In the event you’ve owned a canine, you’re seemingly accustomed to the yellow patches of grass they depart within the wake of their favourite potty spot.
That is brought on by the nitrogen compounds in canine urine, which might burn the grass.
Nonetheless, because the motion to ‘rewild’ lawns and gardens has people ditching conventional turf grass for native vegetation, you might start to see one other landscaping characteristic designed along with your canine in thoughts.
“We put these rocks there. And when canine are strolling down, their eyes can see this factor, and after they get nearer, they’re like, ‘Oh, Larry peed there. Bob peed there. I gotta pee there,’” Andy Smerczak-Zorza of Chicago’s Ravenswood Neighborhood Affiliation defined in a now-viral Instagram Reel.
“We discovered that it retains, like, 90% of canine out of your backyard.”
These rocks Smerczak-Zorza speaks of are colloquially referred to as “pee-pee rocks,” and are supposed to mimic a hearth hydrant for canine who prefer to mark their territory on a stroll.
Canine urine can injury native vegetation by inflicting plant cells to lose water or contribute to the next focus of chemical substances within the soil the place the canine urinates.
Thus, offering canine with one other various simply redirects them away from these important native vegetation and grasses, with out forcing them to carry it.
Plus, pee-pee rocks are much more aesthetically pleasing than different options.
“Relatively than placing up a large wall or fence, this simply makes it form of sensible and straightforward,” Smerczak-Zorza continued in a video that has now been seen over one million instances.
“So in the event you get a giant rock, put them on the corners of your backyard within the metropolis. It’s going to hold numerous canine out. It received’t hold all of them out, however they’ll hold numerous them out.”
Some suggestions for maximizing the influence of a pee-pee rock? Select one which has a extra vertical form, resembling a tree, pole, or hearth hydrant {that a} canine might naturally be drawn to.
You may also place them in the entire accessible corners of your garden or backyard, which can encourage a canine to mark the boundaries of its ‘territory.’
Lastly, discover a chief of the pack to christen the pee-pee rock first, which is able to sign to different canine — each female and male — that this is a perfect spot to go away their mark.
On the Ravenswood Neighborhood Affiliation’s submit, many shared their very own anecdotal proof of the pee-pee rock’s success.
“In my neighborhood in Portland, somebody put in a pair ‘pee rocks’ just lately,” one commenter wrote. “And it appears to be working.”
“We’ve a pee rock in our yard,” one other added. “This made a lot sense… and we noticed this to be completely true.”
Somebody referred to as it an “deliberately positioned public restroom” that “prevents property injury,” and one other summed it up completely, a la “Area of Goals.”
“In the event you place it,” the commenter wrote, “they may pee.”
