How to Stop Your Dog from Peeing on the Lawn

This may be the shortest post I’ve ever written: but I had to share, because I FINALLY found out how to stop my puppy from peeing on my brand-new lawn & ruining it with yellow spots!  If only I’d known this trick three months ago.  It’s SO simple, in fact, & FREE: I was quite shocked I didn’t figured it out.  But it came from my good friend Cami’s knowledge (from a previous dog trainer), & when I got back home to Bend, Oregon last week, I gave it a try.  And I’m here to report: IT WORKED!!!  With flying colors!  And virtually instantly.  So read on & I’ll tell you the one simple tip to stop your dog from peeing on the lawn….

How to Stop Your Dog from Peeing on the Lawn, Girl Who Travels the World

My friend & I laid 500 square feet of brand new sod in my backyard last fall: this is what it looked like right after. Now, it definitely has several yellow spots, but I didn’t know how to stop my puppy from peeing on the lawn without physically taking her out on a leash every time she pees. Until now…

How to Stop Your Dog from Peeing on the Lawn

Okay….here’s the very easy way to get your dog to stop peeing on the grass: take their dog food, measure out how much you would normally feed them, & then simply sprinkle the food ALL over the lawn or grass area where you DON’T want them to pee!  That is literally it.  I’ve done this every morning for the last week ~ & even after the first time I did it, I watched Charlie intently: instead of peeing in the grass (like she normally does), she moved over to some of my pine chips & peed there instead.

Voila!!  This trick seemed to work like magic! 

The rationale for why this works is quite simple: dogs don’t want to eat where they pee.  This is why I couldn’t believe I didn’t think of it myself.  And it’s for the same reason that a dog rarely pees in its own crate: they don’t like to pee where they sleep.

How to Stop Your Dog from Peeing on the Grass, Girl Who Travels the World

Now, Charlie can go back to doing what she does best: which is ROLLING in the lawn! (Note: you can see in the photo a few of the yellow “burn” marks made by my lovely little puppy : ) I’ll tell you how to fix them below.

How to Fix Yellow Lawn Stains

So now that you’ve STOPPED your dog from peeing on the lawn: what do you do with all the existing yellow spots in your grass??  (This is the stage I’m currently in, by the way.)  There are a few things you can do:

1) To actually re-build & re-seed your grass, use a product like Scotts EZ Patch Lawn Repair (make sure it’s for the right type of grass). This product uses mulch & seed to repair your grass.  Some people even like to cut out the yellow stains & let this product work from scratch.  Make sure to water daily after seeding in order for seeds to germinate.

2) Many friends had recommended using products like Dog Rocks or Green Lawn Immune Bites to change your dog’s pH level.  I tried the Immune Bites, & they helped make the burn spots less yellow ~ but they didn’t take them away altogether.  So for this reason, I don’t think this is an ideal long-term solution if you want beautiful green grass. 

3) Finally, if you’re wanting to get your lawn back to green ASAP & don’t want to wait a few weeks for seeds to grow: try Endurant’s Concentrated Turf Colorant.  Spray this on your lawn, wait 60 minutes for it to dry, & then voila!  Green grass again.  It’s almost like painting your lawn green ~ but it’s eco-friendly, organic, & non-toxic to pets, so much safer than paint. 

***I’ll update this article later this spring when I use these products to repair the yellow spots in my lawn, with before & after photos!

How to Stop Your Dog from Peeing on the Lawn

I get that this article is wildly different from my normal travel musings ~ but it was such an amazing tip, I had to share.  Besides, we’re all spending more time at home, & I know that gardening & upgrading the home has become many people’s TOP priorities!  To that end, I’ll likely be mixing in more home & garden topics into my typical travel talk.

xoxo Noelia & Charlie

Read Next: Best Off-Leash Dog Parks in Bend, Oregon

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