Friday, June 24, 2011

Dog Potty for Patio: Build Your Own

Well as mentioned in the previous post Jack had emergency surgery.  He can't do stairs for the next 2 weeks while he recovers.  We live in a 3 floor townhouse so this poses quite a problem.  We went to the hardware store and bought supplies to make our own potty spot on our back deck. I had blogged about other patio potties I had seen online, but ours was much cheaper to make and uses real grass.

This is what you need

 1 4'x4' peg board  (about $13)                       

2   2"x4"x96" ($2.12 a piece)
plastic sheeting (we used durable plastic leaf bags)
2 bags of potting soil ($2 a bag)
2 rolls of sod ($5 a roll)


Here is what you do.  

Lay the peg board down on the deck and cover it with the plastic sheeting or bags. Staple gun it or secure it under the peg board so the sheeting doesn't slip.  Create a trim around the board using the 2x4's and secure in place.  Empty the two bags of potting soil on top of the plastic cover peg board.

Roll the 2 strips of sod down. You will have a little extra that you will need to cut off.


Since Jack is a boy dog we bought a little plant for him to aim at to ensure he will pee on the grass.  We also bought a hose attachment for our sink so we can spray off the grass and water it daily to make sure it doesn't die.

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

out of curiousity - did this start to smell? i had fake grass on the patio and after a little while it became disgusting!

premier paving said...

I do believe that artificial grass does require deodorising every 6months via steam cleaning
Driveway paving Harold wood

Anonymous said...

Sod is different from fake grass....sod is what you put in your yard when you landscape.

Anonymous said...

I loved this idea and had my brother and dad do this for me. My Doxie has no problem going potty on it but my min pin/chi is super picky about it. I've had it for about a month now and have only seen him use it maybe twice. Any advice on how to get him more comfortable with it? I have a plant in it too as I thought that would help.

Also, my sod is on the verge of death. How often did you water?

Thanks in advance!!

Joanne said...

Do you need to make drainage holes? I was thinking of using a fine mesh for the bottom and placing rocks and then the soil and sod.

Unknown said...

I tried this for a female dog...don't do it!! Females have a lot of acid in their urine and turn the grass yellow. After awhile the grass died. Males don't have the same effect.

Anonymous said...

Just out of curiosity, why use a peg board?

Anonymous said...

How do you keep it from leaking on your downstairs neighbors?

live_and_love said...

Thank you for the idea. I am wanting to move out and was wondering what my little dog would do to go potty.

Anonymous said...

Please explain how this actually works? Does the sod and dirt absorb or what. Does it leak? Need to know asap. Just moved and have no grass, on 2 level with nice deck. This would be perfect but need to know how well it works and what about the deck below?

Anonymous said...

Doesn't the urine build up in the soil and start to stink?

Anonymous said...

How do you cut the grass as it grows?

Must Use Umbrella Louise said...

I built this for my dog as we live on second floor apt in rainy Seattle. It was 2ft x 3ft of hydroponic turf for my King Charles Spaniel. She is 2 yrs old and will go pee on command out on the lawn. I tried every trick in the book, but she wouldn't use my deck grass. She just looked at me with "I need to sniff a whole lot more grass than THIS! " I even placed the grass patch out the FRONT door, thinking that might help, but no go. She just ate the grass. I have pee scent spray if anyone wants it! I gave up after 2 months.

VickyLuv143 said...

Easier solution use a cardboard box used to hold 6 packs of soda line w pee pad then kitty litter then lay sod easy and disposable or use a plastic tray used under a washer machine line w litter then sod change 1-2 months way easier then all this or buy premade $29 and they ship new one monthly or u can buy one to try 2 company's sell these one was on shark tank but my way is easier and lighter and doesn't require building anything - this is too complicated and over thought - kitty litter absorbs the smell but still a good idea (plastic tray not cardboard ) to rinse off the pee to avoid smell and burning or yellowing of grass - if your dog likes to eat grass grow some wheat grass put it next to the box the dog will go for that before the pee box

Anonymous said...

Your articles and contents are encouraging.Patios Brisbane Northside

Unknown said...

I want to make this so i can sit with my feet in the grass while reading. i hate leaving the house LOL

Unknown said...

"Must Use Umbrella Louise", I would gladly take the "pee" spray, if you would like to mail it to me. My email is ambertwogood@gmail.com I will be more than happy to pay for the shipping as well. Thank you and hope this comment get's to you :) Amberlynn and Family

Cassiathemighty said...

There are goodies that you can feed your female or additives to put in their drinking water to change the acidity of the urine so it won't kill the grass.

Unknown said...

thanks

Unknown said...

The indoor dog potty is great! I would love to try that for myself! Making sure that our dogs potty waste trainee is a both functional and beautiful is important. The Porch Potty Grass liter box is one such great litter box. My friend has this and she swears on the fact that it is very convenient and does the job well. If you want to see other products, click on the link where it has different reviews to help you in our decisions. See http://dogsaholic.com/care/best-indoor-dog-potty.html

Unknown said...

Love this, I have a senior dog who can't really do stairs any more so she has a ramp, but still requires help, Her senior grandparents (lol) are coming to visit and stay with her so hopefully this will do the trick on the back patio....great solution for the 11pm piddle breaks too!!!!

Unknown said...

Awesome idea.

Where did you buy just two rolls sod? Everywhere I am looking only sells sod in huge quantities!

Unknown said...

Does this drip down on to the neighbors??

Unknown said...

I use the hydroponic grass that I change out every 3 weeks. It's pretty pricey. Can I do the same with sod or will it die with no where for the root to grow? I think it will stink if I were to actually plant it. Also by 17 y.o doxi can't get over the rise of the box that I would need to plant it.
Thanks!

Ashley Wadhwani said...

This worked great, thank you for this!! The grass started to die but we just bought dog rocks and supplemented it into my pup’s dog water

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

I wanted to clarify the comment from VickyLuv143 as I think most people probably skipped over it due to the formatting. I had to reread a couple times but once I did, I realized this sounds like a great idea! I summarized the instructions for myself and thought I'd post for everyone else. I plan to give it a try as my fake grass patch, purchased on Amazon, smells putrid when the sun hits it and prevents us from enjoying our balcony or keeping the balcony door open (the smell is indescribable). If you try this before I do, I'd love to hear how it works for you! Here are the instructions:
- Cardboard box (used to hold multiple 6 packs of soda) or plastic tray (like washing machine tray)
- Line with pee pad (if using cardboard box)
- Cover with kitty litter
- Lay sod
- Change every 1-2 months
- If your dog likes to eat grass, grow some wheat grass and put it next to the pee box. The dog will go for that before the pee box.

Anonymous said...

How do you drain this? Or does it just evaporate? I am on the 3rd floor with no way to drain it without getting my neighbours. Please help!

HaleyB said...

What a great idea. How do you keep it cut/mowed?

Anonymous said...

I have the same problem on 2 floor apartment and I need to about the person under me. I have a wooden deck and I don’t want the deck to get pee on it so do I have to drill the holes. Please help me thank you

Paul - A Dog Owner said...

The times are changing and training methodology needs to take help from technology and the free apps for dog training are the best way forward

HapeaNana said...

I have puppies, and am loving my grass pee area (so do the puppies) Great way to house train. I used a hamster cage bottom, put small rocks in the bottom for drainage and then the sod. I lightly water the grass and it is doing great. Best of all NO SMELL! Puppies do like to dig in the grass but better than peeing on the floor.

Pansy C. Hensley said...

thanks for sharing gardening tips. one thing that yiu can do this the garden is installation of fake grass That fake grass will looks amazing and does not need any maintenance For buying fake grass visit store artificial grass dubai

Julier said...

It looks good but after some time furniture will start fading so you will need refurbishing services and the best place for furniture repairing is Abu Dhabi Upholstery

Danny Danials said...

Try this new app AC Market Apk : which is most trending now.

Unknown said...

artificial gras requires daily cleaning, or it will give your dog urinary diseases

Eri said...

It’s not artificial grass he’s using. It’s real grass. That’s why he said he will water it daily.

Muneeb Ur Rehman said...

Here we have different kinds of companies, who provides landscaping services from soft to hard landscaping. i use artificial grass installation services from gr landscape and they did amazing.

Anonymous said...

Do you have to change soil etc over time?

green grass dubai said...

what an idea! We also implement such great idea at greengrassstore.com