FAQs and Answers

Answers to the most frequently asked questions.

1. What is the Sod Service and how much does it cost?
2. What the box is and is not:
3. What does the customer need to do to care for the box?
4. How does the customer get their dog to go potty on the Pooch Potty Box
5. What if my dog likes to dig or chew the grass?
6. Is the Pooch Potty box returnable/refundable?
7. How sturdy or durable is the Pooch Potty box?
8. Can't I just get the Sod myself? Wouldn't that save me money?
9. What should I do when it rains on my Pooch Potty box?
10. Why does Pooch Potty promote cleaning the box out once a week when other companies promote using the same piece of sod for months?
11. What is the difference between Pooch Potty and other potty boxes?
12. What is involved in cleaning out my Pooch Potty weekly?
13. Where can I find housetraining tips?
14. Other Helpful Tips.
    1. What is the Sod Service and how much does it cost?
    2. Contact Beach Dog Potty for weekly sod service. [ Back to top ]
    3. What the box is and is not:
    4. We explain to new customer that the box is not a planter box and the grass is not designed to grow. In order for the grass to live and grow, the sod would have to actually be planted (there is a competitor that does sell a box designed for this purpose, and we often refer people to them).The competitor's planter box involves more work for the customer, they have to put down a layer of soil, then plant a layer of sod, then upkeep the box(similar to what it would be like to grow grass in your backyard). One major side effect to growing permanent grass, is that there is no odor control and it eventually tends to stink. Ultimately, the dog urine will kill the grass anyway!The Pooch Potty box is designed to be a self contained holder for grass that is supposed to be disposable. The box is made of sturdy vinyl so that every time the sod is changed out, the box can be sprayed down with Nature's Miracle and cleaned out. For sanitary reasons, this is really the best way to keep a clean potty area for your dog.The planter boxes that our competitor sells are made of wood, so the dog's urine may soak into the wood, causing a permanent odor that can't be eradicated. [ Back to top ]
    5. What does the customer need to do to care for the box?
    6. They should pick up all doggie poop as soon as they notice it (if they leave it to site there, it may attract flies to the area).They should water the sod, enough to keep it alive between changing, but not too much so that it gets muddy (there is no drain on the box). If the box is in some sun and some shade, then a light amount of water once every four or five days should be sufficient. If the box is in direct sun most of the time, then they will have to water it more often. Due to the different environments Pooch Potty customers live in, we encourage customers to experiment to evaluate if the box needs to be watered, and how much.[ Back to top ]
    7. How does the customer get their dog to go potty on the Pooch Potty box?
    8. If their dog knows to go to the bathroom on grass then it is usually really easy. The first time they introduce their dog to the Pooch Potty box, they should put their dog on a leash, get their poop bags in hand and then, "go for a walk" out to where the box is The dog should get the idea that they are supposed to go to the bathroom on the Pooch Potty grass.If this doesn't work, the customer can try putting "Housebreaking Aid Drops" on the grass (available at most pet stores). Or even better yet, get a neighbor's dog to come over and get the box "started" by making a little potty on it!If a dog has been trained to only go on Wee Wee pads and not grass, then the customer may have to work with a dog trainer to retrain their dog One suggestion, is to move the Wee Wee pads on top of the Pooch Potty sod for a few days and let the dog get used to it, Then to gradually fold the wee wee pads in half, so that it is half grass, half wee wee pad. Then to eventually get rid of the wee wee pads altogether (that is if the dog has made the transition).[ Back to top ]
    9. What if my dog likes to dig or chew the grass?
    10. The box is designed with a lip, so that there is no exposed soil or dirt (which is usually attractive to a dog who likes to dig.). However, you may want to supervise hour dog for the first few days or weeks while he is on his Pooch Potty box to make sure to immediately discourage him from digging.If you can't break his digging habit, you may have to work with a dog trainer, or else only allow him out to the Pooch Potty box when you can supervise himA lot of puppies like to chew, anything, everything. So the same thing applies when you first get a Pooch Potty box. You should supervise them and teach them not to chew the grass. It may take several months or even a year for them to outgrow this puppy chewing stage. If they are very young, they most likely are being crate trained anyway, so will not be outside alone without supervision. You may want to try spraying your Pooch Potty grass with Bitter Apple Spray (available at most pet stores). It tastes bitter and is designed to deter dogs from chewing.[ Back to top ]
    11. Is the Pooch Potty box returnable/refundable?
    12. No Unfortunately, due to sanitary reasons, we are not able to take back a box for a refund, once it has been used. [ Back to top ]
    13. How sturdy or durable is the Pooch Potty box?
    14. Extremely. we have some customers who have their original boxes still, even after six or seven years! If for anytime, during the life of the dog, the Pooch Potty box should crack or break, we will exchange it for a new box(no one has ever taken us up on this offer, that is how well made our boxes are!) [ Back to top ]
    15. Can't I just get the sod myself? Wouldn't that save me money??
    16. Yes! of course you can! We tell customers they can certainly service their own box. They can find the sod at Armstrong's Garden Center or a local Nursery. Sometimes they will have a hard time finding a place that will sell it by the piece. If that is the case, customers may contact us for suggestions.However, after a few trips back an forth to pick up the sod, bringing it home in their car (their car gets dirty), bringing it upstairs to their residence, and changing out the old sod(it is a stinky job)...most people realize that their free time is valuable and they prefer the convenience and no-mess of just having someone else do the sod service for them. There are many companies who offer sod service but we only recommend Beach Dog Potty because they are honest, ethical and reliable, and have a similar business philosophy to ours. They only offer weekly sod service, because they understand that providing your dog a sanitary potty place is the number one priority. [ Back to top ]
    17. What should I do when it rains on my Pooch Potty Box?
    18. There is no drain in the box (it is designed that way, so that urine doesn't leak and smell up the peoples deck or patio).So when it rains, the water has nowhere to go but turn the grass in to mud.The customer needs to either get the box out of the rain (drag it under an overhang from the roof) or else put up a temporary tarp of some sort (over the box) so that the rain can run off the box. [ Back to top ]
    19. Why does Pooch Potty promote cleaning the box out once a week when other companies promote using the same piece of sod for months?
    20. Some companies will tell you this in order to sell you a higher priced product (and lead you to believe you will be saving money in weekly sod costs). What they don't tell you is the health hazards of using the same piece of urinated sod for too long will create a breeding ground for bacteria. Not to mention the odor associated with it. The safe and sanitary way to successfully bring a dog potty product into your lifestyle is to thoroughly clean your box out and replace the sod on a weekly basis. If you are on a budget and cannot afford our sod service, we will gladly tell you where you can buy your own sod and do it yourself.[ Back to top ]
    21. What is the difference between Pooch Potty and other potty boxes?
    22. Please don't be fooled by our imitators, some have even gone so far as to have strikingly similar product names as to confuse you. We are the original dog potty product, in business since 1994!Some companies make boxes with a tray underneath and customers are led to believe that the urine is going to drain into the tray. Sod is extremely absorbent and retains moisture. The only way to get the urine out would be to flush it with a high amount of water and use pressure to squeeze it out. Unfortunately, even if you go through all of this effort, you cannot completely flush out all of the bacteria and using the same piece of sod for more than a week is a very risky health hazard to your dog.In addition, the acid from the urine is going to kill the sod anyway - so be wary if another company is promoting using the same piece of sod for any longer than a week. Ask them if they guarantee your dog won't get sick from being exposed to the bacteria for so long and if they will reimburse any vet bills you might incur as a result of using their product in the way they are suggesting. [ Back to top ]
    23. What is involved in cleaning out my Pooch Potty weekly?
    24. The soiled sod needs to be rolled up and discarded. Then your box should be thoroughly cleaned out with a pet safe cleaning product. A fresh piece of sod should be installed for another week of potty usage. All good dogs deserve a nice piece of grass to go potty on! [ Back to top ]
    25. Where can I find housetraining tips?
    26. You can click here to view our page on housetraining! [ Back to top ]
    27. Other Helpful Tips:
    28. If you have a boy dog and he "misses" the box when he goes pee pee, try to spray down where he went, with a hose or clean it with Nature's Miracle. Otherwise, it will smell and the odor may attract flies (when the dogs pee directly on the grass, the urine gets soaked down underneath into the soil, it doesn't smell until we pull the old sod out to change it).If this is an ongoing problem, the urine on the patio or the side of the box (where the dog is missing his aim) will roll under the box an the odor gets really bad. Some customers have solved this problem by putting bricks under the box and that way they can keep the entire patio clean by hosing it off. Amazingly, just by raising the box a few inches off the ground, some dogs have started to have better aim and fewer accidents off the box![ Back to top ]