Hi Sus, I sympathise, I have had the same problem with my girl, so I know what you are going through. Bitches produce very acid wee and it is lethal on the grass. We have accidentally discovered that as long as you drench the area where she has been with water it seems to help in neutralising the acid and gives the grass a chance to cope with her little (not so little in some cases!) visits. It wont help that you will be still house training her and she will need up to eight visits during the day to the area she chooses, but if you can restrict her to a particular area in the lawn she might catch on and realise that is her loo. My previous dog (a Springer) very quickly learned to go to a certain area of wasteground we had at the back of the house but she was just a clever girl - the shih tzu I have now was a nightmare to train and took for ever to get the hang of it. Depends on your breed, your patience and having a hose near by to really soak where she has been. Our lawn, thankfully, has returned to its former glory so I hope that gives you some encouragement. An awful prospect to returf! If it is really bad tackle an area at a time and re-seed, maybe. Good luck.

Create an area of the garden she is allowed into where she can pee etc. Only allow her into the rest of the garden when you are there. Dogs and gardens 'can' work together but only if you are prepared to work at it. Most of our friends who have dogs and gardens have a run the dog goes into to perform.

Those dead patches probably are not gone forever. If your lawn is a spreading species--such as bluegrass or creeping fescue--it will return from the edges once the acid is neutralized. Clumping species--such as Chewings fescue, perennial ryegrass, or turf-type tall fescue--will need to be replanted. Increasing the organic content of your soil will help the turf to resist damage, and recover faster from it, but probably won't eliminate it.