[Momily]

Does anyone have any experience with indoor dog potties that are basically a pad of scented fake grass? I'm wondering if I should get one for my dog Lyle.

Lyle is about 2 years old, a sweet little rescue dog who has been with us about 7 months. He was recently diagnosed with crystals in his urine and a tiny bladder stone, probably caused by "holding" his urine too long.

I work long hours. I've been sending him to daycare every other day, which helps keep him active and happy during the day, but I worry that his trying to hold it all day (which he seems to, I'm still half convinced he's peeing somewhere hidden, but if so I can't find it), especially days like today when something came up and I was gone 11 hours instead of the 8 I planned, is contributing to the problem.

I can only afford daycare every other day right now. In the fall things will change - we're moving somewhere less expensive, plus my son will be in middle school and come home at 3 instead of 6 like he does now, but I need a solution for the next few months. A friend of mine has one of those doggie "potties" and Lyle, who is reliably housebroken at home went straight to it and peed on it, but missed and got it all over the floor. I'm wondering if I got one and put it in the shower stall (so if he missed, no big deal) if that would make him feel more comfortable.

What do you think?

 

[Oubliette8]

its certainly an idea that could help. Another idea- could you look into a dog walker? I'd imagine having a dog walker come once in the middle of the day would be cheaper than a full day of daycare. Of course, he wouldn't be getting the exercise and mental stimulation of day care, but maybe you could find a balance? Daycare twice a week and dog walker the other days, or whatever would work out financially for you.

The shower stall is a good idea if you go with the potty. I had a large dog once that trained himself to use the bathtub. I got out of the shower one day and discovered he REALLY had to go- well we were several stories up and I was naked, and the whole apartment was carpeted, so when he started to go on the floor, I threw him in the tub and told him that was a better choice- and from that day on, whenever he thought I was taking too long to let him out, he peed in the tub. some people would probably find it gross, but really, its easier to clean out the tub than it is to get a gallon of German Shepherd pee out of the carpet! Beyond that one episode I never encouraged him to use the bath tub, but I was certainly happier with that choice than the floor!

 

[Ola_]

I agree that a dog walker every day would be better than a daycare every other day. That is if you work every day, if you only work on certain days then I'd do the daycare then.

For the indoor potty you can try that, though some dogs are very against the idea of pottying in their den. I know one of my dogs is totally this way. If you do want to try it I'd put the pad in an area you don't normally use perhaps, certainly as far from where Lyle eats, sleeps, and hangs out as possible.

Have you considered a raw diet? Someone I know switched to it after her dog had urinary issues and they never had a problem after that. She is certain that it helped. Raw has the moisture as part of the food which is easier for the body to process than dry food and drinking water separately.

 

[Momily]

I guess my hesitation about the dog walker comes from 3 angles.

1) Is that my life isn't always predictable. To give you an example, a few weeks ago, I put Lyle in his crate (something I generally only do if I'm gone for less than 3 hours because he invariably spills his water and then has nothing to drink in the crate), and took DS to get his locs done (should have been about 2 2 1/2 hours). While there a friend called and invited him over so I decided to drive him there before I went home -- which would have made it 3 hours. While I was driving there, I got a call from his grandma that she was having leg pains that felt like blood clots, so I dropped DS got grandma and went to the hospital with her -- Lyle was in the crate for 11 hours. Given that, I'd love to have a solution that worked automatically e.g. Lyle always has access, not just when I set up the dog walking appointment.

2) I live in a pretty unsafe neighborhood. I can't walk him after work right now because it's dark/unsafe. I'd be willing to walk him, but I'm not willing to leave DS alone or to have DS out walking with me. If he goes to daycare for 12 hours then he's tired and happy for a couple of days, if all he gets is a midday walk from the dogwalker he's antsy and crabby because that just isn't enough exercise. I could do 2 walks or an hour long walk, but that's the same cost as 5 days of daycare which I just can't do.

3) I really don't like people in my house. This is not a major concern, I can get over this if need be, but it's true.

I really think he's pretty happy with our schedule, and doesn't seem desperate to pee when I come home (even after the 11 hour day, and since he was in his crate that time I know he didn't slink off and pee somewhere secret). But I'm sure the not peeing/drinking plays a role in the bladder stone.

As to whether he'll use it, like I said he used it at someone else's house. He's also peed on things that smell like outside when I bring them inside (camping equipment) or on things in other indoor locations where other dogs have peed (e.g. at the vet, petsmart), so I think he'd probably pee on it if it smelled right. He has the run of a room and the attached bathroom while I'm gone. I'm thinking that the shower stall is a good idea because he's a leg lifter so I need to protect the wall behind the pee pad.

 

[Ola_]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Momily As to whether he'll use it, like I said he used it at someone else's house. He's also peed on things that smell like outside when I bring them inside (camping equipment) or on things in other indoor locations where other dogs have peed (e.g. at the vet, petsmart), so I think he'd probably pee on it if it smelled right. He has the run of a room and the attached bathroom while I'm gone. I'm thinking that the shower stall is a good idea because he's a leg lifter so I need to protect the wall behind the pee pad.

Somehow I missed this before - sorry! In that case I'd give it a try as long as it's not an expensive setup so it's not a problem in case it doesn't work for whatever reason.

It sounds like in your area either the dog walkers are really expensive or doggie daycare is cheap! Here a day at doggie daycare is more expensive than an hour walk. I hope the new place is safer for you to walk after dark, that must make things much more difficult.

 

[Momily]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ola_ Somehow I missed this before - sorry! In that case I'd give it a try as long as it's not an expensive setup so it's not a problem in case it doesn't work for whatever reason. It sounds like in your area either the dog walkers are really expensive or doggie daycare is cheap! Here a day at doggie daycare is more expensive than an hour walk. I hope the new place is safer for you to walk after dark, that must make things much more difficult.

Dog walkers here are about $12 to $15 for a 20 to 30 minute walk. I'm relatively sure that the dog walker we used to use "cut corners" a fair amount because I'd come home and find poop on the floor, something that in my experience meant that he went out for too short a period of time. He'd poop 20-25 minutes in to a walk, so if you brought him home after 15 he'd be desperate to go a few minutes later. (Note: we solved that problem by switching his food).

In comparison, Daycare is $30 for up to 16 hours, if I buy a package. So 5 days of 20 minute (or 5, I'm not here to see) equals 2 days of daycare.

 

[Asiago]

The pad in a shower stall is really ideal. We did that for a while and clean up is a snap if you have a male that squats and tends to squirt over the pad edge. If you have a male that is a leg hiker, then some folks tape the pad to the wall which works also. It only works with the disposables though.

You can get the 'human' disposables at any drug store, Target, Walmart, etc and they tend to be sized larger, more absorbant, and priced better than the pet product.

Another choice is the washables. Again there are washable pet potty pads but the human bed pads are excellent and come in various sizes, they launder nicely.

 

[Momily]

Hmmm, I don't know if he'd use a "sposie". We have 2 friends with pee pads for their dog, and have visited both. One has this: http://www.amazon.com/PetZoom-Pet-Pa.../dp/B002ZHRTAK. He lifted his leg and sprayed the wall behind it the second he saw it, even though that friend has never been able to convince her dog to use it so it was unused.

The other one has the disposable pads, and the one was clean when we were there -- he ignored it the whole time.

 

[couponqueen]

We use the washable pee pads for our shih tzu. I bought them off of ebay. I think I paid $25.00 for five. Before I found those, I paid $33.00 for three. I really like them. We just add a little bleach in the washer and it takes care of the odor.

 

[rcr]

We used the human disposable pee pads, which were much cheaper than the pet kind. Worked very well for the time that we were using them (just before our dog died).

 

[Momily]

How do you train a reliably housetrained dog, who has gone up to 18 hours without peeing, that he can pee on a cloth or disposable pad. With the grass thing he seemed to instinctively "get" that it was a place to pee -- maybe because it was grass, or maybe the smell?

But I assume that if I got a washable pad, or a disposable pad, he'd never try it, so I wouldn't be able to reward him for trying.

The issue is that he holds it fine all day -- 12 hours is no problem. Except that he has the bladder stones and holding it aggravates them.

 

[Ola_]

They have "scented" sprays at some pet stores, that I'm guessing smell like someone has peed there before and makes them want to pee on top of it. Might be worth a try.

Something like this: http://www.jbpet.com/Train-Um,1879.html