Indoor Dog Potty

We have a toy dog (morkie) that is currently 3.3 lb at 4m. We used to have a pee pad in his pen until he learned to destroy it - he is otherwise crated during the day. I purchased the UGODOG potty based on the other positive reviews primarily to protect the pad and b/c I am not as handy as the other reviewers at making my own. Since we live in Wisconsin, our goal was to have our dog primarily trained to eliminate outside, but also have the option to eliminate inside when it's too cold or snowy to take him out. We've been using the pad for about a month and he has successfully learned to eliminate (pee and poop) when he's inside on both his own and on command at > 90% success rate (and climbing). So far the only accidents we've had is when he gets so excited he doesn't want to stop playing and loses bladder control and pees without squatting (kind of like little kids). We no longer has a pee pad in his pen and instead we have it in the corner of the house behind the couch so it's well outside 'his space', but still in the main room he plays. We have no pee or poop smell as we always clean up any accidents/messes immediately.The pad is a tray with two grates. It's soft plastic and very easy on the paws. We use this with pee pads from the pet store as we are not fans of the idea of the rewashable/reusable ones sold by UGODOG. They don't fit exactly, but we fold the excess under and it works well enough that we are only switching pads every few days when the pad is super soiled or he gets poop on it. The price seems high for the material and the dimensions are just bizarre (like designed to not fit with ANY other pad on the market). We bought a 50 pack of pads when we got our puppy about 2 months ago and we were going through a pad a day until he got sick and then it was like 2 or 3 a day sometimes. Now it's every few days, which is much nicer.Our puppy was sick from parasites so he had diarrhea. Yes, it gets through the grates, on the pad, and is a mess. We pick up as much as we can into a doggy bag and then wash the rest out in the tub, which has a removable shower head, so it's about 5-10m to spray it down, clean the tub, dry the grates, change the pad, and fix it back up. MUCH faster and cleaner than a mess made on the floor or carpet. Since our pup has gotten better with regular poops, as another reviewer mentioned, a pet wipe is usually enough to just wipe down the grate.As was mentioned, the potty is raised with no guards so yes, there is occasion when he'll try to poop off the edge -- I never let him go w/o one of us home so we just nudge him into a better spot. Our guy has a habit of walking around in a circle WHILE pooping and so, the two grates for a little guy is just the right amount of space for him to do his business. If you had two really small dogs (<5 lbs), then I imagine, yes, you could have each on a grate at once, but usually dogs need space to circle. I have NO idea how a medium dog will realistically use this based on the size. Also, if you have a boy dog that raises his leg, then I don't think you can use any sort of pad without guards (ours doesn't raise his leg yet).Anyways, we are very happy with the product, and though pricey, unless you are handy enough to make your own, I feel this was a good investment compared to the other pee pads we looked at online and at local stores. As with any dog/pet product, a lot depends on your pet and the amount of time you're willing to invest in training. This worked great for us and if you're having the same issues we were, good luck!

As most dog owners, I was looking for options. We walk our 6 month old Beagle (Zoey) morning, noon and night. For some reason, she still does #1 in between at times so I needed something that would look nicer that a wee wee pad. She went #2 only once and it was an easy cleanup with toilet paper, flushing it down the toilet and cleaning it with a toothbrush with soap. Since I usually look for things that are eco-friendly, I couldn't conscientously purchase wee wee pads for the long run. After seeing the different types of wee wee pad holders and reading all the reviews, I decided to try the UGODOG. The item arrived on time and in perfect condition. After reading the instructions on the back, I used the regular wee wee pads at first and cutting them down with time. Our Beagle has been using the UGODOG with no problems for the last couple of week. She sniffs and uses it with no problems. She does seem a little long for it now that she's grown some but that doesn't seem to be an issue for her. We have been using the reusable pads that came with it. They don't absorb much liquid but I also don't think that's its purpose. It seems to be there more to avoid spilling than absorbing. If you want absorbency, then you're probably better off using the wee wee pads instead of the reusable pads they send. We clean out the UGODOG twice a day and handwash the reusable pad. It says you can wash and reuse for 3 days per pad but I've gotten about 4 or 5 days out of one, throwing them out when the smell won't go away. I am glad to have found an eco-friendly potty for my puppy. Thinking about how much we'd end up spending on wee wee pads alone, the price has been well worth it for us.

The free shipping makes me tolerate the price a bit more. Other than that, the product is fine (I purchased 2). I have 2 Shih Tzu who are 1-y.o. and 2-y.o. who were previously trained to use puppy pads.PRODUCTThe construction of the product seems durable. I don't expect the base to break anytime soon. I believe the grates will hold up for some time as well, though it would be nice if they sold replacements just in case. It is a bit small and makes me wonder how medium-large dogs could ever use this! Sometimes my dogs go off the side so I can't imagine a larger dog (especially if they like to spin like mine) making the mark.Some reviewers have mentioned that it's a bit of an eye sore, however, I find it to be a huge improvement over looking at a pee stained white pad! The product is a bit bulky so I will stick to puppy pads for travel. The bulkiness can also affect cleaning, but I find [if they get really messy if a dog gets sick or something] filling up a bathtub and leaving them to soak with some cleaner and disinfectant makes the job a lot easier. The color and discreetness of the product makes me comfortable with placing it in high traffic areas of the house.The product description describes the system as being built to be used with newspaper to be eco-friendly, however, I wish they'd sized it to also accommodate PoochPad 20-Inch by 27-Inch Pet Training Pad, Medium, 2-Pack. If you're interested in using the reusable pads the smallest on the market (17" x 23") are the best fit, but do leave some uncovered areas(length). Not ideal, but will save me a few hundred dollars a year (literally, not kidding, I did the math) compared to using disposable puppy pads and since most of my reading is online the newspaper idea won't go far with me.TRAININGI'll try to summarize, but will be more than happy to elaborate if asked. To train them I first used it without the grates and placed a puppy pad inside and placed it where they usually relieved themselves (replacing the old pad holder). One dog took to this right away. After a few days I placed the grates on. When they would go near it or look like they wanted to relieve themselves I placed them on the grates and gave them the command to relieve themselves. They looked at me like I was crazy, but after a while (with high praise and rewards when she go it right) my youngest dog became an expert.My older dog was not warming up to the system at all so I had to keep pads out or he would go on the floor instead! I even tried wiping his urine over the grates and stuff to get the smell in to no avail. Luckily I had a week off when the snow storms came through and made it my mission to get him used to it. I started from scratch and treated it like we were house-training all over again. I began with placing the reusable pad on the floor, then moved up to placing the pad in the base, finally put the grates on. I used the same training techniques I did when he was a puppy. If he went to the bathroom in the wrong place and I caught him in the act I said "bad potty" picked him up and put him on the pad. When we got up for the day I took him to the pad and put him on it and gave the command "go potty" so he knew that's where he goes. After a while I think he got used to the feel of the grates on his feet. The first time he used it on his own he got a huge celebration and treats. He's been good since. You really have to be prepared to retrain them to use it. It will take time for some, maybe even a few weeks (or months like my older puppy).SUMMARYThe price is ugly, but the initial investment makes it cheaper in the long run than my old system. I was going to give it 3-stars, but settled on 4 because it meets the criteria for the new house-training setup. Not 5 because of the price and sizing.I wanted [and it met]:-Something that would save me money compared to what I was using at the time which was a plastic pad holder and disposable pads.-Something that wouldn't become a toy or project in the middle of the day. My youngest dog started tearing up pads and showed the older one how much fun it could be.-Something that I could use reusable poochpads with. I wish it was better sized to accommodate these especially since they help with smell.-Something that would keep paws dry (especially after moving to a place with wall-to-wall carpeting).-Something that was more eye-pleasing. Most people have to ask what it is now!