Potty Time: When a Dog Potty Makes Sense

By Meredeth Barzen

A dog is not a cat. We at Sidewalk Dog know this—very well, in fact—but there is one advantage cats have over dogs. They can use litter boxes, a fact that they lord over their canine counterparts on those 6-degree winter days.

A well-trained pooch shows off his skills on a Doggy Solutions potty.

Well, the cat’s about to come out of the bag on that myth: There are indeed litter boxes designed for dogs of all shapes and sizes, which can be used indoors or on a balcony or patio. This isn’t to say that you should stick a “dog potty box” (as they’re called in the biz) in the corner and leave Fido to his own devices at home all day, but there are some situations when this solution makes sense. Kerry Graf—founder and owner of Doggy Solutions, which makes attractive dog potty boxes with special K9Grass or gravel and posh details like architectural-grade wood and custom models—gives four scenarios when a doggy potty might be a good fit:

1. When an individual lives in a residence (a condo, apartment or townhouse) that does not have easy access to a yard. While it is not meant to replace those all-important walks to give the dog necessary exercise and socialization, it can be incredibly helpful when the weather is bad, the hour is late or early or when the dog owner gets delayed at work.

Doggy Solutions' elevated canopy model

2. During the housetraining process when puppies need to go frequently. Having an acceptable potty area readily available can really help the puppy be successful sooner. For training purposes, some new puppy owners will start with the potty in an indoor location even though its ultimate placement may be on a balcony or patio. With puppies, we strongly recommend simultaneous training to an outdoor location so the puppy learns that both the potty as well as outside are acceptable options.

3. Geriatric and special-needs dogs are great candidates. Many dogs have medical issues that cause them to urinate frequently and it is not practical to take them for a walk every time they need to go.

4. Some senior citizens may not be able to get their dog out as frequently as they should. A potty can help solve this problem and allow them to keep this very important companion by their side for longer.

Luc, Sidewalk Dog’s resident lemon (see category number three above), used a Doggy Solutions potty as a pup when his mom lived at Loring Park City Apartments. If you decide to use a dog potty box, fall is the perfect time to train your pup to use one, before the potty-training-adverse days of winter are upon us. Since we’re no experts on potty training (human or canine), we asked another expert on the subject for her top tips on teaching a dog to use a potty—Molly Feeney, owner and lead trainer at Just Paws Puppy Training. Here’s what she suggests:

1. Start the training ASAP—never put off any training with any dog. The sooner, the better, so they don’t become freaked out when you really need them to use it. You can even put the potty right out your front door so they understand what the potty means.

2. It will take some time and solid training to get your dog to use a potty. It’s not going to happen overnight. Keep the area around the potty small and enclosed so they have only one option: to use it. Don’t give up after one week, stay committed and consistent and call in a professional if needed.

3. Be sure to train your pup to “go potty” just as you teach them to sit, lay down, shake, etc. You must teach them a command to eliminate before expecting them to understand what a doggy potty is.

Now if we could just teach our dogs to drink tea and read The New York Times, they’d almost be civilized …