UPDATE 10/15/2010: PLEASE READ AT LEAST SOME OF THE COMMENTS THIS POST HAS GENERATED BEFORE YOU MAKE A PURCHASE DECISION.
Has anyone tried this product? I got an ad in my e-mail about it, and I’m trying to decide what I think of the Potty Patch.
According to the ad, this is the “perfect” solution for pets who must stay inside for long periods of time, or at least for longer than they can cross their legs.
The picture appears to be a swatch about the size of a carpet sample, made of three layers. The bottom layer is a tray that can hold up to a gallon of urine. The middle layer is basically a grate that allows the urine to travel from the top layer to the tray. The top layer looks (and feels?) like grass.
The idea is that your dog will feel comfortable peeing on the “grass” and will not make a mess on your floors.
My questions:
Do you have to train your dog to use it, like you would newspapers, or does he naturally gravitate to it?
How hard is it to clean all three layers to keep them from stinking?
Why is this any better than newspaper training?
If you have answers, please let me know.
Until next time,
The Dog Lady
UPDATE!: See related posts and articles:
Response from Potty Patch company owner.
Did you get your Potty Patch yet?
Concerns about Potty Patch being an identity theft scam.
Alternatives to the Potty Patch.
Article on Indoor Dog Potties.
We live on the second floor of our apartment building in a “green community” in southern CA. The complex has no grass but an artificial turf system for the doggie areas. For Christmas, we got a shih tzu puppy. I have had 2 other shih tzus and both were extremely challenging to potty train, with occasional accidents into their adulthood. This puppy had already started to paper train at her birth home and we used the puppy pee pads initially since the vet said to keep her away from public dog areas until her vaccinations were complete. She took to the pads pretty well with supervision and positive rewards, but the carpet under the pads would still take on the urine odor. She also did not pee on the pads when we moved them to our patio. We saw the Potty Patch at Petco for $50 and decided to try it to save money since it is the same cost as a large package of disposable puppy pee pads. Plus, we thought it would be a good way to get our dog used to using the artificial turf in the complex. Punkie took to the Potty Patch immediately and loves to pee and poo on it. She is only 12 weeks old and she will sit by the patio door when she needs to use it. The down side is that the patio door is our only fresh air source and when the sun shines on the patch and the door is open, the odor of urine blows in. If we washed it daily as the instructions suggest, this would not be an issue. We usually end up washing it every 3-7 days in the shower. It is not convenient and very smelly, but preferable to the carpet odors or having to take her out to the dog area every 2-3 hours ( I am 7 months pregnant and have a two year old). When she gets older and can hold her urine for longer periods, we will start to bring her outside to the dog area, but during this puppy time this product has been a huge convenience for us….no carpet cleaning or accidents since we got it. And I’m sure it will be essential after the birth of my baby! If anyone has any experience with more convenient ways to clean the unit besides using the shower (we don’t have an outdoor area for a hose), let me know!
Like so many others, I am so glad that I came across this site before I actually ordered the Potty Patch. I think I will make my own!
Great blog!
Hi everyone so glad I read these post before purchasing. I currently use a PupHead indoor potty for my two Chihuahua’s one is only 2lbs and the vet does not want her out below 45 degrees and I live i maine so good luck with that. My dogs love their potty and never have an accident.
THANK GOODNESS FOR BLOGS!! I WAS IN THE MARKET FOR THIS ITEM BUT HAVE CHANGED MY MIND WITHOUT A DOUBT!! THXX EVERYONE FOR YOUR HONESTY!!
This thread started out by discussing the Potty Patch & similar products. Do they work or not? I don’t think this thread should turn into a debate about if it is OK for your dog to potty inside. Whatever works for you is nobody elses business. In my case we got a 1 yr old Maltese several months ago. She came from a family who had 4 other Maltese. They were going to use her for breeding but changed their mind. (How I feel about amatuer breeders could take up a lot of space on another thread.) Anyway, with so many dogs, she was not properly house trained. I thoght the Potty Patch would be a good tool to use in ADDITION to pottying outdoors. Unfortunately, the Potty Patch turned out to be such a piece of cheap junk we returned it to Petco the day after we bought it. And I was afraid to order a similar but better made product because I wasn’t even sure Cricket would learn to use it and I didn’t want to be out the 50 or more dollars. So we are training her to go potty outside. However, she is still having accidents. So we have to keep her in her kennel all day while we are at work. I would not be opposed to her having an alternate place to go inside the house but I’m afaid trying to train her to go both indoors and outdoors will confuse her too much. Any thoughts on this?
Melisa has it right. I have a 12 year old pom with incontinance. I started working 13hrs days a little over 2yrs ago. Add to that an hour commute each way, and my little guy is home alone for 15hrs of the day, four days a week. Over the summer this is not an issue, because I can leave the valcony door open, and he’s ok with that. I’m on the 12th floor, so I don’t have to worry about anyone wondering in. But now over the winter he has to go indoor. If leave that door open, the poor little guy will just freeze. And before you say, what about a dog walker, you try trusting someone with your apartment keys in the bronx, and let me know how that works out.
After reading all of the concerns on this board, I decided to call the company and cancel my order. What is amazing to me is that they told me they COULD NOT cancel my order! I’m not sure where these people are coming off telling me my order cannot be cancelled. I was very clear with them in letting them know that my credit card I used is being cancelled so that I do not run the risk of it being compromised, and I’ve disputed the charge on the front end with my card issuer with an explanation of what’s going on and they were more than happy to cancel my card and reissue a new one for me.
One more thing everyone should be aware of, I have my own e-mail domain and set a new address up specifically for this order. I do that for SPAM control just in case since I do not like being overloaded with unnecessary e-mail. That e-mail address is now being completely overwhelmed with a ton of SPAM trying to sell me every kind of prouct under the sun. When I was on the phone with the representative about my order, I brought this up and she did say that every e-mail address given to their company is put into a public pool and you will receive marketing e-mails from there forward. I’ve cancelled that e-mail address now as well so that they do not have ither a valid credit card or e-mail address on file for me any longer.
I’ve been shopping online for quite a long time and I know all the scams, games and shady marketing tactics all of these people use. If you do decide to purchase anything online from a company you are not sure about, ALWAYS use a credit card and NOT a debit card. Credit card charges are easier to dispute and money isn’t coming directly our of your personal checking account so the financial impact of any fraud can be much more contained and eaiser to recoup when a credit card is used. Especially if money is tight, you really don’t want to use a debit card for any questionable online purchase that could result in a real financial situation for a person if suddenly their bank account bets hit and drained – it’s happened to me and it is a pain to take care of it. It can be done, but it takes time and your money can stay tied up until an investigation is completed by your bank. Use a separate e-mail address other than your primary account for any online purchase, just in case of SPAM issues like you’re going to get with this company. You can block the domains entirely, but these people are slick and have literally thousands of domains and masked e-mail addresses with fictitious domains so the bottom line is you will never stop the SPAM from coming unless the e-mail address is cancelled altogether.
The bottom line is always be aware and be safe, you have to protect yourself from online fraud and identity theft. Buy local when you can or stick with reputable online retailers that you know are legitimate, and take precautions and just be smart about what you’re doing. Especially with the economy being the way it is, people are vunerable and scam artists are everywhere. Sooner or later even the most cautious person will be a victim of fraud of some kind, so it happens to even the best of use. Just take necessary precautions and it’ll help to minimize any potential impact on yourself.
My thought on this particular company is they are shady at best and cannot be trusted. I won’t be doing any further business with them.
I belive that the breed of dog and the owner personailty have more to do with training, then any thing else.
As an owner & past breeder of Aussies, I find it totaly discusting that you use the most trainable dog to further your ads.
Just because the blue merle aussie pup is the most beutiful puppy there is no reason to deplect as a dog with a poddy training problem.
You are not the frist company to expliot the Aussie for profit, with out knowing the breed
I am sorry that to futher your profits of your company with out any one in your ad dept. Really knowing the the love that an Aussie has
A Lot of you people are not getting the real IDEA of this product. Some people live in apartments and don’t have the luxury of putting their dog outside whenever they want. Some people also WORK which limits the amount of time they can take their pet outside. So having this inside does not enable them to go anywhere inside it enables them to go anywhere with GRASS. Hence having the grass instead of just a mat so go on. SIGH And maybe you should think before you buy, they do sell this product in PETCO and they also sell it on Amazon which is a very trustworthy site.
A Lot of you people are not getting the real IDEA of this product. Some people live in apartments and don’t have the luxury of putting their dog outside whenever they want. Some people also WORK which limits the amount of time they can take their pet outside. So having this inside does not enable them to go anywhere inside it enables them to go anywhere with GRASS. Hence having the grass instead of just a mat so go on. SIGH
By the way, I ordered by phone via the TV commercial. Avoid internet orders to be on the safe side.
I ordered and had not heard anything. After reading these blogs, I called the customer service number. They offered a website for tracking your shipment/status.
http://www.customerstatus.com
I plugged in my info and found my order status right away. My suggestion would be to check this site for your orders. If you do not find it, contact the authorities and cancel your credit card.
Thank you all soooo much. i was going to buy the potty patch for my sister who has two teacup dogs. but thanks to everyones honestly nad willingness to share their information i have been saved from dealing with this disaster. I am so sorry that those of you who did order the product and are going through hell, but thank you so much for sharing your information to save the rest of us!!
Well, I was very upset when I first posted back on hhe 22nd about this purchase.
Today I finally found the e-mail with an actual amount I will be charged (relief!) since I’ve been watching my bank accounts carefully and fear unanticipated charges. I, too, kept getting prodded to buy other things and carefully avoided
accepting any.
I am going to Petco today to purchase a small one for the RV trip as after reading all the blogs, I can be sure of one thing… mine will not arrive in time for the trip.
I wish I had read first the blogs-I could have avoided all the anxiety and wasted time and saved some money by just going to the PETCO.
I am sure the product will work well enough for what I need it for…..however,
I want to state that I HAVE NEVER BOUGHT ANYTHING BEFORE ONLINE
WHERE THEY DO NOT GIVE YOU YOUR TOTAL UP FRONT BEFORE–
YOU CLICK AN ACCEPTANCE/PAY OPTION. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
LESSON LEARNED IN FLORIDA
and the price includes 2 patches of artificial turf.
email me at
morris at chubb dot cc and I’ll send you the URLs for the materials I’ll be using.
After reading all these blogs I decided to look into making one for myself. i don’t do things half way so I searched out the best materials. It turns out that a minimum quantity is 14 and I don’t need that many. And the cost each works out to about $100. No markup here, I just want three for myself. Here are the particulars:
20″ X 16″ X 3″ plastic box (3/16″ wall thickness) from US Plastics
20″ X 16″ fiberglass grate cut from a 4′ X 8′ sheet
20″ x 16″ artificial turf for dogs
If interested, I’m selling 11 of the 14. Contact me at 650-269-1375 or email me at .
I bought the potty patch at Petco. when I got my teacup chihuahua at Christmas we had 18 inches of snow on the ground and he couldnt go outside. He went to the potty patch with no problems and has never had an accident on the floor. I love the potty patch for those cold and rainy days and recomend it to anyone with a small dog. I also use potty training pads under the 2nd piece so it helps soak up the urine and keeps the smell down.
Are you serious guys…..on the bottom on the site there’s a icon “customer service”, I simply clicked and another pop up comes on with the following
CUSTOMER SERVICE INFORMATION:
Potty Patch is committed to providing the best products and friendliest customer service. If you should have any questions about ordering or a question about any of our great products, please feel free to contact us via the information provided below.
Customer Service:
Phone: 1-866-518-2294
they picked up in 3 minutes
oh and the price includes a second patch of grass!
To finish my info to you all The Address again is POTTY PATCH 400 RETURNS ROAD WALLINGTON, CT 06494. GOOD LUCK
To finish my info to you all The Address again is POTTY PATCH 400 RETURNS ROAD WALLINGTON, CT 06494. GOOD LUCK
I ordered the potty patch on Nov 28, 2009, I didn’t rceive my confirmation e-mail in two days as indicated. So I called the 800 number on the confirm that I printed for my records. So I waited for one week before calling. They told me that it will I will receive the Potty Patch Dec. 15, 2009. Nothing came so I waited another 5 days since it was doing the Holiday Season. So I called again and was told that I would not get the product until after X-mas. Well Jan 15, 2010 I did receive the Potty Patch but my puppy is not going towards it so in the pamplet that came along with the item, it had a section called Frequently Asked Questions: The one that I was intrested in was, My dog is not always attracted to the Potty Patch. What can I do? So I continued to read the info. It stated that you can treat the grass with a pheromone spay. And for more details go to the website http://www.pottypatch.com. But all the website is about purchasing the item….. For any one out there who has not received your Potty Patch, on the packaging I have an RETURN ADDRESS: I don’t know if It is legate but I’m willing to put it out there for my fellow PET LOVERS…ATCH 400 RETURNS ROAD
DO NOT PURCHASE THE POTTY PATCH!!!! I never talked to a person on the phone- only an automatic service. I entered my credit card and then tried to do the upgrade offer. When it wouldn’t work and I continued to get frustrated, I tried to cancel. I didn’t ever get an option to do so- therefore discontinued my order and hung up. Needless to say, the potty patch arrived and my card was billed. There is no return address, phone number nor a refund offer or guarantee! I am not stuck with a cheap piece of carpet that I cannot get rid of! My dog doesn’t even go near it!
I think this whole thing was a scam and I got pulled in on it! DO NOT DO THE SAME!
My husband is making one for me using a giant drip pan from AutoZone. The pan is about 2 feet by 4 feet. Two pee pads will fit in the bottom and will be perfect for my elderly dog who can’t hold it all night long anymore.
thanks so much for the info on your blog concerning the ‘potty patch’.
Considering the difficulties ordering the product via phone or email
I’ve decided to troll the local pet stores and buy without the hassle.
May be I will pay a little more but avoiding the problems justifiy the
decision.
were very unhappy as the grass was so cheap and that your female peed of the side of it. Imagine what a male would do. Also, the unit slides all over the place and your little poodle won’t go near it again. You are going to try to take yours back too as you are very dissappointed.
Just wanted to let everyone know that the Potty Patch can be purchased at Petco stores. This way you do not have to give your credit card number out and it avoids the risk of being scammed. Good Luck Everyone!!!!!
and yes your dog can poo on it too!!!! Just pick it up with tissue and flush it down the toilet!!!!
my dog is a chihuahua and is a little over a year old. She loves the grass out side and now also loves the grass on the potty patch. It took about a week to fully train her and ever since she has not had an accident in the house. To start the training I placed the potty pads (which she was used to) on top of the grass so that she recognized the area…….then eventually removed the pad and gave her treats when she used the potty patch. Now that I found out (and have done) that you can clean the grass in the washer and dryer (in a closed pillow case) it is the best ever!!!! Yes I do still take Sam Sam outside for her walks and she will use the grass just fine. This is a sollution for when I am working and also in the evenings when it is not so easy for me to go outside. I wish the potty patch came with better instructions….but other then that I LOVE IT and so does Sam Sam!!!!!!
I just went out and bought the pottypatch at I believe petco and I got the large one because the small one seemed too small. Anyways, I have a Italian Greyhound and shes about 4 now and shes a well trained dogs. She never misbehaves. So anyway, I got home and I put it together it was just basically two of the smaller ones that you had to put together. Well I put it together and she immediately went to it but not to urinate to chew it up. I don’t know what the use for the scent or whatever but she did not like it. I wonder if I can take it back to the store and tell them that its a rip off. I guess I will just go back to using puppy pads they worked alot better than this.
I just went out and bought the large potty patch at I believe petco and I brought it home and set it up. I was basically just two of the small patchs that you hook into one. So anyway, I put it together and my dog went to it right away, not to use the bathroom but to chew it to shreds. My dogs is fully trained and normally does not behave like this. I wonder if I can take it back and tell them it’s a joke. I guess I will just go back to the potty pads that i used to use they worked so much better than this.
I was skeptical but bought one. I was getting an 8 week old English Bulldog and our cold North Iowa weather was just starting, I received the small Potty Patch after I had the pup 2 weeks, so he was 10 weeks when he was introduced to it. Basically he seen something new on the floor and he had to check it out, that is all we did. He took to it like a duck to water. I can see where it might be a problem come spring to get him out of the habbit of going in the house but I am hoping that he takes to real grass as easily. Only problem I see so far is that every time he leaves the grass, the second tier comes off the base. The company was very slow in delivering, was about to cancel the order when it arrived.
can my dog poo on it too?
Can your dog poo on it too?
I was so excited when I saw the Potty Patch at Petco! Thought that I had found a solution to purchasing piddle pads……………I was really disappointed when I unpacked the unit. My yorkie- poo Skipper seemed interested in it and I thought, okay great this might work. He jumped up on it and the unit slid apart. It is very poorly designed and does not stay together. It shifts way too much. It is just a piece of grass that sits on a base that is not secure. Skipper will not go near it again. Save your time and money. Mine is going back to Petco tomorrow. Wish that I would have seen this blog first.
thanx Mom of sam sam…I’m going to try the pillow case tomorrow……
I love my potty patch also
I got mine from petco….it may be different….it’s the as seen on tv version. I and my dog love it. It was the top layer(grass) that I could not figure out….but it works to wash in a pillow case….tie it shut so the grass part does not fall out and add bleach….delicate cycle and then tumble dry (still in pillow case). It took about an hour all around and all I did is lay a potty pad on the tray which in that hour was never needed. I think my prayers were ansewered. Hope this helps others!!!
Just washed (in a pillow case) added bleach and then tumbled dry. took 1 hour and it worked great!!!!!! The grass is in the same condition and the smell is all gone!!!! I use potty pads for the bottom layer which I change daily and will now wash and dry the grass once a week or as needed. No slipping and my dog loves it!!!!!
Meena, Not so good for girl dogs either. Unless you are training them to be olympic surfers or skateboarders. Like you said, we (me & Cricket) found the whole thing unstable. The grass kept shifting & sliding. If I couldn’t even coax her up there with sweet talk & treats, there was no way she was going to get up on that thing and go potty on her own.
i am not sure if there is varieties of the same product out there..but mine is so secure that the grass does not move…..and around the edges of the grass there is some fraying..but it states this in the directions..and it goes away..
my grass feels like real grass.and is not cheap…..i just washed mine yesterday…put it into the tub..sprayed it down with bathroom bleach cleaner…then rinsed it..and the smell of pee went away…didn’t even wreck the grass..
and I have a male and female dog and both go onto it fine..must be issues with certain dogs..not liking it
I line it with a dog training pad..making it easier to pull it out and throw it into the garbage.but each to their own…..
i am not sure if there is varieties of the same product out there..but mine is so secure that the grass does not move…..and around the edges of the grass there is some fraying..but it states this in the directions..and it goes away..
my grass feels like real grass.and is not cheap…..i just washed mine yesterday…put it into the tub..spryed it down with bathroom bleach cleaner…then rinsed it..and the smell of pee went away…didn’t even wreck the grass..
and I have a male and female dog and both go onto it fine..must be issues with certain dogs..not liking it
I line it with a dog training pad..making it easier to pull it out and throw it into the garbage.but each to their own…..
I have a litter of puppies 9 golden puppies and am wondering how this would work for these little puppies. I guess pee is the big concern with cleanup – poos pretty easy. I’m curious – has anyone used this for new litter of puppies?
After reading these blogs though, I’ll be making my own – thank you.
My little dog was scared of the Potty Patch. IT is not stable and the whole unit shifts. I placed him on the grass and he did use it, however he peed right onto the wall. The Potty Patch is not good for male dogs, maybe females but my male urinated right off the edge. This was the problem that I had with piddle pads, I thought that the Potty Patch would solve it, but it did not. The grass slides all over the top layer and the grass seems really cheap. Not a great product especailly if you have a male dog.
My potty patch arrived last week and it is a life saver! My apartment is on the 4th floor and I got so sick and tired of having to take my dog out every 6hours or so. The worst part was taking him out late at night before I was going to bed. I have a 2 year old chihuaua and he would not go on the paper pads he would only go on the grass!! So, when I saw this add for the potty patch I was desperate and had to try it. I put the potty patch on my covered patio because I do not want to teach my dog that it is ok to go inside! One day I was cleaning up and left the patio door open, my dog sniffed around and BOOM he went potty on the patch!! AMAZing!! From that day on I always use positive reinforcement and a treat and he has gone #1 and #2 on that patch, it is truly incredible! It is really easy to clean and because I leave it outside in the patio there is no smell. I encourage anybody who hates walking their dog out in the rain or if you live on the top floor of your building to run out and get one ASAP 🙂
I finally got my potty patch from Petco.com. It is a lot cheaper than those other options and it serves its purpose on my porch. My dachshund likes it just fine and I haven’t seen the turf slip. I line the bottom with potty training pads for easy clean up. Perfect for those days I’m away from home.
i live in winnipegand we have a store at polo park shopping center called as seen on tv showcase..I found it there
hope this helps
i have two dogs..and they both use this producti actually put a training pad at the bottom of the product to makr it easier to remove the pee without having to wash it.
Debbie Cook, can you tell me where in Canada you purchased the Potty Patch from. If you can supply me with the name and number that would be great. I have been having a tough time trying to locate a place to purchase it.
thanks so much!!!
well not end of subject……and i have many animals and they all can be trained to go in a litter box…Not just cats!!!!!