Question
Over the winter, my three large dogs use my front lawn to relieve themselves.  I keep the lawn picked up, but now that the snow has melted I can see that a 10 x 15 yard patch is completely dead.  What can I do to bring this area back without resodding the whole area.  Does lime or certain fertilizers work to reduce the urine acidity and fecal matter bacteria?  

Answer
Hi Christine;
I don't think it is the dog feces, if the eliminations from the dogs caused it, it would be the urine.
The reason female dogs are said to kill grass etc more, is because males usually spread their urine over a larger area, as they mark spots for their territory, while the females deposit all the urine in one spot.
It is the aid in the urine that does the damage.
I have never had grass killed by my animals' urine, because I water shortly after, during the months when I don't generally have to water. It dilutes the urine and washes it through the soil.
I would suspect a fungus before the dogs going there.
Grab some of the grass and tug on it.
If the roots come up very easily because there re just not very much there, and especially if the dead grass feels slick or slimy at all. That spells fungus.
I would think the melting snow flushed the urine through the soil and diluted it.
Just watering dilutes the urine better than anything else.
I think anmals going on a lawn get blamed a lot for dead grass or plants, or dmage to them, that is really caused by other things.
If you don't trust your own judgement whether or not this is a fungus, dig up a small bit of the sod and take it to a nurseryman to check it.
He/she can tell you if it is a fungus, and the best treatment for fungus is Agricultural corn meal, or baking soda disolved in water, and sprayed on it to staurate.
Any nursry that carrries organic products should have Agricultural corn meal, and feed stores that carry organic products usually have it.
I don't use ANY chemical fertilizers, weed killers etc.
I am on a completely organic program, so my soil is very rich, and weeds just don't grow in my yard.
If the grass is completely dead, there is nothing chemical or organic that will bring it back.
If your grass is a type that spreads by runners like, St; Augustine, Burmuda etc, just putting in some plugs, and watering well will get it growing and covering. I would place the plugs about 1 ft. apart. Closer if you want it to fill in faster, but that close should fill in iin a couple of months, after the growing starts.
If it is a fungus, nothing is going to grow there until you get rid of the fungus.
Charlotte