What dog treat is killing dogs

Why Is Dog Pee Killing Your GrassAnd How To Stop It

Getting your puppy to actually pee outside comes with a feeling of pride. As their bladder muscles grow stronger, accidents in the house become less frequent. Some dogs might even develop a favorite spot to pee.

Successful potty training can feel like a win for you but might feel like a losing battle when it comes to your lawn. Dog pee can kill grass, leaving behind dead patches and bare spots. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to save your lawn and ensure that it remains a safe space for dogs to do their business.

Why Does Dog Pee Discolor Your Grass?

Through eating food and taking supplements, some nutrients get absorbed into your dogs bloodstream while others are filtered out by the kidneys. The unabsorbed nutrients get expelled from the body through urination.

The problem for your lawn is not the pee itself but rather the chemical compounds that are contained in it. As the water in their pee evaporates, whats left behind is a high concentration of nitrogen. If left untreated, the grass will appear brown at the center and green at the edges where the nitrogen is less concentrated, which leaves those nasty yellow marks.

While nitrogen and nitrates are beneficial for grass and even used for fertilizer, too much can actually be harmful, explains Dr. Chyrle Bonk, DVM, a remote veterinary consultant at PetKeen. If you already fertilize your lawn with nitrogen and then your dog pees concentrated nitrogen in one area, it can overdo it and kill the grass.

Do Female Dogs Cause More Damage?

It might seem as though female dogs are the bigger culprit behind grass burns. However, this apparent sex difference has more to do with the way dogs pee rather than the chemicals in their urine.

Some male dogs tend to lift their leg and pee on standing surfaces like tree trunks and backyard fences, and they will also disperse their scent rather than in one concentrated spot. In contrast, female dogs are more likely to squat and pee directly onto the grass. Damage to your grass can occur as your dog pees in the same area repeatedly.

Can Changing Your Dogs Diet Help?

Encouraging your dog to drink more water is good for their skin, bladder, and digestive health. Plus, the increased water consumption may have the added benefit of reducing damage to your grass. According to Bonk, feeding a raw or homemade diet that is less processed can reduce the amount of nitrogen in their urine

Keep a bowl of fresh, clean water accessible to your dog at all times. You could also try adding water or goats milk to your dogs food or swapping out commercial dry food (i.e., kibble) for wet food. Hydrating fruits such as blueberries, slices of apple, watermelon, or cantaloupe can also help increase water consumption. Always consult with your veterinarian and choose a diet that is safe and nutritionally balanced.

Exercise caution when using enzyme supplements that claim to prevent grass burns. These products can change the acidity or alkalinity of your dogs pee, potentially affecting their health. Besides, there are other options for keeping your lawn in good shape.

What Can You Do to Protect Your Lawn?

Designate a pee spot. Train your dog to pee in a certain place. That way, the damage is restricted to one area as opposed to your entire lawn. You can also fence in part of your yard for potty breaks.

Create a plant-free zone. Bonk suggests setting up a mulch or gravel area where they can go so that grass isnt affected at all. Another option is to ditch your plants altogether by covering the entire lawn with bark or stones. Whatever material you use, make sure the texture is comfortable for your dog to walk on and wont injure their paws.

Choose resilient plants. Try seeding your lawn with low-maintenance options such as ryegrasses, fescue, and sedges. These can replace your lawn or be sown in with the existing grass.

If youre looking to reduce the area of turf lawn, consider planting ornamental grass, clover, or moss. These grass alternatives are durable, resistant to pee, and require less watering. Make sure that the plant varieties you choose arent toxic to dogs or other animals.

Wash down the area. To the extent possible, rinse off where your dog pees using a hose. If creating a designated spot doesnt work, allow your dog to pee on different parts of the lawn so that the pee and water arent accumulating in one area.

Maintain your grass. Reseed the dead patches and switch to a dog-friendly fertilizer that contains less nitrogen. Water your lawn regularly, ensuring the water penetrates deeply into the soil. You can also leave the grass length a little longer so that it isnt as sensitive, Bonk says.

If you have your heart set on a green lawn, those unsightly brown and yellow spots can put a damper on having your dog do their business in the backyard. With a little patience and ingenuity, you can create an outdoor haven that satisfies your dog and your green thumb.

What's the latest with the mystery dog illness that starts with a cough? What to know

A mystery dog illness that spread across the U.S. last year and can lead to serious or fatal respiratory problems is still under investigation, but cases are starting to slow, experts say.

The illness, which started to spread more widely in the summer and fall of 2023, causes coughing, sneezing and fatigue, among other symptoms, and can progress quickly to pneumonia. The dogs suspected to have it test negative for all of the typical causes of respiratory symptoms and often don't respond to treatment.

In a statement to TODAY.com, the American Veterinary Medical Association says that based on "conversations with various sources ... the number of cases are declining," adding that an "ebb and flow" of respiratory illness in dogs over the course of the year is common, similar to cold and flu season in humans.

The statement also explains that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has so far not seen that the rise in respiratory illness in dogs is linked to a new virus or bacteria.

A statement from the Animal and Plant Inspection Service, part of the USDA, confirms to TODAY.com that the state-led testing that the agency is helping coordinate "has not indicated the presence of a novel pathogen or single infectious cause among these cases."

Numerous veterinary diagnostic labs across the country are investigating the outbreak, from Oregon to Kansas to New Hampshire.

The APHIS spokesperson adds that the illness is not regulated by APHIS and therefore the branch doesn't have data on case numbers.

The Oregon Veterinary Medical Association also shared in an Feb. 14, 2024, update that "cases seem to be waning, if not back to normal," citing veterinarian Dr. Scott Weese'sWorms and Germs blog.

At last count, at least 19 states had reported cases of the illness, according to various expert groups. The AVMA explained in an earlier statement that the mystery dog illness is difficult to track because there's no national surveillance system.

In November 2023, veterinarians in critical care settings told TODAY.com that they'd seen dozens of cases since the fall.

Late last year, multiple groups including the Colorado and Oregon departments of agriculture, the AVMA, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued warnings about the mystery illness in dogs.

We dont know what is causing this situation, where dogs are presenting at veterinarians with what private veterinarians would call kennel cough, Rhode Island's state veterinarian Dr. Scott Marshall told NBC affiliate WJAR. Whats different about this situation is that dogs are presenting with little bit more severe signs, not responding to usual treatments, and unfortunately had a small number, still a number, of dogs that have succumbed to them.

It seems to happen very, very quickly to go from this cough thats just wont go away ... and then all of a sudden they develop this pneumonia, Dr. Lindsey Ganzer, veterinarian and CEO at North Springs Veterinary Referral Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, toldTODAY.com. She said she treated over a dozen dogs with what she believes is the condition between October and November 2023.

If your dog develops a cough, do not panic, the AVMA advises. But stay vigilant about its progression and your pet's overall health, and contact your vet right away if anything seems off.

What is the mystery dog illness?

Dogs with this mystery illness usually have coughing, sneezing, eye or nose discharge, are abnormally tired, and do not test positive for any common causes of canine respiratory illness, the Oregon Department of Agriculture noted in a Nov. 9 press release.

Typically, dogs with respiratory illnesses have a cough for seven to 10 days, but some vets saw an uptick in dogs with coughs lasting weeks to months that don't respond to treatment, the Colorado Department of Agriculture said in a Nov. 22 statement.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of this mystery illness outbreak was the high number of dogs who developed pneumonia. One Colorado vet, Dr. Michael Lappin, director of the Center for Companion Animal Studies at the Colorado State University School of Veterinary Medicine, told NBC News the number of canine pneumonia cases in the state rose by 50% between September and November 2023 compared to 2022.

Marshall estimated that Rhode Island saw at least 35 cases of the mystery respiratory illness, but it's hard to know exactly how many because not all cases are reported.

Dogs are most likely to contract it by being in close contact with numerous other dogs so places like doggy day care, dog parks, groomers or boarding kennels, Ganzer said. The illness seems to affect dogs regardless of age, size or breed, though dogs with snort snouts, like bulldogs and pugs, may be at higher risk.

Between mid-August and mid-November, the Oregon Department of Agriculture received reports of over 200 cases of the illness from veterinarians in the state but has had no additional cases to report since.

A Dec. 1 statement from the Washington Department of Agriculture said the state has received 16 reports of unusual canine respiratory disease. Two cases were confirmed as such.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture also shared in November that veterinarians in the state were seeing "double the number of cases than what is typically seen during a canine infectious respiratory disease outbreak."

The Wisconsin State Journal reported that between late October and December, clinics around the state saw six to 12 cases each, according to Dr. Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at University of Wisconin-Madison.

Dr. Amanda Cavanagh, head of urgent care services at Colorado State University James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital, in Fort Collins, Colorado, told TODAY.com that this past summer she started seeing cases of dogs with coughs lasting several weeks or longer, and the trend continued into the fall. She estimated her caseload of coughing dogs doubled from October to November.

While dogs with a contagious cough are common in veterinary settings, Cavanagh noted that she normally sees cases decrease in the fall as temperatures drop and fewer dogs are gathering at parks. "But this year, the spike has stayed high," she explains.

In its original press release, the Oregon Department of Agriculture noted that the illness can progress in three ways:

• Mild to moderate cough for six to eight weeks or longer that either doesn't respond to antibiotics or only responds a little
• Chronic pneumonia that doesn't respond to antibiotics
• Severe pneumonia that "often leads to poor outcomes in as little as 24 to 36 hours"

Cavanagh witnessed all three scenarios play out at her hospital. Last fall, she said she saw more dogs than usual with a long-lasting upper respiratory infection who then developed pneumonia from a secondary bacterial infection.

Of the dogs she treated, she said most who developed pneumonia responded to antibiotics, and many with the long-lasting cough recovered with time and never got pneumonia. But of those who developed the severe pneumonia, some died or had to be euthanized.

"That really bad pneumonia, historically, is very, very rare. Maybe I would see one case a year," but last fall alone, Cavanagh saw a "handful," she said.

How many dogs have died from the mystery illness?

Because most states are not tracking case numbers, it's not known exactly how many dogs have died from the illness.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture tells TODAY.com that it does not know how many dogs have died from the illness in the state.

However, it is confirmed that some dogs in the U.S. have died from the mystery illness.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture said in a statement that "in rare cases, the canine patients progress quickly from pneumonia to death." Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biological Sciences also said the illness has resulted in "some fatalities."

Ganzer and Cavanagh both have had several canine patients die from what they believe to be the condition. Rhode Island Veterinary Medical Association President Shelly Pancoast told WJAR that she's seen five to 10 dogs die from the mystery illness.

We still dont have a great handle on how exactly we should be treating these dogs, Pancoast said. A vast majority of them are making full recovery, its just unlike anything weve seen in previous years with kennel cough."

What states have the mystery dog illness?

According to various expert groups, cases that match the description of the mystery dog illness have been reported, officially or anecdotally, in:

• Colorado
• California
• Florida
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• New Hampshire
• Nevada
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• Tennessee
• Vermont
• Washington
• Wisconsin

This above list of states comes from the AVMA, the Tennessee Veterinary Medical Association, the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine and the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Mystery dog illness 2023 symptoms

Symptoms of the mystery dog illness include:

• Coughing that doesn't get better on its own after a week or so
• Sneezing
• Nasal or eye discharge
• Red eyes
• Lethargy
• Trouble breathing, especially from the stomach
• Blue or purple gums (due to not getting enough oxygen)

Related:What does coughing in a dog sound like? Vet explains in viral video

Signs of coughing in dogs

For many dog owners, the signs of coughing can be difficult to recognize, Dr. Michele Forbes, Dr. Michele Forbes, owner of Compassionate Care Hospitalin Ann Arbor, Michigan, says.

"Rarely do (dog owners) identify a cough until it becomes an overt problem and its clearly coming from the chest, Forbes explained in a now-viral TikTok.

As a result of owners not noticing coughing or confusing it for something else, like throat-clearing or gagging, some dogs are arriving at vet facilities in more advanced stages of the condition, which can make it more difficult to treat, Forbes told TODAY.com.

Some tips to help identify signs of coughing in dogs:

• The sound dogs make when they're choking can be confused for coughing.
• Some dogs sound like they're honking, kind of like a goose.
• Coughing can also sound like the dog is gagging or clearing its throat.
• The chest may heave or the abdomen may move while the dog is coughing.
• For some dogs, it looks like they're trying to cough up a hair ball and they may produce some liquid.
• A wet cough may produce a gargling sound.
• If a dog is coughing a lot, they may end up vomiting, which dog owners often confuse for a gastrointestinal issue.
• Reverse-sneezing can be confused for coughing but it's not usually a reason to call the vet unless it's paired with actual coughing, nasal discharge or any other concerning symptoms.

When to see the vet for the mystery dog illness

Other signs that your dog should see the vet, per the AVMA, include:

• Lingering cough
• Weakness
• Loss of appetite
• Difficulty breathing
• Worsening of illness
• Cough that is sufficiently severe that it causes the dog to vomit or makes it hard for the animal to breathe

Tips to prevent mystery dog illness from vets

Dogs are most likely to contract the illness when in close contact with other dogs, so previous guidance was to keep dogs away from other dogs. But case rates have essentially returned to normal, Weese noted in his blog.

To keep your dog safe and healthy overall, the AVMA recommends keeping up to date with vaccinations. "While the existing vaccines may not specifically target this unknown infection, maintaining overall health through routine vaccinations can help support a dogs immune system in combating various infections," it said.

The AVMA stressed the following vaccines: Bordetella, Adenovirus type 2, and parainfluenza combined with the injectable influenza H3N2 vaccine.

Be sure to give your dog two weeks after vaccination before interacting with other dogs so they can build up immunity.

If your dog is sick, consult a vet as soon as possible, as early testing can help with treatment, and keep the dog away from other dogs to avoid spreading the illness, experts advise.

While it's unlikely a humans can get sick with the respiratory illness, because the cause is still unknown, the AVMA suggests thoroughly washing hands after handling any dogs.

Caroline Kee contributed reporting.