same way grass does after being subjected to dog urine.


Pets and Lawn Care

All good lawns need some maintenance to keep them looking good. We all know how dogs love to roll, play and sometimes eat grass. The pest control, fertilisers or other products that you apply to your lawn can be dangerous for your pet. Follow these tips to ensure you keep your lawn and your pets healthy at the same time.

* Never over-apply a product and always follow the manufacturers instructions.

* Do not apply lawn pest control on a windy day.

* Do not apply lawn pest control when pets are nearby.

* Remove feeding and watering bowls when applying pest control or any similar product.

* Do not put food directly on lawn after applying any product.

* Do not apply a product near your dog's bedding or kennel. It is best to remove these before applying.

* If a product is liquid, wait until it is dry before allowing your pets near the lawn.

* Always store pesticides out of reach of pets.

* Be careful to keep pesticides out of reach of pets when you are applying them.

* If possible choose pet friendly fertilizers and weed killers.


Lawn Wear and Tear

Dogs love to sniff out every corner of their property and especially love to patrol all areas again and again and again. Some dogs will spend hours every day running a path around the edge of the garden making sure there are no intruders in their territory! This results in dusty paths where grass cannot get a chance to grow. Here are some tips on how to avoid these tracks.

* Redirect the dog by using a temporary fence giving the grass a chance to regrow

* Consider paving a path where the most permanent trails are, for example between the kennel and back door or from the back door to the clothesline.

* Move the dog's bed or kennel regularly. This will reduce the likelihood of them wearing a path to their bed everyday.

* Grow plants around the bottom of your fencing so that your dog will not run in circles next to the fence listening for noises at the other side.

* Put items such as an outdoor seat of garden furniture in the way to block the path on a well-used trail.

* Walk your dog regularly so that most of their time spent in the garden is sleeping!