URBAN LEGEND ALERT!

This urban legend arose from the theory that acidic urine may cause urine burning. Some people have started feeding their dog tomatoes or tomato juice to try to change the pH of the urine. This however usually does not work and may be dangerous to the health of your dog! Changing the urine of the pH will not stop the lawn burning. The main reason your lawn is burning is because of the presence of urine or feces along with the related nitrogen content and concentration of the waste products.

The best prevention would be to dilute the concentration of the nitrogen by immediately removing the feces and diluting the urine with lots of water. Some people have even sprinkled sugar on their lawn in conjunction with the water to try to change the fauna of the lawn and help it along. However in this day of water shortage and rationing, this may not be possible. There are commercial products available in tablet form for the pet or liquid to apply directly on the lawn that helps to correct the problem.

Another alternative is to train your pet to go on a non-grassy area that will save your lawn. There have been cases where enough tomatoes were fed to alter both the pH and upset the dietary balance, resulting in painful kidney stones! Please talk to your vet before changing your pet’s nutritional diet drastically. As stated before, the pH of the urine has little or no effect on the urine burn damage to the lawn. Feeding your pet tomatoes or tomato juice will not help your lawn but instead may cause health consequences for your pet. Some owners have tried to indirectly increase the water content of their lawn by offering more canned food, or adding salt to the pet’s diet. The thought was to increase their pet’s water intake. Owners believed that by adding more water into the pet, the pet would have more dilute urine. The problem is that the pet will need to urinate more frequently. Plus if there are any underlying disease problems, the increased water intake could result in kidney disease or even heart disease.

Please consult your veterinarian before trying the change your pet’s diet with non-traditional supplements or foods.