Do Dog Rocks Work?

[ruthless]

We're about to get a new lawn laid and I was wondering if we should get Dog Rocks for the water bowls? All my dogs are desexed, not sure if that makes a difference to their pee or not!

And while we're at it, I'll happily take any advice on how to have a nice lawn and four dogs :D

Edited December 28, 2012 by ruthless

[OSoSwift]

I use them - need some more at the moment- and yes they do work.

I tried a pee post first and that didn't really work do tried the dog rocks.

I had lots of brown patches in the lawn and within a couple of weeks there were no new ones and the others were growing back. After using a few packets in a row, no brown patches at all.

I don't change it monthly or whenever they say, I wait until I see a brown patch or two then change them.

I think they work really well.

[WreckitWhippet]

A splash of ACV in the water bowls also works

[Tintin Jac]

Yes, they work. The ones I have in their bowl have been there for years. I don't think you really need to change them. But I'm not a scientist.

I didn't know about acv. I might give that a go too.

[Staffyluv]

A splash of ACV in the water bowls also works

Yep this is what I found worked and the cost is minimal.. When we had Pippa here, her pee was killing the grass but once I started with the ACV, it stopped pretty quickly.

Zig tends to pee on a tree near my office and sometimes when the sun hits it, you can smell dog pee - I use a water spray bottle and just spray around the base of the tree and there is no more smell..

[Maddy]

Tried them and noticed absolutely no difference.

Nice idea though.. money for rocks..

[BC Crazy]

Same here..... Noticed no provement with dog rocks what so ever. Have also tried ACV with same results. Have heard bi carb soda in their dinner can help reduce lawn damage from dog urine, but don't know how success it is or how much you should add.

[juice]

Didn't work for mine either.

My dally has bicarb in his food anyway and it still burns the lawn.

The other 2 pee on the astro turf.

[Tintin Jac]

Maybe you need special lawn :laugh: . If I forget to put the rocks in their water, it gets brown patches within a few days.

[Diva]

Didn't work for me, might however have something to do with one of the dogs taking them out of the water bucket all the time.

'hey there's ROCKS in my water, not having that!'

[minxy]

Didn't make an ounce of difference for us.

[dasha]

I got told the other day that a spoonful of tinned food mixed in their meal also has the same result

[Maddy]

An interesting thread from another forum about magical rocks.. http://community.dog.com/forums/p/9448/120868.aspx

[disintegratus]

What is ACV? I tried dog rocks once, I think they worked for a while, but our yard is mostly dirt now anyway, plus I refused to keep shelling out that much money for rocks :laugh:

We used to have one large dirt patch, now we have two. One named "the colosseum" and the other is "the duelling patch".

[minimax]

Acv - apple cider vinegar

[disintegratus]

Ah, thank you.

[Poppy's mum]

Didn't work for us either - even changed them monthly. But...it did say not to change the water (from memory) - ugh! I think you were just meant to top it up. I haven't found anything that works apart from running after them with a water can. Especially morning urine which is more concentrated.

[Maddy]

Didn't work for us either - even changed them monthly. But...it did say not to change the water (from memory) - ugh! I think you were just meant to top it up. I haven't found anything that works apart from running after them with a water can. Especially morning urine which is more concentrated.

And in summer.. that's totally inappropriate.

I'd rather have a dead lawn than have my dogs drinking warm, dirty water.

[Alyosha]

Eww. And algae and mosquito larvae. Mine ted to wash their feet in their water on hot days too - so it gets changed multiple times a day. :D

[Maddy]

Eww. And algae and mosquito larvae. Mine ted to wash their feet in their water on hot days too - so it gets changed multiple times a day. :D

Same here.

We have several lots of drinking water for them (some are designed to be harder to stuff dirty paws into) and in summer, it gets changed (emptied completely and refilled, not just topped up) at least twice a day and the buckets/bowls given a scrub out at the end of the day to keep algae out- I wouldn't expect them to drink out of anything I wouldn't drink out of myself.

Suggesting that water just be topped up seems not just unhygenic but potentially very dangerous for the dog's health.