In this Article:
- Why You Should NOT Give your Dog Commercially Manufactured Products to Stop Grass Urine Burn;
- Why Your Dog’s Urine Burns Grass and Vegetation and Related Negative Implications to your Dog’s Health;
- Some Typical Indicators That a Dog Food is Low in Quality Protein;
- The Importance of Methionine;
- Urine Burns Are a Warning Sign That you Need to Improve Your Dog’s Diet;
- DIY Truly Natural, Healthy Solutions to Stop Your Dog’s Urine from Burning Your Lawn
I have ten dogs, various breeds, female and male dogs – but my grass (lawn) and plants do not get burned when my dogs’ – female and male, urinate. Some people are under the impression that just female dog’s urine burns grass – this is not so. A male dog’s urine can burn your grass and vegetation too…find out why and how to solve this for the health of your grass and more importantly for the health of your dog…
Why You Should NOT Give Your Dog Commercially Manufactured Products to Stop Grass Urine Burn
There are many commercially manufactured supplements - that claim to be ‘natural’; to stop your dog’s urine from burning your lawn – however the truth is that these products are not all natural and do contain ingredients that are toxic and carcinogenic. In addition these products do not resolve the root cause of the problem – and that leaves your dog’s health in ongoing jeopardy.
An example of one such product is ‘Naturvet Grasssaver’ products (biscuit, liquid or pill form) for dogs. Naturvet Grasssaver liquid product which is designed to be added to your dog’s drinking water contains ingredients such as:
- DL methionine (synthetic methinone, you can read about that further below);
- Sodium benzoate– a known carcinogen;
- Maltodextrin – an artificial polysaccharide sugar used as an additive to make foods more attractive;
- Maltodextrin is manufactured by applying acids of other enzymes to starch;
- In North America cornstarch (derived from corn) is the primary base.
- Cornand corn derivatives used in pet food manufactured in North America are carcinogenic, endocrine disrupting, allergenic and more.
- In Europe wheat starch is used as the base – grains and grain derivatives cause many health problems in dogs;
- Maltodextrin is a large molecule that contains no vitamins and minerals;
- In order for your dog to digest maltodextrin he/she must use his/her own store of vitamins and minerals to assimilate the maltodextrin – this can rob his/her body of essential vitamins and minerals;
- Maltodextrin can trigger allergic reactions, asthma, weight gain, hypoglycemia, raise bad cholesterol levels and is most obviously not part of a dog’s appropriate diet.
Why Your Dog’s Urine Burns Grass and Vegetation and the Related Negative Implications to your Dog’s Health
Dogs are omnivores, evolved to consume a diet comprised mainly of high-quality protein, high quality fat and some carbohydrates. A dog’s ancestral diet(the diet for which a dog was evolved to thrive on) is comprised of 60%, meat, +/- 30% fat and +/- 10 to 13% carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are not an essential part of a dog’s diet, however protein and fat are. In keeping with evolution, a dog’s digestive system is evolved to effectively and efficiently breakdown high-quality proteins while generating minimal waste products - i.e. nitrogen.
The most prevalent ingredients in lawn fertilizer are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (N-P-P). Commercially manufactured fertilizers include N-P-P in a ratio formulated to support plant growth. When the ratios are unbalanced and too much nitrogen is present vegetation will end-up being burned.
Most commercially manufactured dog food does not conform to the ratios as described above, nor come anywhere close. Instead most commercial dog food contains an overabundance of:
- Poor quality carbohydrates and fillers: such as corn, soy, and other grains including highly refined cereal grains, cellulose (wood pulp), potatoes;
- Poor source protein i.e.
- Chicken by-product, egg-product, soy, peas, etc.
While many manufacturers claim that their dog food is scientifically researched and developed to be nutritionally complete - it is very important to understand that the term ‘nutritionally complete’ is not a regulated term in the world of pet foods, nor is ‘holistic’ or ‘natural’. AFFCO certification is also not an assurance that a dog food is nutritionally complete. In-fact I have yet to see a ‘nutritionally complete dog food’. Dogs are evolved to require the presence of sufficient levels of specific nutrients to keep their system in natural balance. Good quality protein is an essential.
When a dog is on a diet that contains low-quality protein, the digestive system must work harder to separate viable nutrition from non-viable and as a result more waste product is produced. Nitrogen is one of those waste products - a natural by-product resulting from the breakdown of protein during the process of digestion. An unbalanced diet for a dog creates the same effect as an unbalanced lawn fertilizer – the dog’s urine ends up containing very high levels of nitrogen. If the dog is not ingesting sufficient fluids the concentration of nitrogen in the dog’s urine increases.
The only reason a female dog’s urine seems to burn grass more than a male dog’s urine is because the female squats low to the ground and the urine pools in one area as opposed to the urination ritual of a mature male dog who will usually pee streaming the urine at an elevated height, which does not result in a concentrated polling of the urine. When a female dog squats to urinate all of the urine pools in one spot and then sinks down to soil and root level at which point the roots of the grass, plant absorb the water and with it an excess of nitrogen causing a fertilizer overload and the resulting burn.
Some Typical Indicators That a Dog Food is Low in Quality Protein
- The first two or three ingredients listed on the product are not real meat;
- The first ingredient is a meat by-product…i.e. ‘chicken by product’;
- The first ingredient is a grain (i.e. corn, wheat, etc.) or other carbohydrate such as potato;
- If DL Methionine is included in the ingredient list;
- DL-Methionineis a synthetic version of methionine. It is manufactured via a process that requires the use of five highly corrosive chemicals;
- DL Methionine is used to make-up for the lack of naturally occurring methionine which would have been available if the food includ
