Indoor potty systems

Hi All. I just joined the site. I'll be bringing a new Westie puppy home next month and am on an obsessive hunt for the best indoor potty system. The two that seem to stand out are the Pup-head and the PetaPotty. I'm guessing there must be old threads discussing this (but I can't seem to find any). I would love to hear from members who have experience with indoor potty products. Thanks.

Gross and gross.

Crate and potty train your dog.

That's my professional input.

Most of us here don't have experience with indoor elimination. Paige's dog, Miley, uses the cats' litterbox on her own when she doesn't feel like going outside, and we've had plenty of newbies who try puppy-pads, but as for the rest of us, our dogs go outside.

Not trying to flame you here, but I just can't imagine why you'd want to pay a lot of money for something that imitates grass so your dog can poop and pee in your house, when you can take the dog outside. Dog poop STINKS. Doesn't matter whether you're feeding them a high quality diet or not.. it STINKS. And it stinks up a room FAST. So does dog pee, come to think of it, but not nearly as bad as poop. You're going to have a very smelly house if you're not right on top of it. And then you're going to have to constantly be doing cleanup and taking the bags outside (unless you want your trashcan to smell 100x worse than it does now), which pretty much defeats the purpose.

I just use good old wee wee pads, lol... very low tech... but I am interested in those products you listed and I am going to look into them.

ETA: I did look at them and I liked the petapotty system, any idea how much these things are? I couldnt find it.

to everyone else... you dont know everyone's situation... why is it that everytime the idea of indoor potty systems come up people freak out and make it sound like those who dont take their dogs outside to go potty are terrible pet owners... I am sure you all do things that others dont do, it doesnt make it wrong.

/rant

My little dog Miley uses the cat litter box. It's not encouraged but it is easier for us when it's snowing rather then get her jacket on. She is sensitive to thecold The big dogs go out There is no way I'd ever let my big dogs do that. I'm a litter box cleaning nazi though. Get's cleaned out the least three times a day (two cats and a dog sharing litter boxes=major stinky). She picked it up on her own. I would never teach my dog to do it. If they can go outside take them outside.

No comment here as I've always had big dogs and they were trained to potty outside . Agree that many situations for small pups( elevators , etc ) indoor pottys are easier ... but what you start that what you get . I sure wouldn't want it for 15 to 17 years . !!

Expensive when real grass is outside, no offense.

http://www.petstreetmall.com/Pet-a-Potty-w/-Synthetic-Sod/8000/3058/details.html

Thank you all for your responses. None of you know me so I guess I can't be too annoyed that some of you apparently think I'm an idiot. I made no mention that I intended to forego outdoor forays with my pup, so not sure why anyone would make negative assumptions. I happen to live in an area of the country that gets heavy snow. Just a few days ago it snowed so heavily that not even I could step outside my front door until the snow removal company we contract came and cleared the snow (near the end of the day). A puppy would have been swallowed by snow. So on such days as that, and perhaps on those hopefully rare occasions when I'm late getting home or sick in bed with the flu, I want my puppy to be able to potty. It's miserable to have to hold it and I don't want my puppy to ever be uncomfortable. I also own an apartment in a high-rise near New York that I stay in from time to time and I'm on a high floor. No need to explain why an indoor potty system might be useful, even necessary on occasion in a high-rise. So please know that I plan to take Puppy on long walks at least twice a day, crate train her, groom her regularly, feed her healthy food, get regular vet checkups and be an all-around responsible pet owner. And on those occasions when Puppy must wee wee in her indoor potty box, I will clean and disinfect it right away. So SisMorphine, does that make me any less gross? For anyone who might be interested, I've spent a ridiculous amount of time searching the Web for any and everything I can read about indoor potty systems. I think I'm going to end up getting a Pup-head. It's half as expensive as the PetaPotty and people who have one seem to really like it. People seem to really like the PetaPotty too, but for the price I think I'm gonna try the Pup-head. Thanks again for your input.

That's just like at my place. IF it snows crazy Miley gets crazy cold. It is way easier to just let her use the indoor potty. Not to mention she isn't crated when I am not at home. She uses the litter box. So long as you keep it clean I say go for it.

We usually assume that because so many people who ask questions like this ask them due to their own laziness, or that they don't believe their dog should go outside.

My last suggestion is that in the apartment you keep it on a balcony if possible.

IMO a Westie is a hardy breed, not one that needs to worry much about snow. I have a Pembroke Welsh Corgi and though she's very short in stature, she plows through snow taller than she is. If need be, I shovel out a potty area for her outside.

IMO, if you *must* go with an indoor potty area, go with piddle pads or dog litter - easy cleanup! That PetaPotty looks like it would be hard to clean if a bout of loose stoll happened... EUUUCHHH!!!

I highly higly recommend against it though - what happens if you visit a friend's house with Puppy, and your friends dont' have an indoor potty for the dog? What happens if, heaven forbid, Puppy has to find a new home? I know for a fact that many dogs that "live on wire" - like some show dogs in full coat - are imposisble to housetrain if they go to a new home. It's disgusting.

Westies are powerhouses, I wouldn't worry about one getting lost in the snow... a westie would have a blast making tunnels IMO!

Build a box and put sod in it.

By the sounds of it the OP isn't intending to not do anything with her future dog. Some times you just have to make your situation work. If an indoor potty is going to work for you it is going to work for you.

I have to admit, I'm a little taken aback by the attitudes I'm encountering about indoor potties. One of you even went so far as to say that many people interested in indoor potties are interested because of their own laziness. How could you possibly know that, and why would you choose to believe, and then state publicly, the most negative assessment of other's intentions that you can imagine with little or no evidence to support your judgments? Others of you are making determinations about how poorly these systems must work, but you clearly haven't researched them and don't actually know how they work. The better models are really quite brilliant and they look fairly attractive so aren't' an eyesore in your home. They're designed to be easy to clean and the "grass", which sits on a drainage grate, is made with an antimicrobial material to neutralize odors. The urine is wicked away from doggy's feet and collects in the base of the unit. Most people line the base with pee pads which are easy to change and don't really cost very much (25 for $7.50). You can also use cat litter or newspapers, but for me the absorbent pads make more sense and again, they're really not expensive. I plan to make the Pup-head available to my dog only when necessary. I don't plan to encourage her to use it for pooping. Dogs usually poop after a meal, so I plan to take her on walks after she eats so she poops outside. I will allow her access to the Pup-head during the night or in the very early morning before I've had my coffee, and of course when the weather is really horrible. And I plan to change the pad and wipe the grass with an odor neutralizer after each use to keep it clean. I don't understand why anyone would object to a product like this or criticize people for utilizing whatever conveniences are available. It's so silly. Thank you PoodleMommy and Paige for your positive comments. All the best to everyone and your precious pups.

unfortunatly we get ALOT of members join here and start toting about how they are having trouble housebreaking their dog using litterboxes and indoor systems, and it 99% of the time turns out its because they dont watch the puppy, they dont train it...

even with an INDOOR system it takes time to train.

the chihauhaus are all indoor AND outdoor trained.

one of the BIGGEST issues with indoor training is that the dog learns to be 100% reliable inside but refuses to pee/poop outside, which causes huge problems when you go places you cant take your dogs new potty.
puppypads or a litterbox are the BEST in terms of simplicity for use, and portability...least with a wee wee pad you can take one with you...

again the chihauhuas are all both trained, they will go inside on their weewee pads, which are set up in large cat litter boxes with the front cut low. we indoor trained them first because it was winter when we got vixie and at under 8" tall she DID get lost in the couple ft of snow in newengland winters, my father then bought a boat, and it became PERFECT, we set up a box on the boat and now never have to worry about cutting the trip short so the dogs have grass to go potty on... they love overnights on the boat.

BUT if were at a firends house ect i now dont need to take pads with me because they also know that its ok to go potty OUTSIDE.


i would AVOID expensive fancy looking systems and just stick with a wee wee pad in a litterbox, its more sanitary, easy to clean and quicker, and much easier to take with you should you need to! i wouldnt waste the money on something like those fancy indoor ones...

Stirring the pot with no ax to grind.

I just read through this thread and for the life of me, I cannot find where ANYBODY called Kellster stupid or an idiot or really made judgments on her for her choices. Some opinions were expressed about indoor potty systems and why people think they are gross. There was one comment about laziness, but that was not directed specifically at Kellster. Nobody criticized Kellster. The only criticism I saw was against people who expressed a negative opinion about indoor potty systems.

I really think you would be suprised at how your westie could go on the snow--Wrigley is about the size of a full grown westie and even when we had 3 feet of snow I threw him on top of the snow (he didn't sink because he wasn't heavy enough) and he went to the potty on top of the snow--came back to the door and I took him down LOL. Generally though we shovel a spot in the grass.

I think part of the reaction negatively to this is because sometimes it can be very confusing to the dog as to where they are allowed to go when outdoors and indorrs are interchanged. My dog Honey is 6 lbs and never has needed pee pads (she holds it all night and goes outside even when it is -10)--she knows to run out go and run back in. I don't bother putting a coat on her and she is fine (now if we go for a walk or to the park she does get her coat). I think that most people see little reason for an indoor system and that oftentimes it can cause problems.

Kellster... feel free to PM me if you have any questions as you start the training.... I have learned some great tips from another forum that I would be happy to share with you.

Mine is also indoor/outdoor trained and it can work it just takes a tad more effort then "regular" training.

Good Luck and I cant wait to see pics.

Elissa