Best Pet Safe Lawn Fertilizer: Grow Dog-Friendly Grass [Reviews]

This content was reviewed and fact-checked by veterinarian Dr. Sandra Tashkovska, DVM.

This is the ultimate guide to finding the best pet-safe lawn fertilizer.

Using the right fertilizer is vital for proper lawn care and giving your plants the nutrients they need to grow. Unfortunately, if you have dogs or other pets that play on your lawn and gardens, many chemicals in traditional fertilizers can have questionable side effects on their health. Luckily, pet-friendly lawn fertilizers can help you achieve your grass goals while keeping your dogs happy and safe. Our team of researchers found the best fertilizer safe for dogs and other pets. They also give you insights and literature on all things fertilizers and pets. Let’s get started!

Best Pet-Safe Lawn Fertilizers — At A Glance

What Are Pet-Safe Fertilizers?

Traditional lawn care fertilizers use synthetic ingredients and chemicals that may put your family and pets at risk. Fertilizers are often combined with weedkillers (herbicides), pesticides, insecticides, and snail bait. These ingredients make fertilizers toxic if ingested or inhaled by dogs and other pets. You don’t have to worry about exposing your pets to dangerous chemicals with pet-safe fertilizers. A safe fertilizer for pets has an all-natural composition of non-toxic ingredients.

Typically, pet-friendly fertilizers are safe to walk on immediately after application, but always read the label and recommended instructions. To further minimize the risk to your pets, we advise you to water your lawn immediately after applying the fertilizer and wait a couple of days (or as instructed) before letting Fido back on the lawn again.

Pet-Safe Fertilizer Types

The main types of pet-friendly fertilizers are solid, liquid, and granular. None of these types of fertilizer should be ingested or inhaled.

Why Use Pet-Friendly Fertilizers? Benefits

There are several reasons why you may want to use yard fertilizer safe for dogs, including:

The Best Pet-Safe Lawn Fertilizer Reviews

If you want to make your lawn and garden safe for your pets, our best pet-friendly lawn fertilizer reviews will help you create the safest lawn fertilizer for dogs.

We’ve chosen our top picks based on ingredient quality, customer reviews, and price, among other factors. So, what is the best pet-friendly lawn fertilizer? Let’s take a look!

Best Overall Pet-Safe Fertilizer

Safe to walk: After application

Safe for: Pet, kids & planet

Covers: Up to 12,500 sq ft

Custom-lawn plan: Yes

Ingredients: Non-toxic

Why we picked and recommended it: Our top pick for the best top-rated pet-safe lawn fertilizer goes to Sunday lawn care. Sunday is a customized lawn care subscription that relies on your lawn’s soil data to create a custom lawn care plan without the nasty chemicals. Sunday starts with an instant and free soil, climate, and lawn analysis to determine precisely what your lawn needs every season. Next, you will answer a few questions about your lawn care habits and the current state of your lawn. Finally, Sunday provides a personalized lawn care plan tailored to your lawn needs.

What sets it apart from competitors: To get a more accurate assessment of your lawn’s needs and possible nutrient deficiencies, Sunday sends a soil testing kit with your first shipment and will ask you to take a few samples from around your yard. Once the samples are back in the lab and analyzed, they will amend any nutrient deficiencies in your plan. A prepaid shipping label is included.

Key Features

Ingredients: Seaweed, nitrogen, soluble potash, soy protein, iron, molasses, surfactant, potassium, manganese, and other micronutrients

Our Lawn Test Results

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Best Organic Lawn Fertilizer Safe For Dogs

Safe to walk: After application

Safe for: Pet & kids

1 bag: Covers 4,000 sq ft

Custom-lawn plan: No

Ingredients: Non-toxic

Why we picked and recommended it: Scotts Natural Lawn Food is an organic pet-safe lawn fertilizer perfect for all grass types during any season. It’s formulated with natural ingredients to green and feed your lawn naturally and is OMRI-listed for organic use. You can count on Scotts pet-friendly Natural Lawn Food to naturally build a thick, green lawn without risking your pet’s health. Scotts recommends feeding four times a year and allowing 6 to 8 weeks between applications for best results.

What sets it apart from competitors: Great for any season and grass type. Additionally, Scott’s parent company ScottsMiracle-Gro has improved global environments by replying 5 billion pounds of green waste, improving waterways, restoring 4 million sq ft of U.S. wetland and shoreline habitat, and is expected to reduce 3% of plastic in the material used in their packaging.

Ingredients: Nitrogen, phosphate, soluble potash, calcium, and sulfur.

Also A Great Pet-Friendly Lawn Fertilizer

Safe to walk: After application

Safe for: Pets, kids and wildlife

Expert support: No

Custom-lawn plan: No

Ingredients: Non-toxic

Why we picked and recommended it: Applying Pet Safe Lawn Fertilizer 5m to your lawn can provide up to 12 full weeks of feeding. It also has higher amounts of slow-release nitrogen, which feeds your lawn twice as long as other fertilizers.

What sets it apart from competitors: Unlike other fertilizers requiring you to wait 24-48 hours or more after application before using the lawn again, Pet Safe Lawn Fertilizer dissolves almost instantly into the lawn’s root zone upon watering, keeping the paws and feet of your loved ones safe. It allows you to immediately return after watering the product as directed.

Cheapest Pet-Safe Fertilizer

Safe to walk: After application

Safe for: Pets and kids

1 bag: Covers 2,500 sq ft

Custom-lawn plan: No

Ingredients: Non-toxic

Why we picked and recommended it: GreenView Turf is a good grass fertilizer safe for dogs, ideal for those on a budget with dull, stressed lawns that need a second chance. Think of Turf Nurture as prescription lawn therapy for dying lawns or lawns that need repair and renewal. Turf Nurture provides the nutrients for growth and reinvigorates the root system for only green and dense lawns.

What sets it apart from competitors: Its natural base formula contains 70% slow-release nitrogen, making it effective much longer. It also delivers 15-0-7 strength lawn restoration to reduce lawn stress caused by drought, heat, and cold.

Ingredients: Nitrogen, soluble potash, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.

Best Pet-Safe Fertilizer For Coverage

Safe to walk: Immediately after application

Safe for: Pets and kids

1 bag: Covers 5,500 up to 15,000 sq ft

Custom-lawn plan: No

Ingredients: Non-toxic

Why we picked and recommended it: Jonathan Green Organic Lawn Food is packed with excellent turf nutrients that gently feed for 8 – 10 weeks and cover lawns up to 5,000 to 15,000 square feet, depending on which bag you buy. It’s made of a complex organic formula derived from feather meal, soybean meal, molasses, and wheat middlings. It comes in homogenous, easy-to-spread granules that promote healthy grass growth. It can be used on established and newly seeded or sodded lawns in the spring, summer, or fall. Jonathan Green lawn care requires time to break down the fertilizer nutrients so the grassroots can absorb them.

What sets it apart from competitors: It contains iron for deep greening, which is excellent for establishing new seedlings. This pet-friendly grass fertilizer leaves no traces of undesirable manures or sludge-based fertilizers.

Pet-Safe Liquid Lawn Fertilizer

Safe to walk: Immediately after application

Safe for: Pets and kids

1 bottle: Covers 3,5200 sq ft

Custom-lawn plan: No

Ingredients: Non-toxic

Sunday lawn care is by far the best option when it comes to Pet-Safe liquid lawn fertilizer. But, if you are looking for another option, Simple Lawn Solutions Advanced 16-4-8 Balanced NPK is also a good alternative.

Why we picked and recommended it: Simple Lawn Solutions is excellent for any grass type and is produced in the United States by a family-owned business with 25 years of experience in the commercial professional turf industry.

What sets it apart from competitors: It’s made from high-quality ingredients. Its NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus & Potassium) percentage ratio of 16-4-8 provides the perfect blend of key macronutrients. This lawn liquid food turf fertilizer also contains Seaweed & Fish.

Pet-Safe Indoor Plant Fertilizer

Safe: Immediately after application

Safe for: Pets, kids and adults

Item form: Powder

Custom-lawn plan: No

Ingredients: Non-toxic

Why we picked and recommended it: NutriDense by Humane NPK 6-4-3 is a pet-safe flower fertilizer that can be used on your kitchen herb gardens, succulents in the home office, fiddle leaf fig trees, houseplants, flower gardens, vegetable gardens, you name it. It’s made in the USA by 4th generation farmers. They don’t use ingredients such as biosolids, composted household waste, or synthetic chemicals. Humane uses organic natural products so they won’t burn or scorch your plants. Plus, it’s fragranced, offering a pleasant experience inside your home and office space.

What sets it apart from competitors: NutriDense is a powder that quickly penetrates the soil when you need to revive a plant ASAP. It contains short and long-term release nutrients to help plants absorb nutrients and water from the soil faster than average immediately and weeks in the future. This indoor plant fertilizer brand is proven to increase fruit production, improve foliage, boost new starts, help transplants, and revive malnourished plants.

Homemade Pet Safe Lawn Fertilizer

Don’t like any of these pet-safe fertilizer companies, here is how to make your own.

Ingredients

Instruction

1. Mix all these ingredients in a pail until the salt is well dissolved, and then transfer to a garden sprayer.
2. Don’t water during the heat of the day. It’s wasteful, and you could scorch your grass. 

Please use this Homemade Pet Safe Lawn Fertilizer recipe at your discretion. Consult with a lawn care professional first.

Recipe From: Herb Farmer

Why Avoid Non-Pet-Friendly Fertilizers?

Are fertilizers safe for dogs? No, traditional (or non-pet-friendly) fertilizers are considered harmful for dogs! Traditional fertilizers are typically mixed with pesticides, herbicides, and other toxic ingredients. Some tragic stories remind us of the importance of using pet-safe lawn care products.

Deanne Wishert tells WYFF News 4 that her two dogs died from pesticide poisoning after playing around a popular Upstate creek in Laurens County.^[1] A similar story comes from a professional skater who claims to Newsweek that her dog died after exposure to pesticides sprayed on a neighbor’s lawn. Another more tragic story notes seven dogs died after eating paraquat herbicide in a Portland, Oregon park.^[2]

In fact, a study by the National Cancer Institute found that dogs were two times more likely to develop lymphoma if their owners used a popular herbicide on their lawns four or more times a year.^[3]

Toxic Ingredients

Are fertilizers toxic to dogs? Yes. A fertilizer that is not pet-friendly can contain harmful substances, including:

When consumed in large amounts, these substances can be toxic for dogs. Most lawn fertilizers also include nitrogen, potash, phosphorous, and potassium minerals. These minerals are generally non-toxic to pets.

Fertilizer Poisoning Symptoms In Dogs

If your dog has ingested or inhaled fertilizer, here are some symptoms it could experience.

Take your dog to the vet right away if you suspect fertilizer poisoning. If your dog ingests large amounts, symptoms and complications may be more serious.

Best Pet-Safe Lawn Fertilizers For Grass — Conclusion

Pet-safe lawn care is an essential practice for every responsible pet owner. You should buy a pet-safe fertilizer for your grass if you have pets. Not only will it help keep your lawn healthy and green, but it will also protect your furry friends from any harmful chemicals or products. So, do your research and find the best pet-safe lawn fertilizer for your needs!

Dog-safe grass fertilizers minimize any adverse effect fertilizers could have on our dogs. We hope this guide helped you find the best fertilizer for grass with dogs. Following label directions and instructions, you can use fertilizers confidently and protect your family and pets while keeping your landscape healthy, beautiful, and green.

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Sources

Canine Bible uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process and product review methodology to learn more about how we fact-check, test products, and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

1. Wunderlich, R. (2019, August 29). Two dogs dead from pesticide poisoning, owner searching for answers. WYFF.
2. Cope, R.B. (2004, September 1). Toxicology Brief: Helping animals exposed to the herbicide paraquat. dvm360.
3. Press, T. A. (1991, September 4). Lawn Herbicide Called Cancer Risk for Dogs. The New York Times.