Categories: Dogs, Toys and Treats
There are really no words to describe just how much I adore my five-year-old terrier mix, Atticus. Having been his proud (adoptive) papa since June of 2008, I am, admittedly, obsessed with my dog (you would be too if you met him). The sixteen-pound black and white pooch is — as most pet owners will attest — essentially my child, and keeping his best interests in mind is always a top priority.
That being said, living on the sixteenth floor of an eighteen-floor apartment building with only two elevators can make the bathroom walk a royal pain in the tail. Considering that I'm lucky enough to have a terrace, it dawned on me recently that bringing home a dog potty might save me both time and energy.
I decided to test several high-end Wee Wee Pads to find the perfect solution.
Wizdog is a 21" X 28" plastic pan with a fitted grate on which liquid waste dispenses through to a newspaper or an absorbent pad. Atticus didn't take to the $40 solution, but that's probably more due to the fact that he's used to relieving himself on grass or the curb. The product seems best fit for puppies and dogs already experienced with pads or newspaper. And while it
is rather small, Wizdog suggests combining two of the products together to cover more surface — but that will also double your costs.
UGODOG: At 24" x 19", the $50 plastic pan and fitted grate is similar to the Wizdog. But with two smaller grids, it is easier to clean, and, we should add, its neutral color (compared to Wizdog's bright blue) makes it more aesthetically pleasing. Urine passes through the grates and onto newspaper or a Wee Wee Pad, but unlike the Wizdog, it doesn't have to be absorbent. You can simply have liquids pass through to the pan and empty it out every night. Again, Atticus didn't take to it, but we know why.
Pet Loo: At about 33" x 33", the Pet Loo is designed with synthetic grass that filters urine into a reservoir on the base's side, which can simply be removed and dumped into the toilet. This makes the Pet Loo a bit more environmentally friendly that the previous two solutions as you don't need to waste newspaper or pads to collect pee. The grass and the base beneath can be cleaned with warm water, leaving the contraption entirely odorless. Considering that my dog prefers doing his business on grass, both Atticus and I were quite pleased with the Pet Loo.
Porch Potty, however, was the clear winner. At 28" x 52", it is, indeed, the largest model we tested, but that may have also been what made it most effective. Unlike the Pet Loo, Porch Potty has
two cleaning options. The Standard $249 model, which we tested, uses a provided "catch basin" (read: bowl) placed beneath a hole in the center of its base that collects all liquid waste. At $30 more, the Premium model features a built-in sprinkler system that requires a connection to a garden hose. Two sprinklers spray the grass clean, while a drainage hose — which hopefully you've snaked over to your nearest rain gutter or patio drain — dispenses the soiled water. Atticus found the Porch Potty roomy and spacious, and the synthetic grass has, indeed, remained odorless and easy to clean with a few sprays of a water bottle every day.
If you have enough space and prefer to use a system featuring synthetic grass, we'd recommend the Porch Potty (which also offers training sod instead of grass). That being said, the Pet Loo is equally expensive, but if you don't need as much space as the Porch Potty offers, it is definitely a worthy buy. And between Wizdog and UGODOG — both of which feature grates instead of grass — we'd recommend springing the extra $10 for the latter, which looks more better and doesn't require the use of newspapers or wee-wee pads.
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