Is male urine harmful to planting material?

After a few conversations with tree growers about their vision about not keeping (watch) dogs, I noticed that the majority opts for a bitch.

When I get a question about this argument, the answer is invariably that a male’s urine is harmful to their plants, trees and shrubs. Where this is not the case with a bitch.

Is/are there certain substances, acids, salts, etc. present in the urine of a male that are not present in the urine of a bitch?

Asker: Cedric, 22 years old

Answer

Cedric,

This probably has to do with the way you urinate and not with the composition. A male raises his paw when urinating and thus urinates on the plant material. This allows the urine to act on the green parts of the plant and probably cause damage, just like you sometimes have yellow spots in a garden where the dog urinates. A bitch squats when urinating so that there is no contact between urine and plant material. And therefore no possible damage.

Regards,

Kristof

Answered by

Vet Kristof Baert

Fauna Management and Invasive Species Rodent control: brown rat, muskrat and coypu Wildlife diseases

Is male urine harmful to planting material?

Institute for Nature and Forest Research
Kliniekstraat 25 1070 Brussels
http://www.inbo.be

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