# Dog Pee **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 25, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pee/607359 "2011-12-25T14:20:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pee/607359/1 "2011-12-25T14:20:49Z")
As happens at so many Yuletide parties, last night the conversation turned to dog urine. One school of thought held that girl dogs ruined the lawn by making a puddle of evil urine at one place, thus burning a hole in the grass. Boy dogs, on the other hand, tend to spray their pee-pee over a wider area and so cause little or no damage. I had never heard of such a thing. I thought urine was good for plants and stuff. **Your thoughts?** ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pee/607359/2 "2011-12-25T14:25:21Z")
I believe it’s like fertilizer. A little is good, a lot will burn the lawn. Though I have two female dogs and no dead spots in my backyard. However, they are smaller dogs (15ish pounds) so they might not have enough output to do any damage. > [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > As happens at so many Yuletide parties, last night the conversation turned to dog urine. FTR, our’s _started_ that way last night. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pee/607359/3 "2011-12-25T14:27:15Z")
The Nitrogen in the urine (in the form of Urea) over-fertilizes the grass, causing burns. That said, I’ve never seen it happen to my laws, but I have Bermuda grass, and _nothing_ kills that stuff… ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pee/607359/4 "2011-12-25T14:35:16Z")
A little, dilute, urine is good for the lawn, though. If you really love your lawn, you can eliminate the dead spots by sprinkling the pee zone with a watering can of plain water immediately after your dog is done. Or you can train your dog to pee in one spot, which will kill all the grass there, but spare the rest of your lawn. It doesn’t happen with all dogs’ pee, 'cause just like people, dogs have different hydration levels. If a dog drinks a lot of water and puts out dilute urine, it won’t burn the grass. If you’ve not had burnt spots on your lawn and then suddenly you do, your dog needs to see a vet to check out his kidneys. ---
**Author:** ![brainstall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@brainstall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainstall)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pee/607359/5 "2011-12-25T14:56:30Z")
Boy dogs probably cause as much damage as girl dogs - at least mine does. In the yard, he’s peeing to empty his bladder, not just marking like he does on walks, so there’s a puddle when he’s done. Sometimes he doesn’t even bother to lift his leg. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pee/607359/6 "2011-12-25T15:04:22Z")
Just for what it’s worth… I have 5 dogs that all pee in my large back yard, 2 boys, 3 girls. I don’t have dead spots, and in fact, my yard guy says he has never seen grass grow as thick & fast as mine does. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pee/607359/7 "2011-12-25T15:17:22Z")
Dalmatians are the worst breed for lawns, according to the Wall Street Journal about 30 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pee/607359/8 "2011-12-25T16:17:32Z")
> [@Mr.Duality](#): > > Dalmatians are the worst breed for lawns, according to the Wall Street Journal about 30 years ago. Now _that’s_ a cite. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pee/607359/9 "2011-12-25T18:18:49Z")
Some males damage shrubs. This can be a problem where dogs run loose. It can become a contest of who marked your bush last. But yes it is the amount and strength and varies, although females are more likely to be a problem. I have had a number of female puppies. Some left brown spots, and some didn’t My neutered male does sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pee/607359/10 "2011-12-25T18:37:31Z")
We had a male dog kill some bushes in our back yard, some kind of evergreen. The urine on the foliage from him peeing on them over a long period of time killed those branches. I guess it didn’t kill the _entire_ bush, but it made it ugly. Our current female dog doesn’t cause brown spots. Our lawn is low in nitrogen to begin with, and alkaline, and we don’t use quick-release fertilizer, so that may help make it less susceptible. When I was a kid, our female dog _did_ cause brown spots in the lawn. (Surrounded by lush green rings.) ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pee/607359/11 "2011-12-25T21:00:54Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > As happens at so many Yuletide parties, last night the conversation turned to dog urine. \ I wonder if the word “pissed,” meaning drunk, is where the definition originated? \ ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pee/607359/12 "2011-12-25T22:58:47Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > As happens at so many Yuletide parties, last night the conversation turned to dog urine. … **Your thoughts?** > [@Joey\_P](#): > > … FTR, our’s _started_ that way last night. So… just out of curiosity, am I the _ **only** _ person that finds these statements to be [del] a little bit[/del] really strange?! 😕 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pee/607359/13 "2011-12-25T23:05:22Z")
[The Master speaks.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/408/is-it-ok-if-i-let-my-dog-pee-all-over-somebody-elses-shrubbery)