" Brown spots and bare spots appear in every lawn. They're most often caused by too much traffic, compact the roots, too much fertilizer, not enough water, or insects and animals that dig up the lawn. Here's a quick fix for brown spots to get your lawn back in shape. You don't need to buy expensive special products; all you need is seed, fertilizer, and compost. Start by roughing up the surface of the lawn with a stiff rake and then loosen the soil down a few inches to give the new seed a chance to germinate and grow long roots. Following the manufacturer's instructions for a new seeding, lightly sprinkle on fertilizer and then work the fertilizer into the soil. Lightly sprinkle the new grass seed as you would sugar on pancakes. Use the seed that's right for your area and make sure the seed is a perennial variety and not just an annual grass, which will die at the end of the season. Cover the seed with compost and step on the patch to set the seed. Finally, water thoroughly to give that seed a good start. If you think your dog may be a part of the problem, you may need to add a bit of lime to the soil to neutralize residual acidity from urine. A good idea is to test the soil using a pH-testing kit. Grasp prefers to pH level of 6 to 7. Insert a sample soil and follow the instructions with the tester to measure the pH. If lower than 6, add a little lime. Here's an easy shortcut for fixing a lot of small damaged spots on your lawn. Mix the grass seed, fertilizer, and compost into a blended mixture. Make as much as you need to fix all the damaged areas. Now, roughen up all the areas that need repair and then spread the mixture onto each spot and press it in with your foot. As long as the soil has been roughen up first, you can quickly and easily use this mixture to patch many damaged spots"