Indoor toilet options (adult dog).

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Bees
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Joined: Thu Oct 22, 2015 7:41 am

Indoor toilet options (adult dog).

Post by Bees »

Hope this is the right section to post.

Does anyone use an indoor toilet for their dog and what would you recommend?

Bit of background as to why I want this.

Fox is a Pomeranian cross. He's a rescue who has anxiety issues. He is house trained but has anxiety associated with going into the garden (he is very reactive to the noises he hears outside, especially of people/banging) which can cause him not to want to go to the toilet. He is left during the day for approximately four hours, three days a week, however due to our work there have been a couple of times he's been left longer with no pre-warning. He's absolutely fine at home, however it's unfair to ask a small dog to hold his business that long. One day my housemate had to rush out to sort something in the shop he owns and the same day I was required to stay late at work. Fox couldn't hold it that long and went in the house.

For both reasons I decided to get him an indoor toilet. When we're home I encourage him to go outside, but if he's particularly scared/anxious one day, or if he is left, he has an option to go inside.

I bought him one of the indoor toilets that is a tray with fake grass on top. He used it within ten minutes of me putting it down and seems perfectly happy with it. But after a few months I just can't get it clean. I leave it all to soak in the bath with toilet cleaner and rinse it well, but the smell of urine just won't go. I think it's in the fake grass which I wash extra well, but it's making my house pong! I'm thinking of switching to dog pads (like puppy pads but for adult dogs) as I can just chuck them if he uses it. It wouldn't be too expensive as he doesn't use them all the time, but I'd like to know if there's a better option. I've put a dog pad down next to the tray, but he's still chosen to use the tray over the pad so it might take some time to wean him over.
JudyN
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Re: Indoor toilet options (adult dog).

Post by JudyN »

Could you buy some similar fake grass in larger quantities, cut it into rectangles, and just dispose of each rectangle when it becomes whiffy? You might even be able to replace the tray with cheap litter trays or planting trays occasionally without it being too expensive.

I've found a company in the UK that sells 'offcuts' of fake grass - they still look fairly expensive, but there may well be cheaper options as you don't need anything too lush.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
pooch495
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Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2019 6:52 am

Re: Indoor toilet options (adult dog).

Post by pooch495 »

We use an indoor toilet for our dog in the winter time. Our setup is a grass pad that has a tray underneath to collect the urine. It's fake grass and it does stink if you don't clean it. So once a week I spray it down with a 50/50 bleach and water solution, rinse it, and then spray it down again with an enymatic cleaner called "Nature's Miracle." No smell at all after that. Because our dog is a male we added a mini hyrdant on top of the pad for him to lift his leg on as well. And we actually place the hydrant outside in the warmer months as well so he doens't mark on other areas.

Here's a helpful article on them for anyone with a male dog: http://www.smartdogguide.com/a-dog-fire ... st-friend/. If cleaning the fake grass is not your thing there are real grass squares you can use. My sister-in-law's dog uses them. She gets them delivered from amazon, i'm pretty sure they're the brand "fresh patch." I think they last around two weeks each for her little bichon frise, and then she throws them away. Although for me I'd rather clean than spend $30 bucks every two weeks. Another way to go would be to teach your pooch to use a litter box, if its a smaller breed. Im not sure why more people dont do this, it works for dogs too!
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