Circular dead patches on lawn - WHY??

Hi,

My lawn is mostly healthy, not too much moss, a few clumps of clover but nothing too bad. Last year, I got a few circular patches where the lawn died completely. :( Nothing grew back this year, so I raked out the dead stuff, filled it with compost & reseeded. There were around 10 such patches. (They are about the size of a dog's bowl.) Now I have got several new yellow patches! They appear really quickly. WHAT ARE THEY? And what can I do about them??

(PS: It is not the dog peeing on them. She pees on the gravel patio! )

 

My first thought is... Alien Landings. (Sorry....)

 

Foxes.
I would say the foxes are using your lawn as a toilet.

 

There was a story once of the gardener who awoke every morning to find a fairly large pile of sh*t in the middle of his lawn. As he had to remove it every day it was becoming very tiresome. There was a German Shepherd that visited his garden, and he suspected that this was the culprit, so he arranged to lie in wait one morning
Sure enough, the very next morning, along comes the German Shepherd. And, would you believe it,....... this time he brought his dog with him !!!!!!
:D :D :D

 

Haha!

 

Don't think they are foxes. The garden is securely fenced, and the dog would go bonkers if there was a fox about. At my PIL, they often have trespassing foxes, and boy does it make the dog crazy! Don't think it's a passing German Shepherd either, with or without canine. If they are alien landings, then alien's must be pretty small and unimpressive, as the patches are only about the size of my hand with fingers fully extended.

Any more suggestions?

 

If not foxes I would say it must be some other animal.
They are the same marks I get from my dog.

 

I think your lovely lass has some explaining to do. I trained my bitch to go on the paving slabs but as soon as she has the lawn available she is out there and like you I have patches. Never had the same problem with a dog because they would rather burn the leaves off your shrubs around the outside of the lawn but bitches do burn the grass. When it gets too bad I have to put up temporary fencing to keep her off while I let it grow again. Unless, you have vixens doing it as they can gain access over quite high boundary hedge and fences it has to be your bitch..........sorry, no other explanation! There is a revival neutralising spray you can use but only if you see when and where she goes.

 

my five month old male golden retriever is leaving several dead patches on the lawn, it is since it has got walmer it wasn't a problem in spring when the grass was wet - the rain and dew must have diluted it but now it's dry I am getting dead patches. I follow him out with a watering can now and water it down afterwards - hopefully that will work. - bit of a pain but worth it to save the lawn - hopefully once he starts cocking his leg he won't go so much on the lawn. I reckon it's definately your dog - sounds like exactly the same problem.

 

Have a close look and see if there are any small holes. It could be ant nests. If you think it might be ants, poke a hole in the middle and see if any start running about.

 

Rosie, I agree with Moyra, it`s your beloved pet.:D And it`s not just bitches that do it. Castrated dogs also do it.:eek::thumb:

 

I agree its the dog
I have a dog and its always the same, in winter it just makes the grass grow better and greener, except if the ground is frozen.

In summer the pee dont get diluted and its just like adding too much fertilizer, the grass burns.

Unless your prepared to follow the dog around with a watering can, you'll just have to live with it.

 

That's OK then. I was worried it might be some kind of horrid pest which was going to spread and take over the whole lawn, leaving devastation where it went. If it's just a result of my darling girl having a pee, I can certainly live with it. (It's not like she can go and squat on the loo inside instead, is it? )

 

And if she can, get her an agent, you could afford to have your garden re turfed every month!