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Lawn Fertilizer & Dogs


kitty
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ok, so i've done a search and came up with nothing, so i'm calling on all you DOLers to help me out.

We ripped up our turf the other day (which was more like dirt) and we're re-turfing with couch grass on the weekend. However i have a problem. The OH said that we need to fertilize... but i'm a bit unsure as to whether lawn fertilizer would be a hazard to Molly (which i imagine it would be), or if anyone knows of any dog friendly fertilizer, or a way to get around it.

The OH bought the pellet variety today, a brand called Scotts, and i went to Bunnings after work and found NOT ONE bag had any safety information regarding animals. The OH seems to think that if we put the fertilizer on in the evening, water it etc, and keep Molly inside for the night that it should dissolve and be ok for her to go out to the backyard again in the morning.

Anyone have experience or knowledge with these types of things - i certainly don't!!!

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Dad put dynamic lifter all over my lawn when he came visiting

I wasn't impressed although it certainly made the grass grow

I had to keep the dogs from going outside unless supervised for a day or two as they loved the stuff but they had no side affects whatsoever

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Thanks Erny - i searched the forum but couldnt find anything!

I worry about Molly ingesting, or getting the pellets caught in her feet etc.... i'm such a worry wart.

Nope, Kitty. I think they are genuine concerns.

Edited by Erny
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My spotted terror ate about 2kgs+ of dynamic lifter and had no side effects no way i could put in on the lawn or she would eat it all. She had snuck into the garage and found her feast..... Not that i would reccommend it but i think its pretty harmless

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Found this link in the Health Forum :

Scotts Lawn Builder

Look at the label for "Precautionary statements". This is usually in a small rectangle that contains small graphical representations of both kids and pets.

If you have product questions Scotts experts are available by email :

Scotts Contact Us page

i couldnt find that label anywhere on the packet.

It does say non-toxic... but is that non-toxic to humans, or to everything? :thumbsup:

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It does say non-toxic... but is that non-toxic to humans, or to everything? :thumbsup:

If there are no warning labels to suggest otherwise, and as it says "non-toxic", I could only presume this would relate to pets as well.

I used Scotts Lawn Builder, watered it in well over a couple of days and made sure that my dog was not obsessed about licking it up. It didn't seem to cause him any harm. For that matter, I'm not even sure that he ingested any, as he simply didn't seem that interested in it.

But you could try emailing the company to ask if you would like more certainty.

Edited by Erny
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Thanks Erny - i searched the forum but couldnt find anything!

I worry about Molly ingesting, or getting the pellets caught in her feet etc.... i'm such a worry wart.

Nope, Kitty. I think they are genuine concerns.

Definitely genuine concerns. Dogs can be poisoned by blood and bone, so god knows what that has in it.

I thought Rooster Booster would be okay, but my dogs got stuck into that too :thumbsup: .

Thanks for your suggestion, Kynta.

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Fertiliser, whether organic or chemical, is just nutrients in a given quantity and ratio to each other. Some may have fillers to add bulk to the product but those fillers are in small quantities. I wouldn't suggest that a dog ingesting huge amounts of nutrients in a single event is going to do it any good, but given that any nutrient is only going to make up less than 20% of a product, I wouldn't be concerned. The most likely nutrient to make up that amount is Nitrogen. The others would be Potassium and Phosphorus. Organic fertilisers would have far less concentrations of nutrients than chemical fertilisers. Once you spread the fertiliser on your lawn it is less concentrated and, therefore, less hazardous (if it ever was considered hazardous initially). Dilute that spread fertiliser with water and it becomes less hazardous again.

My only concern would be when the fertiliser is in it's packaging and in greater concentration, but your dog would have to ingest large quantities for the fertiliser to be a problem. Organic fertiliser may be chicken poo or other animal byproducts and very attractive to your dog for the eating of and for the rolling in of. Bad breath and a smelly coat should be your only potential problem :thumbsup:

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I know of a Labrador who ate probably, 2kgs of blood and bone or similar. It's not usually the main ingredient but the other chemicals they put into it.

Anyway, short story is it had a sore stomach and off it's food the night of eating it - 2 days later - dead. This was after 1.5 days at the emergency centre on fluids, it got constipated from the fertiliser and that caused haemorraghic gastro, which, by the next day the dog was going very fast downhill, also I think it's kidney values were haywire.

If you can get a hose on fertiliser that would be better...but I just don't use them.

Edited by Staff'n'Toller
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Our rottie got his head stuck in a bucket after it was used by my mother to spread blood and bone ... our dogs are obsessed with it.

We use Scotties Law Builder on our lawn and never had a problem with the dogs. Normally I spread it when it starts raining (and with the dogs locked out of the lawn area due to the rain) but if it isn't raining then water it in to get it off the surface of the lawn and down to the roots should be sufficient.

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I've recently put down Rooster Booster (about 3-4 weeks ago), but my lawn is so sickly that it really isn't helping (it's freshly laid Kikuyu that just won't grow properly! It's like the roots are rotting). Does anyone know how long I need to wait before trying another fertilizer? I'd like to try the Scott's Lawn Builder. The dogs aren't an issue if I can put it on in the next week or two, as the dogs and I won't be moving into that house til the end of the month. My lawn desperately needs help before my dogs come in and run zoomies all over it!! :rofl:

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thanks for all your responses - very much appreciated.

I think this is the plan.... Tonight when i get home from work the OH will spread the fertilizer, and water it in. Hopefully we will get a bit of rain tonight as well. We will keep molly inside all night (as we do every night due to potential toad sightings) and in the morning with on lead wee breaks. Turf is being laid first thing tomorrow morning.

That should hopefully minimise risks.

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