Question
I planted a plunking plant, it was growing great until we saw it slowing in growth and the leaves smaller than the other plants.Then we noticed our male dog was urinating on it. We fenced it off and continued to take care of it but it hasn't developed as good as the others .
Question is has the soil been changed and if so what can I do to bring the plant out of it's stunted growth?

Answer
I don't know what a Plunking Plant is, but I know Dogs and Plunkings don't mix.  Fencing it off was a great idea.  You're right, by now, things should be looking up for the Plunking.

Some people think dog damage comes from the strong acid pH of the urine.  But if you read my essay on this problem, you'll see that isn't the case at all:

www.helium.com/items/1115488-how-to-minimize-your-dogs-effects-on-the-lawn

Dog urine registers a pH that's fairly grass-friendly, no matter what you find out about the pH.  Yes, it's acid.  But it's rarely below 6.0.  That means it's fine for turfgrass, at least as far as pH goes.

It also means that adding Lime -- common advice, you may have found -- is not going to work.  And if your Plunking Plant -- I must find out what this is -- doesn't like alkaline soil, you'll do more harm than good.

That does not mean that Soil is unchanged after a dousing with dog urine.  Au contraire, that Soil is now drenched with Nitrogen salts.

Gypsum to the rescue.  This common soil amendment is usually saved for compacted soils, especially where clay is the main component.  As I've said before, Gypsum is no good for solving that problem.  But it's great for solving this one.

Use 10 lbs Gypsum powder for every 1000 sq ft.  Let it sit, then drench with water, and let it sit some more.  Repeat with more Gypsum.  If you don't see improvements in 10 days, have your Soil tested.  I can tell you where to do that if you'd like to send me your zipcode.

Most important, though, is to repair the Plunking damage.  Roots have probably been burned and damaged badly.  A quick treatment of soothing Harpin Protein -- sold as 'Messenger' -- will turn things around swiftly for the plant.  Cornell University owns the patent on this product.  Spray some on the leaves, then water it in to reach roots directly.

While you're at it, tell me what a Plunking Plant is.  Latin names work best for i.d. purposes.  I'd love to know what you're growing.  Thanks for writing.  rsvp,

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER