Porch Potty Small

Love this product! I just got a puppy, I live in a townhouse and I do not have a lawn. Training was not easy at first due to the synthetic grass so I ordered the training sod. Once the real grass was in there, my puppy took to it immediately!!

NOTE:I wrote this review a year ago on Amazon for a nearly identical product by the same manufacturer, then called "Porch Potty Standard - with Synthetic Grass". It appears that this product is now offered in a smaller size and is called "Small Porch Potty Standard". The only difference I can see between the larger version (that I own) and this smaller version is just the size. My original review has been updated slightly to reflect this and to include a year's worth of observations.MY REVIEW:This is the first time I have ever reviewed any item on any web site but I felt compelled to convey some strong feelings I have after having our dog use the large Porch Potty for the last year. We were desperate for something like this and needed a doggie potty to put on a second floor deck, exposed to the weather. Our previous doggie potty used kitty litter but proved impractical with the exposure to rain outdoors. We needed something that could get wet and it would not cause any problem.Good Points:- The drain system works nicely, just as advertised. The drain hose is plenty long too.- I think that, given the modifications that I have made (see below), this device will suit our needs.Neutral Points:- We own the larger version of this product that is 2 ft by 4 ft in size. This smaller version is half the size, 2 ft by 2 ft. Our 28 pound cocker spaniel moves around a little bit when he does his business and he just would not fit on the smaller size. Since this smaller size is marketed for dogs up to 30 pounds, you might want to consider a larger doggie potty if your dog is near the 30 pound size.- This is nobody's fault, but our dog does not seem to like stepping on the artificial grass if it is wet. Maybe if we used real turf this would not be an issue.Bad Points:- The plastic base of the larger size model is fairly flimsy. The company states that it can hold dogs up to 120 pounds. Our Large Porch Potty was very springy when our 28 pound dog walked on it, so much so that it sort of spooked him. I had to install support brackets under the Large Porch Potty to give it enough support so that it does not "give" so much when he walks on it. I don't see how a 120 pound dog can use this, both because of the flimsy plastic base and because of the size (2 ft by 4 ft). The smaller size offered here (2 ft by 2 ft) probably does not have as much "springiness" by virtue of its smaller size, but that is just my guess.- The artificial turf was not cut to fit the Large Porch Potty very well. I had to cut almost one inch off one side to get it to fit inside the plastic base.- The artificial turf backing has holes melted into it so it will drain. This is a really good idea for obvious reasons. Unfortunately these holes were not cleaned out very well so I scraped off all the loose and melted pieces on the bottom of the artificial turf mat before letting the dog use it. This is not mandatory but I did not want to deal with a lumpy turf backing or loose turf pieces after the artificial turf had been used.- We purchased the built-in sprinkler option for our porch potty. The sprinkler system does work to wet the grass but I found it impractical. If our dog does #2, I really need a hose to clean up what I cannot scoop up completely. If I use the sprinklers, it takes too long to clean the artificial turf in the one spot where it was soiled. A hose just takes a few seconds. If our dog does #1, I could wait and not water down the area, but then that area starts to smell bad. So once again I use a hose to wash down the area just used. Again the sprinklers take too long to clean things up. Also, the sprinklers spray outside the Porch Potty, getting our deck and house wet. Bottom line is that I found the sprinklers impractical. Since I quit using them completely I removed them, plugged the holes in the plastic tray, and purchased an extra square foot of artificial turf to plug the two holes in the turf, effectively converting the Porch Potty Premium into a Porch Potty Standard. I now have a garden hose next to the porch potty and use it as needed. That is the way to go in my opinion.- There are four little rubber "feet" on the bottom corners of the Large Porch Potty plastic base, presumably to elevate it off the surface it is resting on so that only these four points touch the floor/deck. The Large Porch Potty was flimsy enough that the whole thing sagged and these feet were ineffectual. In fact one of them fell off. I installed my own rubber feet. It took about a dozen of them to adequately keep the plastic base off our deck's surface.- The artificial grass provided has pretty well lost it "spring" and sort of lays flat where our dog normally walks on it. This is probably more a cosmetic issue than a functional one.- #1 Major Bad Point - This item is way overpriced for what you get. It is basically a molded plastic tray with a drain hose attached and a piece of artificial turf on top. If I were retailing this, I would put a price tag of $99 on it. It is plainly one of those items that you get mail order and think, wow, I paid way too much for what I just got. I was really disappointed that I sort of got ripped off from a price perspective.I have no opinion on the included fire hydrant. We did not use it because our dog does not need it to be compelled to go.I would think long and hard about purchasing any Porch Potty with the built-in sprinkler. Like I said, I converted back to the Porch Potty without sprinklers. That was about a $50 mistake given all the costs involved.In the end, after the fixes made, it does seem to be working to meet the needs of our dog in our situation. But the problems with it make me drop its rating 1-2 stars. And, in addition, because of such a clearly inflated price, it really deserves to lose 1-2 additional stars. Thus, I give it a two star rating. In the end, given all its shortcomings in design and manufacture and its inflated price, I am still glad that we got it because it is now meeting our needs. It was just sort of an unpleasant road to get to this point.

After much research, I purchased the Porch Potty Small for our new French Bulldog puppy. With a few modifications and a LOT of training (Frenchies are a bit stubborn), this has worked as a great solution for our situation. Our puppy came home at 11 weeks old. He stays primarily in the tiled laundry room. I put the potty in the corner next to the sink, so that I can easily clean it.Assembly is fast and easy, however the frame on mine is slightly warped. Fortunately it is wedged into a corner and that keeps it from wobbling. I have not used the included fire hydrant; pup is still a squatter. I made a few modifications to make the potty more usable:- Taking the advice of other customers, I purchased this air conditioning grate to place in the frame underneath the grass. This serves 3 purposes: it makes the potty surface more rigid; it raises the grass up off the potty, allowing it to dry faster; it serves as an anchor point to secure the grass to the potty with zip ties. DIVERSITECH 650-300 return grill https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01069HOOE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_gQm4CbJ65JG7A-Using the drainage holes in the grass mat, I zip tied the grass at the corners to the plastic grate. Puppy tried for the first few days to grab the grass and remove it. He doesn't try anymore.- I purchased a small cat litter box and crystal cat litter for urine to drain into. This provides excellent odor control.- I purchased a spray attachment for the sink, and the round drain pan that Porch Potty recommends (you can find it on Amazon cheaper).- I purchased an Ubbi diaper pail and poop bags.- I purchased Rocco and Roxie enzyme cleaner (it's fantastic!)The routine goes like this: Pick up poops as they appear, bag then and toss them in the diaper pail. Pee will drain into the car litter. Stir the litter once a day to allow the urine to evaporate; change litter once a week. Every two or three days, place the drain pan under the hole, spray down the grass with the sink sprayer, empty the drain pan, and put the litter box back. I then use a puppy pee pad to soak up excess water from the grass. Spray the grass with enzyme spray to neutralize odor.After one week, puppy is consistently pooping on the potty. Pees are about half where they are supposed to be. I will say the potty is a little too tall for a small breed puppy. It is as tall as he is, so sometimes if he is tired, he will go back there, decide it's too difficult to jump up onto it, and pee on the floor next to it. I'm hoping that as he grows it will become less cumbersome. Overall I am really pleased with this setup. I was afraid that it would smell really bad and that the dog would not understand how to use it, but the first week has gone much better than expected, with a little extra effort and a few extra accessories.**6 month update: this will not work for destructive dogs.Everything was going just fine until the day my dog turned 9 months old; then everything went to hell in a urine soaked, cat litter filled handbasket filled with tiny jagged pieces of plastic. So let me backpedal on some of the above modifications, because one proved to be potentially dangerous to the dog. Don't use the plastic grid, because if your dog figures out how to grab the grass and pull up on it while standing on it (remember I had zip tied the grass to the grid), the grid can shatter into a thousand tiny, jagged pieces (see attached photo). He ate a few of those pieces; we're lucky that he's ok. That was phase 1 of my dogs perfect plan to destroy the Porch Potty. Fear not, the humans ultimately prevailed...The basic problem with this unit is that the frame is too lightweight/easy for a dog to move around and chew up. Once he figured out he could chew the little woven straps, he would not stop until they were all completely removed from the frame. He also began dragging the whole potty around the house. He's a 20 pound Frenchie, not some hulking beast, so any dog that decides they want to be a jerk can pull this off. But what do we do now? He's been exclusively potty trained to this device. Here's the bottom line: all you really need is the tray that the grass sits in. Then you need a heaver, stronger frame. Here's where you have to be a bit handy.Purchase solid vinyl planks from your local home improvement store and construct a 2 x 2 box for your drain tray to sit in. Put a rubber foot on each corner so it won't slide on the floor. If your dog doesn't like to destroy the grass, you're done. However, my dog moved on to destruction phase 3: eat the fake grass/drag it into your crate and pee on it in there. To solve this problem my husband cut down the vinyl planks so they were half thickness, and constructed a frame to fit INSIDE the drain tray. Then screw the grass to the tray from the bottom (see photo). After two days of tugging, the dog has given up trying to pull up the grass, and we are back to normal potty usage.At the end of the day, this unit was way too expensive for us to have to rebuild/reengineer literally every piece except for the drip tray. It's a great idea with poor execution. I wish they sold the drip tray as a separate part, because that's really the only piece you need from them, if you have some basic building skills. If your dog isn't a destructive little demon, everything will probably be fine. It just didn't work for us.

I bought the PP because I live in a 3rd floor condo and during the winter, I don't feel like walking through the snow for 45 minutes so my dog can do nothing while I freeze. The product has proven quite valuable with housebreaking in combination with the crate. The reviews within the internet were the best compared to other similar products, and the product itself is great in my opinion. I have a standard, no sprinkler. I have a 12 pound dog and have experienced no sagging of the center, and she has plenty of room to spin around. You do have to be diligent about dumping the pee bowl underneath, otherwise it gets full and quite gross. But overall, its a great product. We use live grass so it needs to be changed monthly or it rots and gets nasty. This is where my reasoning for leaving off the 5th star comes in: I've had some issues with customer service getting my orders wrong, and the website screws up on credit card orders, but there is no weekend customer service on the 800 number, etc. PLUS, you cannot sign up for the monthly ordering of sod if you don't sign up for it when you purchase the PP. This to me is unacceptable. How are you supposed to know if you need it right away? Overall, it's expensive but truthfully, worth it, lest you buy one of the crappier products for way cheaper and learn it the hard way.