The urine is highly nitrogenized....it has burned the spots. Nothing will make the grass come back. If you have a garden or otherwise edging where the lawn stops, try to imagine where you might clean up the edges, maybe make a better curve to a garden plot. There, take some plugs. Measure the areas of the affected parts. Then use the same measures to cut free from the edges of the garden a plug. Be sure the edges are cleaned up...measure beyond the burn mark. Then place the plug in and stomp on. The plug will do the job within a short time. Otherwise, give your lawn a chance to fix itself. Usually just giving your lawn a decent amount of nitrogen fertilizer will help fill in the blanks. The place where your dogs have selected to go should be regularly watered extra to try to alleviate the problem before it becomes a problem. Overseeding in the spring when the soil begins to warm up is always a good idea. Anytime we can make our lawns more lush is the much better way to defend against those things that attack it....including pests and weeds.

Post 1 reply.- Here´s the situation, we don´t know if the dog is allergic to something and we can´t find out until the animal is exposed to the allergen and the allergy manifests, the animal may be allergic to something in the diet, either to the protein source ( animal or vegetable meal ) or to the carbohidrate source ( vegetable flours ), some animals may be allergic to both, the protein source and the vegetable source, why is this ? we don´t know for sure but we do know that certain protein and carbohidrate sources are more allergenic than others, soy ( soy meal ) and corn gluten is known by us as one of the most allergenic protein sources, the same way we know that corn is one of the most allergenic carbohidrate souces, however some animals are allergic to chicken, others are allergic to turkey, others are allegic to certain fish species, others are allergic to several at the same time; the situation here is that most dogs are not allergic to any of them, therefore the food companies manufacture foods for the vast majority of the population, the system is fine but not infalible, I say not infalible because within that population there are individualities, problem arises when you have the bad luck of owning one of those individualities, it´s like purchasing a lottery ticket and winning the lottery. When the generality does not apply to individuals is when you have to find the solution to a problem. In many cases the same companies that manufacture the food offer alternatives to treat those individuals that do not adjust to the general population in the form of special diets with different protein and carbohidrate sources, if that company doesn´t offer them there are other companies that do and if that doesn´t work there are other alternatives, there´s always light at the other end of the tunnel. I´ve been to the Purina facilities and labs in St Louis, not only the test facilties are extraordinary but the degree of professionalism of the people working there in all the departments is overwhelming, they make good quality products. Post 2 reply.- Hot spots represent a particular problem, first the animal has the hotspot reaction, it itches and hurts, the animal licks or scratches, to an already damaged area the animal adds the trauma of licking and/or scratching, since the integrity of the skin is broken then bacteria begin to grow infecting the area, which causes more itching and more pain, more licking, more scratching, more trauma and so on, what started as a very small area in a matter of days it becomes a huge problematic area because it extends; I´ve had cases where they bring me a dog attatched to hot spot, yep, that big is the hot spot. The use of local anesthesics like lidocaine in hot spots is contraindicated. Hot spots have bacteria growing in them, local anesthesics like lidocaine are methabolized by the bacteria and use it to grow. The only local anesthesic is use is ice to make the area numb while the procedure is taking place

Thanks Christine1950 for the link. It as really good info! In "layman's terms" a hot spot is a reaction of the skin to irritation. It can happen any time of year, or from any kind if irritation. bgaylene52 - My cocker gets them from being shaved too! Tell your groomer to sharpen her clippers and oil them! Dull clippers that are working hard to cut the hair will get hot and irritate the skin. Or find someone who will hand scissor your dog. It costs a little more but will end the problem. My Bulldog mix gets them from spring pollen, usually chewing her feet. My Pitbull mix gets them from the grass all summer long, again chewing her feet and my Dalmation gets them from Wheat in anything she eats. If you find your dog chewing its feet, look between the toes and pads. They may have a hot spot there. I have also known of dogs that got them from a reaction to flea bites. Hot spots can happen very quickly. If you find your dog has one and it is caused by fleas, it is best not to apply a topical flea killer, like Advantage or Frontline unless you have been instructed to do so by your Vet. It states clearly on the label not to use on broken skin. You will need to seek the advise of the Vet as the best product to use to kill the fleas with an open wound present. Ok, back to the hot spot identification. Sorry I got off subject a moment. Hot spots are tricky. They can happen anywhere on the body, but the most common places are feet, back at the base of the tail and belly. BUT I have seen them on faces (other dogs licking an irritated spot), around the rectum, under armpits, under the tail, under collars and on the neck (not chewed on but scratched with toenails). So look them over carefully or watch and see what area they are working on. Dogs who have hot spots are often uncomfortable, panting and very distracted. They may be laying asleep and suddenly wake up to chew the area. Fleas also seem to like to frequent hot spots, maybe the skin is just softer there, who knows. A hot spot will be red, inflamed, hot to the touch, often moist(from the chewing and the lymph leaking from the wound)and elevated. If you have ever had an allergic reaction and gotten hives, this is very similar to what hot spots look like. They can be the size of a pea or huge, covering the entire belly or back. At times it is difficult to see the skin, that is where observing your dog comes in. We had a German Shepherd come into the clinic with a huge hot spot, it's entire back end from rib cage to thighs were affected. The dog was white with a dense coat. You could see the red inflamation under the coat, but the maggots disappeared in the dogs white coat. But when you got him in a quite place, you could hear them. It was creepy. Please understand this was a severe case, but it does happen. Be especially careful in hot, humid summers. A hot spot can appear in just hours. Flies are attracted to an open wound leaking lymph and in 24 hours their eggs can begin to hatch. PLEASE if you ever see maggots on your animals PLEASE PLEASE see the Vet. Maggots are nasty and will not just eat the damaged tissue. They can and will burrow into healthy tissue. Years and years ago, someone brought me a puppy that had been doused in soda. It had been dumped and was too young to be away from it's mother. In it's weakened state and with the soda, the maggots really worked him over. They had burrowed a hole next to the rectum. Luckly, they had not gotten through to the intestines and we were able to save him. It is very very difficult to remove maggots once they have entered the body cavity. I hope this info helps. Thanks! Susan

Oh, gosh, if I put things in capital letters I do it for emphasis. I would never be so boorish as to yell at someone on a forum. So if I have offended anyone I apologize. My mother was a squabbler and it was really embarrassing for me as a teenager because she would take anybody on and run her mouth till she figured she'd "won". But my best friend had a mother who always said, "If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all". I really respected that woman for her restraint and her good manners. So you won't find me being obnoxious on a forum, on purpose, anyway. I appreciate everyone's input. Even if you don't all have the same opinions, it still gives me lots to think about. And, knowing that some things sound more harsh when they are written than the writer may have meant, I try to take everything other people say at face value. I love these forums and feel like I have learned so much from them. Cearbhaill, I'm going to offer Pearl a raw chicken wing tip today and see what she does. Stbonner, I will watch out for gluten on the ingredients list from now on. And also "meat by-products" or "meat and bone meal". Thanks for that information. Those who use blood-soaked sawdust from the floor, what would they call that? Does that fall in the "meat by-products" category? Minnie, I think that's a good idea you have there. I think it would be good to e-mail all these pet food producers who have the above items on their lists of ingredients and tell them we know what that is and we will not be buying their products as long as those ingredients are on the list. If they are just asked "if" they include euthanized pets and roadkill in their food, they'll just find someone who works there that doesn't know about "anything" that they put in the food, who can then truthfully tell you "I know of no such ingredients in our brand". Here's the ingredients list on the Chicken Soup brand of cat food: chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat preserved with mixed tocopherols, ocean fish meal, white rice, potatoes, oatmeal, millet, natural chicken flavor, salmon, turkey, duck, flaxseed, sodium bisulfate, egg product, methionine, potassium chloride, choline chloride, dried chicory root, taurine, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flakes, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, Enterococcus facium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, zinc proteinate, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganese oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid. I had never heard of Eagle Pack. I checked the price and it runs about $2 for a 13-oz can of cat food, if ordered from Amazon.com. I have sent an e-mail to a distributor 35 miles away to see what their price is. For that price, though, I'd think it would be cheaper to feed raw chicken if she will eat it. Would there be calcium in the cartilage that's in the wing? When I had cats as a child we always fed them milk and table scraps, and they supplemented it by hunting. Then people started saying cats couldn't digest milk and not to feed it. My dog, Sonny, has gotten so that he doesn't want to eat the dry Chicken Soup dog food. So to about a cup of dry food I've been adding about a half cup of leftovers from our most recent meal and some water that had sausage cooked in it (fat removed), or water with dry milk powder added, and he has been cleaning the bowl.