Why does dog urine burn the grass?
Dog urine has a very high nitrogen content, and tends to have a high ph level as well. If you frequently use a nitrogen-based fertilizer, you will have a more noticeable problem. The concentration of nitrogen in one spot is too high, and as a result, the grass dies, while an outer ring seems to flourish.

Why is it that male dogs don’t seem to burn grass like a female dog does?
Female dogs usually squat to urinate, and male dogs (unless they are squatters) usually urinate on something upright (marking their territory). This results in a higher concentration of urine left behind from a female dog, because a male dog’s urine is usually dripping down something, and spread out more thinly. Also adding to the perception that female dogs are more guilty of burning the grass; a spot of dead grass in the center of a green lawn is far more obvious than a small ring around an upstanding object.
Isn’t that a nice visual?

How do I prevent it from happening?
There are food additives and supplements available that neutralize the acid in your dog’s urine to help prevent grass burns. One of these products is “Grass Saver” by NaturVet. Unfortunately, even though it’s made of the same vitamins and additives found in most dog foods, altering the ph level of your dog’s urine can lead to serious and life threatening consequences.

It’s a far better idea to treat the grass, rather than the dog when trying to avoid the urine burns on your grass.

Frequent watering, or, even better, soaking the grass the grass after your dog has eliminated, will help prevent the burn spots from appearing by watering down the nitrogen from urine.

Can I repair the grass that is already burnt?
Small areas will often regenerate on their own over time, but in areas with a short growing season, this could take the equivalent of entire summer.

Re-seeding the grass after it has been burnt can be done, but be sure to water the area down well, before and after reseeding, and consider covering it with netting, or a clear lastic sheet to prevent the birds from making off with your seed.

Another great idea, if you’d prefer to not have to repair the problems all summer long, is a designated bathroom area. In fact, I’ll be using this one as soon as we lay the gravel.

You can keep a small, gravelled area, or a cement block, or plain dirt, or even dead grass, and train your dog to go there, and only there. As you may have thought, gravel or loose sand or dirt is best for this. When it’s time for her (or him) to go, take her outside, on a leash, and lead her over to her new bathroom. When she stops to urinate (you may need to stand there for a while, especially if it’s a surface she’s not used to), praise her loudly and excitedly for going in the correct spot.

If she stops to go in an area you are trying to keep green, distract her immediately, issue the “NO”, and lead her to the new spot. This does mean you’ll have to escort her out for quite a few days, complete with treats and praise for going where she should, until she gets the idea. Just make sure the area is large enough to accomadate shifting, and keep clean so she isn’t tempted to wander off to cleaner pastures.
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got problem with this behavior ? The big question seems to be WHY do dogs DO “this,” and WHAT can we (humans) DO about it? Some answers, as I see them.
Occasionally, mounting is done to produce more dogs, but in this day and age of the wisdom of neutering, this is hopefully not the case too often!

Mounting is seen often as “play activity” — not to be confused with “foreplay” as this activity is not leading to anything else. Puppies often do this, as do older dogs, and, much to the dismay of the owners, it is NOT limited to male on female behavior! Anyone will do — and often does!

Mounting behavior can also be a show of “who’s in charge” between dogs, i.e., “I’m on top, I’m in charge at this moment, I’ll show you who’s boss!”

The mounting behavior usually bothers the HUMANS much more than the dogs. I suggest that if it is going on in front of guests, just calmly say, “Oh, Fred (or Ethel!) stop being a dog!” That generally implies that the behavior is normal for a dog and that it does not upset you.

The best thing to do is just leave the dogs alone. Don’t speak to them or try to stop them. If the dog on the “bottom” is bothered enough by the dog on the “top,” he will do something about it — growl, whirl around, sit, lie down, etc. If, on the other hand, the dog on the bottom is not doing anything about what is going on, it means that the behavior is not bothering him (her). All that’s left is for the humans to get over it!

The only real concern is dogs mounting humans — hanging onto the guest’s leg, grabbing small children (always keep children OFF THE FLOOR with a puppy or a grown dog – this invites the wrong kind of play.) This type of mounting IS of valid concern to the humans. It is embarrassing and annoying and needs to be stopped. The best bet is to give the dog something ELSE to do. For example, sit and stay or lie down and stay — it is impossible to mount while doing either of these activities! For less obedient dogs, distraction is better. Pick up a toy and throw it or distract him with a biscuit and call the dog away from the person. If the dog persists, put a leash on the dog’s BUCKLE collar (never a pinch or choke for this one) and STAND on the leash. Now the dog can no longer jump up or grab anyone.

Neutering while young is a good idea, but does not always prevent or change the behavior. Humans are always amazed by this — as the dog humps away, the human can be heard to exclaim, “But he’s been fixed” or, “But she’s a girl,” etc. Oh dear.

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About six years ago we brought home an adorable, sleepy, five-week old puppy. We knew it was too early for her to leave her mother, but the dam had stopped feeding the pups and walked away. She was done with them, so the humans took over.

At that tender age, Kaylee was sleepy, darling and sweet. She’s still darling and sweet, but rarely do her batteries run down. We describe her as having two speeds – full and off. And off isn’t often.

If your dog is like Kaylee, whether because it’s an active, fun-loving puppy, or because it’s “not quite wired right” like ours, you need strategies for coping. You need a peaceful household where everyone knows the rules and plays fair.

We get dogs for many reasons; primary among those reasons are companionship and fun. If your dog is constantly harassing you to “play,” the probability is that neither of you are having much fun. It may even have gotten to the point that you don’t look forward to going home and spending time with your dog.

You can change the situation, if you’ll commit just a few minutes a day and your patience. Things won’t change overnight, but over the course of just a few days your life will improve. In a few weeks, you may have the canine companion you hoped for.

The first step is to realize that you are the boss in your household. Not your dog. You decide when to play. And you decide how long playtime will be. It’s important to schedule a daily play time. It doesn’t have to be long – ten minutes will do. As long as during that time, all you do is play with your dog. That’s it. Just play.

As a first step: remove your dog’s favorite toy. The one he constantly obsesses about and brings everywhere he goes. Put it up on a shelf. Kaylee’s obsession is her little latex soccer ball. Other toys are fine, she’ll carry them around, but her special toy is that particular ball. (To avoid complete meltdown, we do have a couple spares on hand. No toy lasts forever.)

Next: get a brand new kitchen timer, with a ring or a beep that doesn’t sound like any other timer in the house. This is your dog’s timer – he’ll recognize it very quickly.

To start playtime, ask your dog if she wants to play, get her timer, set it for however many minutes you choose, then get her special toy and start playtime. Let her recognize the ritual. Dogs love routine and quickly adjust to new ones.

For as long as the timer’s running – have fun with your dog. Tug, toss, wrestle – play intensely and focus on your dog. When the timer’s bell goes off – stop immediately. Tell your dog “that’s it!” show him the timer and turn it off. Then say “let’s go get a drink” and walk over to his water bowl. When he drops his toy, replace it on the shelf. It doesn’t come down until the next session.

If you need to “trade” a treat for the toy – do so. You’re not rigorously training your dog to perform a task – you’re teaching him the house rules so that everyone can relax and enjoy your time together.

We always take Kaylee out for a quick “potty break” after a play session – it’s another part of our routine. She knows what to expect. When she comes back in the house, she finds a place to lie down. Sometimes she finds a chewie toy, sometimes she just lies down. She doesn’t ever really relax, but she’s now a dog we can live with.

Dogs love ritual and routine. When you got your dog, chances are you pictured yourself at home, dog by your feet, relaxing and enjoying life. You can still make that happen, every evening, if you establish that routine for your dog.

Hope Saidel is the co-owner of GollyGear.com, a bricks-and-mortar and online small dog shop featuring fun, affordable and practical products for small dogs. She has trained and competed in Obedience with small dogs for over a decade and is Registrar of the North Shore Dog Training Club.

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Laughter might not be confined or unique to humans, despite Aristotle’s observation that “only the human animal laughs”. The differences between chimpanzee and human laughter may be the result of adaptations that have evolved to enable human speech. However, some behavioural psychologists argue that self-awareness of one’s situation, or the ability to identify with somebody else’s predicament, are prerequisites for laughter, so animals are not really laughing in the same way that we do.

The dog-laugh sounds similar to a normal pant. However by analyzing the pant using a spectrograph, this pant varies with bursts of frequencies, resulting in a laugh. When this recorded dog-laugh vocalization is played to dogs in a shelter setting, it can initiate play, promote pro-social behavior, and decrease stress levels. In a study by Simonet, Versteeg, and Storie, one hundred and twenty subject dogs residing in a mid-size county animal shelter were observed. Dogs ranging from 4 months to 10 years of age were compared with and without exposure to a dog-laugh recording. The stress behaviors measured included panting, growling, salivating, pacing, barking, cowering, lunging, play-bows, sitting, orienting and lying down. The study resulted in positive findings when exposed to the dog laughing resulted in the following: significantly reduced stress behaviors, increased tail wagging and the display of a play-face when playing was initiated, and the increase of pro-social behavior such as approaching and lip licking were more frequent. This research suggests exposure to dog-laugh vocalizations can calm and possibly increase shelter adoptions.

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