So winter is upon us, and here in the northeast it can be brutal to take your dog outside (for both of you). I came across this product; basically it’s a patch of real grass that you keep inside, your dog does his thing, and they send you a replacement every 2-4 weeks, depending on your dog’s, uh, output.
This is our first dog and he’s only 8 months old, so this is his first winter. Just wondering if anybody’s had luck with this product, and if there’s any advice anyone may have about using it. Or if you think it’s a waste of money, I’d like to hear about that, too. Thanks!
I’ve never seen this product before. I have a hard time believing it doesn’t start to smell, but if I lived where it was brutal to take my dog out in the winter, I might give it a try for $20.
Winters can be brutal here, too, but I never wanted to encourage my dog to think it was ok to pee/poop inside (especially when she was that young). I wonder if that ever becomes an issue for people who use them with puppies?
For the past six weeks my 7-year-old dog has had a mystery infection, and her various treatments included a course of steroids that made her drink/pee like there was no tomorrow. In response I’ve been covering the living room rug with waterproof pads at night and while I’m at work. She has definitely used them when needed, but so far it does not seem like their presence has encouraged her to start using them in lieu of going in the yard. Which is kind of a relief. (No pun intended.)
One of our (large) dogs had an infection in one of her paws and our vet told us she couldn’t go outside until it had healed lest she reinfect it. We put down the puppy pads for a while for her and she, reluctantly, finally started to use them. We were worried she’d still go inside after the pads were gone, but she didn’t. She immediately used the outdoors again, once she was allowed to, with no residual issues.
I’d say try it. It might work for you and it isn’t a huge investment to test it out.
I was a little bit outraged at the idea of this to begin with (I dunno…take your dog outside! I gotta do it and I have a fenced-in yard!) but I read the reviews on Amazon and they are pretty positive.
I thought maybe it was just for tiny dogs but I saw one review about a very old girl who’s family moved to a 4th floor apartment and they gave her an XL pad on their patio and she used it and it was so much better for her than having to traverse the stairs.
However…in lieu of injury or physical lack of ability to go outside, I can’t imagine being able to keep up with the cost of this product for the life of your dog. $20 every 4 weeks (if you’re lucky) for 13 years is $3380. That’s on top of food, treats, vaccines and heartworm & flea meds.
Remember too that walking your dog is crucial exercise for them, and beneficial to you. If that is what you are giving up in order to use a pee pad, you will find yourself surprised when your dog starts acting out more because it’s bored and restless.
Sorry if I am sounding judgemental. I spent all winter last year escorting my dogs outside because the one quickly learned that he could jump all my fences and there was nothing I could do about it in the 3’ snow. So I had to follow him out there, even tho I have a big fenced-in yard! So if I can do it, anyone can do it. Take your dogs out to pee
A client of ours has a cat that loves the grass and to go outside, but after getting lost for weeks last time they got an indoor patch of grass for her. While she liked the grass enough, they ended up getting lots of gnats indoors from that patch of grass. So no more patch of grass for them. Just something to think about.
Fair enough, ZipperJJ. There’s nothing we love more than our puppy and we call him our son; it’s definitely out of sympathy for him more than laziness from us! And yeah, I would definitely still take him to the park/walks/etc. But going outside for the last pee of the night at 2 in the morning is a real hassle to put his coat/booties/etc. on, not to mention our own things. And when it’s raining out, he refuses to go outside. So we’re looking into it for his sake as much as our own.
The not going back to peeing outside thing was what was worrying me, so stillownedbysetters’ anecdote is a good one! And we definitely don’t want gnats. Maybe I’ll get just one before committing to the whole thing; you can keep your credit card on file and have them automatically renew the patch, which is handy but maybe I’ll just try it for a month and see how it goes.
I only live in Chicago, so I don’t know how our winters compare to yours in terms of “brutality.” And I don’t know what breed you have. But the idea that you have to put a coat and booties on the dog to let it do it’s business before you go to bed? Sounds to me like you are working pretty hard to make that an awfully high maintenance creature, and installing an indoor lawn might be a good next step! :rolleyes:
If you bought some kind of cold intolerant species (I don’t know - Mexican hairless?) - that might not have been a wise choice for your location.
Just shovel whatever area is convenient/necessary outside whatever door you use, and train it to pee and poop there. It’s a DOG for crying out loud. Don’t forget the benefit of winter, frozen poop is easier to pick up!
Oh yeah - re: the rain. Dogs don’t get to “refuse” to do what you want them to do. And - in my book - doing their business outside is probably at the top of a pretty short list of what I demand of my dogs. Of course, you can choose who makes the decisions. I repeat - it’s a freaking DOG. It is NOT your son. Forgetting that while he is a puppy, IMO could contribute to problematic behavior as the dog matures.
I got a plastic one (for when I’m at work), but I couldn’t figure out how to get my dog to use it for its intended purpose. She instead seems to think of it as her place to sit when I’m in the room that it is in.
There are lots of different breeds that are sensitive to cold, like greyhounds. We put coats on ours when temps are low. However, for a quick backyard potty break, they only get coats put on when the temps are below about 20 farenheit (my rule). Please don’t mock people for how they care for their animals when you have no clue what breed the dog is, or what it’s needs are.
As to the gnat issue, I’ve noticed that Petco (and probably the other retailers) sell a version of this “indoor dog potty” that is astroturf instead of live grass. The OP could try that. If you do, please report back. I’ve been wondering about it also as my baby girl gets on into old girl territory and steps and sliippery surfaces become a problem for her. I’d like to know how much of a hassle cleaning it is, and if odor control is worse than, say, a cat litter box.
For crying out loud. I said TWICE that I didn’t know what breed he got. And he didn’t offer. In my opinion (the forum we are in), it is not terribly wise to get a breed that you know will need booties and a coat in order to relieve itself. Same way it might not be terribly wise to get a heat intolerant breed if you live in FLA. I guess I’m ignorant, I didn’t realize any breed needed booties for a quick before bed potty break.
So yeah, my opinion is that paying to regularly have grass in your house where your dog can pee and poop, is - well, again I’ll say not terribly wise. But no reason ANYONE should have to act and spend their money in a manner I consider wise.
I’m just now re-checking the boards; I was at work all day. And while I hear what you’re saying, your post was pretty insulting. We live in Manhattan; we live a life of making him pee on trees that are covered with garbage, walking around filthy streets, and having to defend himself against the not-so-trained dogs of the neighborhood. It would be nice to give him a little comfort when he goes out to take a piss, you know? And besides, the booties are more for protection against the salt on the ground that melts the snow; it can damage the bottoms of their feet, and in extreme cases can enter the bloodstream and cause kidney failure.
But to answer your question, he’s a Frenchton (half French Bulldog, half Boston Terrier). About 23 pounds. Not a sissy by any stretch of the imagination; he was attacked by a pit bull two months ago and the emotional scars are way more apparent on us than on him. But it’s not as simple as shoveling the sidewalk in front of our house, because we live in a rented apartment building. It’s not like we have a backyard we can let him out in, or can shovel a path to the nearest tree or something. So the indoor grass was just an idea of something to start him on before it gets too cold, that’s all.
Probably should have phrased my response otherwise, but your situation impressed me as ridiculous. If I lived in a location where is was terribly difficult to take a dog out, and if I wanted an animal that would piss and shit in my apartment, I’d get a cat.
Must admit it never occurred to me that people would spend money to maintain live grass inside for their dogs to relieve themselves. But if that is the way you want to style your lives and spend your money, knock yourselves out.
Tell me about it. Exchanges like this remind me why I took a 4-year hiatus from this board.
ANYWAY, if there’s anyone out there who isn’t better than me and all other humans, I’d love to hear anecdotal evidence of how easy it was to use this product, pros/cons, etc…
