This may seem strange to some of you guys who don't live in an apartment in a city on the second floor. But, we have no backyard and no easy access for our puppy to go to the bathroom. When its raining(which it does A LOT in Seattle) at midnight and your in your pajamas, walking around the neighborhood is not an enjoyable task. Because of this we came up with the idea to make a grass patch on our patio for our puppy (Dixie) to use. We started pricing wood and even found a few companies who make *patio dog potties* all of which were way over priced and some even charged up to $200!
We wanted to recycle and re-purpose things we already had.
So this is what we came up with.
Fell free to ask questions if you have any!
So this is what we came up with.
Fell free to ask questions if you have any!
Dustin Took apart a pallet that we found while walking home.
This pallet was slightly smaller than the usual ones and had a good sheet of wood on top.
Cost=$0
To protect the wood from rotting Dustin used a tarp. The tarp was cut to line the bottom of the box and then nailed in place. The tarp was used under our tent when we were in Hawaii.
Cost-was 0$ and re-purposed
The other pieces of wood were nailed onto the sides to complete the box. Dustin made one side higher then the other so that the water from the grass could drain off the patio if it gets too wet.
Cost for Dustin's time-1 Kona Beer :)
Rocks were needed to line the bottom of the box so that the grass could drain and the soil would not fall out. I found free rocks down by the railroad tracks.
Cost 0$
We added Potting soil over the rocks and let Dixie smash it down for us. We had potting soil for our patio plants already. I'm sure you could go find free dirt somewhere.
Sod was the only thing we did have to purchase. It happens to be out of season here in Washington so we had to drive out of the city to get it.
Sod Cost- $3.50.
The finished Porch Potty.
Cost-$3.50
Dixie uses it all the time and it helps so much with house breaking!
We also found a sliding glass door doggy door on Craigslist for $25.
This way Dixie can go inside and outside all by her self.
UPDATE-
We made another potty patch using fake sod so it is lighter and easier to clean. You can check out that tutorial on our page Here.
16 comments:
awesome! so what are you going to do when the grass grows and gets too tall??
She is sorta like a goat. I think she will eat it before it gets long! if not. Scissors!
haha nice :)
we have a corner of our patio that is dirt and I've though about putting grass in it. but it's a little too big to cut with scissors!
plus i'm sure i'd forget to water it and it'd die.
great idea. This doesn't make Breezy (or my) life easier but I think the craziest thing I've done for her is buy her pajamas. No, she defiantely does not need pajamas....but come on, a dog in pajamas is freakin adorable.
Wendy-you could get one of those awesome old school push mowers!
Jess! HAHAHA! I would love to see a picture of breezy in her Pjs! I bet she is so snugly!
This is so great...Dixie is a very lucky pup! Thanks for the idea about where to find stones. I finally got the potting soil for my herb garden but keep forgetting the drainage stones!
Ya, You cant beat free rocks. Who would want to buy rocks when you can find them!?
clever and fun!
Thanks FisherLady! Our Dixie is 7 months old and completely potty trained! Having the grass patch has been amazing for us!
I really like this idea. I'm moving into an upstairs apartment in a few weeks and have been looking for a dog potty for my deck/patio area. How did you clean it? Did it ever start to smell?
Hey Ashley! It is invaluable to have a porch potty especially on a city and on the second floor! It is way easier on cold mornings and the times you just don't have the time to walk outside for a long walk.( i obviously don't recommend using this instead of talking a dog out side for play time and walks.)
After a while the potty did start to smell so we used diluted bleach or enzyme cleaner like Pet-tastic. The potty was rained on A lot and was always damp living in Seattle, and we noticed our dog tracking in some dirt on the carpet. We did switch out to fake grass later because of that. We would have stayed with the SOD had it been easier to locate in Seattle. Hopefully that answers your question.
This is perfect! This is exactly what I have been looking for. Do the rocks and soil do a good job of draining? Do you have any holes in the bottom or anything use have for draining?
Hi, great idea!
How does the water get out of the box? did you cut a hole in the tarp? I was thinking of drilling a 3" hole in the bottom of the box and then tilting it accordingly so that the water can run through and out of the box, also I am looking into installing a sprinkler with timer it can turn on at least once a day.. but any advise on how to make the water drain out of the box is appreciated.
Thanks for the idea!
Hey Cherisa! the rocks and soil did a great job of draining for us. The box was built with an angle which allowed it to drain well. Thanks for checking out the blog!I hope the potty patch works great for you!
Anon- The box was set at an angle(tilt is the key) so that it could drain. There was a slot left in the wood for the pee to drain. Impossible to see in any of those pictures. (sorry)
I just created another DIY porch potty on my blog made with fake grass and better photos. It might be helpful to look at the construction. Im not sure about a sprinkler system because it might make the grass and dirt soggy. I live in Seattle(sprinklers in form of rain constantly) the grass ended up muddy and i switched to fake grass after a few months.
Let me know if you have any other questions and be sure to look at the fake grass tutorial-
http://www.kymanddustinadventures.com/2011/11/diy-dog-potty-patch-fake-grass.html
I was wondering how long the grass stayed alive. I have read that grass won't stay alive very long without quite a bit of soil under it. Thanks for the help, I am looking into making one of these and am trying to decide if I should use fake or real grass.
I love that you guys created a potty place for your pup with re-purposed products. Thanks for the step-by-step!
Post a Comment