Will baking soda neutralize dog urine on grass, this is one of the most common questions that we get.
We get you, we really do.
Gardening with dogs and love toward dogs (and owning one) can be a challenging relationship.
You love your Pooch so much, but you do your flowers and you see your gardening efforts as part of your lifestyle. Plus, a nice garden and a great landscape do look amazing.
Add to that a dog who wiggles his tail whenever someone approaches and you will have the fairytale scene.
However, in reality, this doesn’t often work this way. If your garden is on the display in the front of your home, you are more likely to see lovely greenery and feel a very heavy odor, dog urine.
This is something that the majority of people feel the most after rainy or really warm days when the humidity is off the chart.
Needless to say that this is far from being a fairytale scenery, right?
What can you do? You won’t pack your dog and tell – move away, nor you will stop investing in having world-class grass, right?
That being said, many dog owners are creative when it comes to dealing with these issues.
Many opt to use different products, some decide to focus on rearranging their garden, while others choose to focus on testing homemade products.
Not only that homemade products tend to be effective when it comes to dealing with fleas, but they may also help when it comes to home-and-garden-related tasks.
That is why baking soda is often used either to clean a dog, to fight fleas, or to fight off persistent urine smell…
You may have heard about the diverse usage of baking soda, but how effective it is when it comes to neutralizing dog urine on grass?
Let’s find out.
Will Baking Soda Really Neutralize Dog Urine On Grass?
It is not uncommon for dog owners to be rather creative when it comes to keeping their gardens in order.
A lush green lawn can often be set back by adorable four-legged Fido urinating on the grass. This may happen once, a few times yearly, or never – it all depends on the dog.
Since this is something that many find disturbing or often far from being appealing, many reach toward baking soda. But…
There is something that you should know:
Baking soda will not neutralize dog urine on your grass. In fact, applying baking soda to your grass will do more harm to the lawn than good. Why? Baking soda is salt and it cannot neutralize the high salt concentration in a dog’s urine.
Plus, baking soda comes with high PH, which will raise your lawn’s PH level, eventually making the soil more alkaline.
Does this mean that you are entirely doomed because baking soda isn’t effective in this case? No, it doesn’t mean that you are doomed.
Luckily, other ways can help your grass live and thrive.
How To Deal With Dog Urine And Dog Urine Stains On Your Lawn
Keeping your grass green is a matter of science.
To understand why your lawn turns brown or yellow., and to understand how your lawn may stay green, you need to know about nitrogen.
Nitrogen is a very important component of the growth of healthy soil. When too much nitrogen is concentrated in the same spot over time it can cause the grass to die and turn into famous yellow or brown color.
Is dog urine rich in nitrogen? Yes, dog urine is rich in nitrogen which is why yawns tend to have that well-known bad and heavy smell.
How Dog Urine Affects Soil pH
Soil with a low pH balance in general presents an issue for lawns. Why?
Soil with a low pH balance tends to allow nitrogen to be absorbed into the soil faster.
Nitrogen comes with a certain level of acidity that tends to be dissolved in the water.
When this happens nitrogen is taken up by the soil and passed down to the roots. When this happens it can damage the grass.
If the soil is alkaline the damage will still occur fast as dog urine has a high amount of nitrogen and an alkaline environment may not be able to prevent the damage.
Why Does Dog Urine Damage Grass?
To break it down further: Dog urine can damage grass because it has nitrogen. This may sound like something of double standards since nitrogen is a nutrient that aids its growth.
As such, when applied in high concentrations, nitrogen can be highly toxic.
When nitrogen is mixed with soil it leads to nitrification, making grass yellow or brown and die.
Plus, dog urine prevents the roots from absorbing enough water, causing the grass to soak in excess nitrogen. This is why dog urine can kill the grass.
Can this happen if you have both a male and a female dog? Yes, this is something that male and female dogs may do, and their urine will have identical effects.
Is it fair to say that dog urine is destructive? It is. Since we know that dog urine can really mess up[your lawn and negatively affect your gardening you should think ahead and protect your lawn.
How can you do this you may ask… Well, with dogs it all comes down to training.
Luckily, proper training can help you deal with these issues and have both a well-trained dog and a breathtaking lawn.
Did you know that dogs are capable of mastering basic commands at eight weeks of age?
During this period dogs will master basic commands and be more than able to go through socialization. This is why you should take pee walk super seriously from day one.
Teach your dog to pee in one spot on your lawn so you can ensure you can easily monitor the spot and pour water in that area.
Once your Fido develops a habit of urinating in that spot, you can go to the next step.
This means that you can place artificial turf or pee pads there to prevent damaging the grass.
Why You Should Avoid Putting Baking Soda On Your Grass?
As mentioned earlier, some ingredients may bring benefits to some areas, and more destructive moments in others.
Although baking soda may help deal with stuck sinks, you should not put baking soda on your grass.
If you choose to do this you can expect it to lead to more harm than good.
Baking soda will not neutralize the nitrogen or any other salt in a dog’s urine, and can even be dangerous to your yard.
Does this apply even if you use baking soda in low concentrations? Yes, even in small concentration baking soda will still be dangerous to your grass.
Baking soda will make the soil more alkaline by raising its PH levels. As mentioned earlier, alkaline soil can seriously affect the ability of your soil to absorb essential nutrients and damage the grass blades.
As result, you will end up having yellow or brown grass. In some more severe cases, alkaline soil can kill the roots of your grass.
If you want to kill weeds, baking soda should be your choice, as it will be effective. However, if your want to fix the effects of a dog’s urine, baking soda isn’t the best solution.
If this is your goal – to kill weeds, and there is some grass near, you should be careful.
You should be careful with the grass near the weeds to avoid the damage of sodium bicarbonate.
What is your option? If this is the case you should think about flushing the surrounding area water to protect your grass.
Ok, so now that you know for sure that baking soda is far from helping eliminate dog urine from your lawn, what can you do? Here is what you can do.
How To Neutralize Dog Urine On Grass
Before you start dealing with any sort of problem, you should know the ‘why’ behind that same issues.
Knowing the effects of dog urine on grass should be enough to understand that this won’t be an easy, or short battle.
However, you should know that it is possible to win. Neutralizing dog urine is essential and it should be your focus.
Here is how you can do it:
1. Dilute The Urine
Diluting your dog’s urine reduces the number of solutes, which means that you won’t need to burn your yard.
There are two ways to dilute a dog’s urine: externally or internally.
Externally mean that you can spray the areas your dog urinated in with water once the dog finished peeing.
Internal options mean that you can increase your dog’s water intake by adding water to the dog’s meal.
You can also think about adding a salt-free broth to the dog’s drinking water.
2. Serving Your Dog A Balanced Diet
Have you heard of that saying – You are what you eat? The similar if not the same philosophy applies to dog diets as well.
If you feed your dog high-quality food that is packed with superfoods you can expect to see him thrive.
Not only that your dog will have enough energy, great breath, and strong digestive health, but he will also have great skin and a healthy and shiny coat.
Food that is balanced in protein should lower the risk of your dog’s urine partially or completely burning the grass.
Protein breaks down to nitrogen, so a dog’s urine will be less concentrated with nitrogen.
If a dog does consume too much protein, your grass should be fine.
Still, you should not avoid proceeding with your dog with the best food possible so you can save the lawn.
Moreover, if your veterinarian for some reason recommends that you feed Fido high-protein dog food do it. Health comes first.
3. Think About Proper Training
As mentioned earlier, proper training will always help your dog thrive.
Not only that your dog will become a great canine-citizen thanks to proper training, but he will be better in the environment.
Train your dog to urinate in one spot. Even better if you have a place far from house areas, or a dog park nearby, you can train your dog to go for a pee walk there.
If not, choose s single spot on your yawn, where you can easily monitor your dog and let him claim that spot.
What to do if your dog wants to pee on your neighbor’s lawn?
No matter how great and loving your neighbors might be, in most cases, they will have issues with dog urine on their lawns.
To prevent any bad words, make sure that you reward a dog with a delicious treat whenever he uses your lawn to pee.
This should help him get which part of the ground is his. If your Fido insists on going to the neighbor’s lawn, and your neighbors are willing to help you find a mutual solution here is what you can do.
If you are based in an area with a warmer climate you should think about planting a citrus tree.
Sound like too much work? In that is the case, simply peel an orange or lemon and place it next to the neighbor’s yard.
Dogs, just like cats, are not fond of the citrus smell and this should repel them from a specific area.
The majority of dogs can not stand the taste and smell of the city’s fruit, including lemons, oranges, and grapefruit.
You can always try to spray a part of the grass, but you should be careful with this. Although this should repel dogs from specific areas, some dogs may still ignore the smell and taste it.
Know what to do in different situations and have Pet Poison Helpline number on hand, for just in case.
If you have any doubt about this method, make sure that you talk with your veterinarian.
Still interested in this method? If so, you probably want to know how you can make homemade dog repellent.
Use a clean spray bottle, mix two tablespoons of distilled white vinegar and 20 drops of any citrus-scented essential oil, and add one and a half cups of cold water. Shake it and spray.
Again, this isn’t something that is highly recommended, and it is always best to discuss it with your veterinarian first.
Can Dogs Pee On People’s Lawns?
This may surprise you, but it is not illegal for dogs to pee on someone’s lawn. Although this isn’t forbidden by law, this sort of action isn’t considered to be polite behavior.
If you allow your dog to relieve itself on someone else’s property without their permission, you could still get a fine.
In some states, this is considered to be trespassing or vandalism.
Knowing your state rules and pet regulations is important, especially if you are home-based and you want to avoid having any issues with any of the neighbors.
Now that you know how to deal with dog urine, let’s see what can be done in terms of fixing the damage.
Quick Tips On How To Train Your Dog Where to Pee
This may sound like a super challenging task, but in fact, it is no different than teaching your dog to ‘come’ or ‘sit’.
All you need is time, consistency, plan, and experience with training dogs would be just a plus, and nice treats to have on hand.
Training your dog where to pee will be challenging but much more rewarding. Here is how to do it:
- Put a leash on your dog and walk him to ‘the spot’ every time you let him outside
- Insist and stand at that spot
- Give dog some time to pee
- Reward
- Once your dog pee, reward him, and then unclip the leash and let him run
- As soon as your dog gets to his spot, you can start telling him ‘go potty’ right before they pee
- Walk them and make sure they pee first. If the dog refuses to pee, bring him inside
- Tell the dog to go potty, watch him potty, and call him inside for a delicious treat
Should you always let your dog do his business on your lawn? If possible this should not be an everyday occurrence, but an expectation.
The best-case scenario should involve a long morning walk and special exercise time. However, this training can be more than handy when the weather is poor.
How To Fix Grass Damage From Dog Urine?
Your lawn doesn’t need to suffer for too long from dog urine, as there are effective steps to fix the problem. Once you fix this problem you can restore your yard.
Here is what you can do:
- Reseed. In most cases, you will have to dress the grass, or at least plant seeds that are damaged by your dog’s urine. If you need extra help on how to do this, think about hiring a professional.
- Move a plug of existing grass. This is something that may be done if your grass is Kentucky Blue Grass or St. Augustine grass, or similar. If that is the case, plant your plugs, fertilize the area, and water the area, and bare spots should be filled in no time.
Another option to think about is hiring a lawn care company.
These companies are specially created to deal with the most unusual tasks and most difficult challenges.
They know how much dog owners love their pets and they understand that keeping animals and plants all together can be challenging.
This is why lawn care companies usually have special offers for dog owners. Moreover, they may offer special products that help disperse soil contaminants.
Not only that, but these products can encourage new grass growth. Last but not least, you should think about letting your grass grow a bit longer.
Longer grass should be more resilient and stronger. Plus longer grass should help hide any undesirable places.
On top of that, longer grass will always hide discolored spots while they heal.
The Bottom Line
Having a dog is great! Once you get a dog you will have to share your space with another living being, provide the right kind of care, be mindful of nutrition, and do your best to choose the best veterinarian for your Fido.
Having a cheerful dog who will always follow you around no matter what is great, but it requires a certain level of responsibility.
After all, dogs are living beings and they need proper care to help them thrive. That being said, it is fair to mention that dogs need a fair space in their living surrounding to keep them active.
Dogs do not need extra large space unless they are large or giants breed, but enough space to lay on, move freely, and have a yard to be active.
This is because the majority of dog owners usually hold a backyard where dogs can run freely or pee if needed.
Now, keeping that grass fresh and clean requires time and dedication, and special care when dogs are around.
Dog urine is something that will destroy grass no matter how great you might maintain it.
To keep it safe and well-groomed you should aim to train your dog to use only one spot to pee.
If needed you can change that grass area seasonally and have a different healthier spot every year.
If you are still thinking about putting baking soda in the affected area, we do not recommend it, as it will ruin your grass and overall your lawn.
Your best chance is to train your dog to use only one spot to pee.
