I just bought a house with a decent but not great lawn. I have maintained a pretty good watering and mowing schedule, but have seen the lawn begin to brown and appear thinner.

Can someone tell me from beginning to end what I should do and when to bring the lawn back? I want to give it a shot before resorting to just pulling it out and putting in new sod.

Also I have a dog and obviously fear using anything toxic that he may be exposed to.