Pet-Friendly Lawn Care: Maintaining a Beautiful Yard and Safe Pets

Your pet is your best friend. He or she is always there for you when you need a pal who is ready to listen without interrupting and greets you with excitement every time you walk through the door. 

Since your pets are there for you, you certainly don’t want to let them down. We completely understand; we love our pets, too. 

But when your dog digs up your landscape beds or your grass or causes spots to appear in your lawn, it can feel like it’s hard to have a great lawn and give your pet the time it needs to enjoy your yard. Your pet, in fact, loves your lawn as much as you do. Your dog, especially, probably loves sniffing it and rolling around in it. The two things should be able to exist together in harmony. 

Is there such a thing as pet-friendly lawn care where you can have both of these things you crave? Safe lawn care for dogs can be challenging, but it’s certainly possible. 

You want to address these common issues: 

• What to do when your dog tears up your lawn (jump to section below)
• How to deal with dog urine burns (jump to section below)
• How to find pet-friendly lawn care services (jump to section below)

Let’s look at these basics of pet-safe lawn care in Northeast Ohio.

Pet-Friendly Lawn Care 101

As you check out your neighborhood, you might see more than a few neighbors taking their beloved dogs for walks. 

Pets certainly help keep you active, giving you a chance to get outside, play fetch, or enjoy the fresh air. 

But when you’re looking for safe lawn care for dogs, you want to pay attention to a few specific areas to ensure success.  

What to Do When Your Dog Rips Up Your Lawn

When you have a dog, it can certainly be frustrating when your pet digs holes in your lawn when he’s rooting around in your grass. 

We’ve seen a lot of lawns with some pet damage, so we can offer some good pet-safe lawn care suggestions when it comes to keeping your grass nice despite your dog’s repetitive use of your lawn. 

First, you want to focus on repair, which will depend on the extent of the damage. Lawn aeration and overseeding can usually take care of these repair issues.

Of course, once you repair your lawn, you don’t want your dog redigging holes in your new grass. So the next step is addressing your dog’s behavior. Some of our customers have taken their dogs for long walks or to dog parks so they can expend that excess energy. This ensures your dog isn’t digging out of boredom. 

You can also consider planting grass alternatives like gravel or mulch in some specific areas for your dog to use. A side yard, for instance, can work. 

How to Deal With Dog Urine Burns 

Dealing with dog urine spots will always be on a list of safe lawn care for dogs.

Your goal is green grass, but dog urine can cause some unattractive discolored spots in your lawn. 

Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of ways around this one except for encouraging dogs to use certain areas of your lawn to do their business. Less noticeable spots, such as far corners of your yard or side yards, can ensure less visibility. 

Some people have also had some success with dog treats that are advertised to help reduce the spots, but many say watering down those spots right after your dog goes outside is a better option. 

Also, remember, a thick, healthy lawn will stand up to dog urine a lot better than one that is unhealthy and struggling. To keep a healthy lawn, you want to follow some proper care tips. This includes mowing to a 3- to 4-inch height to reduce stress, providing the proper nutrient balance through fertilization, watering correctly, and aerating and overseeding once annually to limit compaction and fill in bare areas. 

Your ultimate goal is to create the best environment for your grass to grow, which also helps dog urine make less of a negative impact. 

How to Find Pet-Friendly Lawn Care Services

When you are hiring a professional to take care of your lawn, you want to make sure they care about pet-safe lawn care as much as you do. 

Start by talking to your service provider about your pet. This ensures your lawn care professional lets you know when they’re coming so you can keep your pet inside and avoid instances like the dog getting out of the yard. 

You can also let your service technician know that you’d like any dog toys picked up or your gate closed and latched when they are finished so they know your preferences. 

Next, pick a company that uses pet-safe lawn care products and trains its technicians to use them properly. You also want a lawn care professional that will give you some guidance on when it’s safe to let your dog back outside after treatment. Usually, your dog can go back on the lawn after the products are dry.

Is Lawn Care Safe For Pets? It is WIth Turf Pride

Your pets are part of your family, so their safety is important to you. And you’d love to have a great looking lawn, too – not only for you, but for your pet. 

If you have questions about Turf Pride’s pet-friendly lawn care services in Northeast Ohio, give us a call. We have pets, too, so we understand where you’re coming from and want to educate you on what’s best for your lawn and your pet so you can have the best of both worlds. 

Ready to learn why Turf Pride could be your choice for lawn care services in Northeast Ohio? We’re excited to learn more about you and help you have the best lawn on the block. Get started today with a free quote. Together, we can prepare a customized plan that is perfect for you and your lawn.