When I said using indoor grass for dogs is lazy, I learned some people are convinced fake grass for dogs is the world’s greatest invention. I disagree. I still think it’s lazy.
Here are 10 reasons not to buy fake grass for your dog. Some of the ideas came from comments on my last post. For more information, check out my post on 10 reasons to buy fake indoor grass for dogs.
1. Owners of small dogs have enough problems with housebreaking.
We all know at least one person who owns a Yorkie, Maltese, Chihuahua or Pomeranian that pees in the house. I’m not talking about old dogs that can’t hold it. I’m talking about 2-year-old dogs that still aren’t potty trained.
If the owner can’t train her dog to go to the bathroom outside (one of the easiest things to teach a dog), how will she train her dog to pee on fake grass? This will only encourage the dog to pee on carpet, rugs, couches and mattresses. I am a professional pet sitter and I see examples of this every week.
2. What about dogs that lift their legs?
Are you going to buy him a few fake trees and bushes to go along with that grass? Or maybe he’ll just pee on the wall?
3. Fake grass for dogs is not the same as a litter box.
Cats have dignity and cover up after themselves. Dogs using this product won’t be covering up anything. They’ll probably step right in it. Or maybe they’ll do that thing where they kick their back legs and fling some poop onto your carpet. My dog has an annoying habit of walking while he poops. If I bought fake grass for him, he would probably walk right off the edge!
4. Dogs are not as sanitary as cats.
Cats are naturally clean animals. Dogs are naturally filthy. They are careless, they roll in things and they eat garbage, dead animals and poop.
5. There are other options than the “Potty Patch” if you work long hours.
Dogs shouldn’t be left alone for too long. Many people who work long shifts have dogs, but they come home during their breaks, take their dogs to daycare or hire a dog walker or pet sitter. Dogs are pack animals and need interaction. Leaving a dog home for 12 hours or more several days a week is similar to leaving a dog chained in a yard.
6. Fake grass for dogs won’t take away all issues.
The average housebroken dog can go eight or nine hours without going to the bathroom. If you are leaving your dog home for shorter periods and she is having accidents, there might be a bigger issue than her not being able to hold it. She could have a bladder infection or anxiety. If you have recently moved, she might not understand where she can and can’t go to the bathroom. Purchasing indoor fake grass is unlikely to solve these problems.
7. “At least the dog has a home” is a poor excuse.
Dogs need more than food, water and a place to relieve themselves. Some of the country’s most troubled, abused dogs are the ones confined to basements, kennels and backyards. They never get walked, trained, exercised or socialized, but because these dogs live in nice homes (with fake grass!) nobody says anything.
8. Lots of dogs eat their own poop.
Let’s face it, many of them do. I think this would be too tempting for a lot of dogs. Some dogs will eat their poop and their owners won’t even know it.
9. The dog will get walked less.
Most dogs don’t get walked enough already. This product will give owners another excuse not to walk the dog. It’s bad enough that so many small dogs get nothing more than a five-minute walk to relieve themselves. Now some will be lucky if they get outside at all.
10. Training a dog to use this won’t be as easy as it sounds.
Owners who don’t have time to let their dogs out are not going to take the time to properly teach the dog how to use the indoor grass. Dogs conditioned to go outside are not going to understand the concept of peeing on fake grass in the house. They will have to be trained, and it could take a week or months for them to learn, depending on the dog and the owner. Most dogs will never fully understand the concept.
What’s your opinion on fake indoor grass for dogs?
Check back next week for 10 reasons people buy the “Potty Patch“ and other products.
Discuss this issue further at my new dog forum – Fake grass for dogs
Recent Search Terms:
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if its not a good idea why do dog experts like:
Victoria Stilwell,
Zack Goerge etc
use it I think that your not as clever as them so shut up you and everyone if you don’t know
There is a dog “expert” out there to recommend every product. One dog expert will recommend a shock collar while another will say it’s inhumane. One dog expert will recommend a retractable, Flexi leash while another advises against it. Every product out there will work well for some dog/owner pairs and not for others.
As I read this list, I feel like the reasons were too generalised and rather “worst case scenario”. I agree with the concept here but not the actual reasons. Mind you, this isn’t a personal attack…I just am not convinced by the reasoning here.
The thing is, small breed dogs aren’t harder to train; they just are more likely to come with bad habits. There’s nothing inherently wrong with small dogs that makes them hard to train. All problems in this field can be attributed to the humans (breeders? first owner? rescue workers?) Being consistent and very diligent in your training has nothing to do with the breed of the dog but of the work ethic and dedication of the owner.
I think Number 2 on the list is rather clever, actually. My dog has learned that he only wants to pee in ivy because at my old place, the grass was surrounded by HUGE patches of ivy. Well, I’m moving and there’s no ivy to be found in downtown. I may try and buy him some fake ivy to surround the fake grass to make him feel more at home. (He’ll be peeing at night in the parking structure because walking around at 11pm downtown by myself is like asking to be mugged.)
Yes, having fake grass is unsanitary. Yes, dogs are gross and will eat their own poo. Neither of these things are really reasons not to buy fake grass though. To me, it seems like fake grass is *infinitely* more work than just taking my dog out to pee on the corner.
The fact of the matter is, there’s always a responsible and an irresponsible way to use the tools that are out there for dog owners. You can’t blame the dog for peeing everywhere if you haven’t taught him the difference. I feel like maybe it’s the same thing for dog owners. You can’t blame them for using a product wrong when you haven’t shown them the right way to use it.
Think about fake grass this way: If you treated fake grass like it was just a piece of the outside that you’ve brought inside, then you wouldn’t really be dealing with all these problems. If you put the fake grass in an isolated area, if you put a harness/collar/leash on your dog before walking him out to the fake grass (wherever it may be), if you cleaned it immediately and frequently, you can avoid almost every reason not to buy fake grass on this list. Don’t blame the product. Blame the owner. To me, tool use is all about the PERSON making a conscious decision to use a tool in a specific way.
Well said. Thank you for your thoughtful and respectful comment.
Our next door neighbors use this..it is horrible. They have a real small porch, 4×4 or so, they throw the dog outside on that stupid fake grass & the dog barks & barks..I have never seen them clean it, gross. Worst thing is they have a huge fenced in yard! They are the epitomy of lazy..even when they walk the dog (few times a month), they immediately put it outside on that stupid fake grass & the barking commences yet again!
Unfortunately these are the types of people who are going to buy this product.
I think most people that buy the indoor potties for their dog, do so with very good reason since, if you have a yard, it is much easier to let the dog use the yard. We have purchased the Potty Park and previously used it in a condo with a doggy door out to a walled back patio. I would also like to point out that our dog gets regular walks and exercise every single day.
Now we have moved to a different condo without a yard, a doggy door or an enclosed patio. We want her to be comfortable if we’re gone for a long stretch during the day so we are currently training her to use the Potty Park indoors (she doesn’t seem to want to use it indoors though, so it will take time). We’ve put it in the shower of an extra bathroom and it’s hidden with a shower curtain so no one even has to see it.
The potty has a tray below that is very easy to remove and dump into the toilet. I did find that the urine has a strong odor in the tray so I came up with a solution. I sprinkle a bit of Smelleze in a small biodegradable tray that I place inside the Potty Park tray. It solidifies the urine and there is no longer an odor.
I don’t think buying an indoor dog potty is lazy. I think it shows a lot of love that you do what you can to make sure your dog is comfortable. Besides, indoor potty’s require regular maintenance so you can’t have one and be lazy anyway. As long as your dog is still getting plenty of exercise, an indoor dog potty can be the perfect solution for many people and many dogs.
Thanks for the great feedback, Dahlia!
Wow, lots of interesting feedback here. I think it all comes down to good owners vs. bad owners.
I have a dog that is somewhat incontinent (needs to pee every 10-20 minutes). The grass pad has made her life more pleasant and saved the floor. I work from home and she has access to real grass too. She just uses what is most convenient for her and it makes her a pretty happy pooch. And thank goodness she has never eaten her own feces, though it gets cleaned up pretty fast.
There are many people out there that should not be dog owners and use this as an excuse to leave their poor dog locked up all day, but there are also a few responsible ones out there.
Thanks for writing this post!
Thanks, Jessica!
If the fake grass works for your dog, then that’s what counts. To call someone lazy for finding a solution is really pure ignorance. I can’t believe some of the earlier posts from people. Just because it doesnt work for you, doesnt mean it’s not a good solution for someone else.
This is a post where everyone is free to share his or her own opinion.
I just got a beautiful bullgod puppy, and I am in the military. I love dogs, and I am about to get out, for the time being, we live in an apartment on the 3rd floor. Now we take him out every hour for a run, and after each time he eats, or wakes up, or after hes done playing, we take him out as well, and we have him on a good schedule, but there are times when my girlfriend and I have to be at work, and there are 3-4 hours in between where he will be alone. So I wanted to try and get the fake grass so when we leave, he knows to go out the doggy door to the porch to pee…It has been 4 days, and I trained him to bark at the door when he has to go potty, so I believe I can train him to do use this properly, just in case of emergency’s
Good luck. I hope it works well.
My wife and I recently purchased a Potty Pad (artificial turf) for our new Corgi puppy. This decision was influenced by a couple factors.
1. We live in downtown St Louis and walking a dog late at night is not safe for my wife (I do this unless I’m out of town).
2. When house-breaking and our puppy is caught in the act of eliminating inside it is easier to stop him and move him to the pad versus going down the elevator and a grassy area.
I was aprehensive about the pads but since starting ther use Louie (our pup) has started going right to the pad. He still gets walked 3-4 times a day outside for not only exercise but to reinforce outdoor training.
My hope is that once he is house broken and can hold his bladder through the night and/or more than 3 hours we can slowly remove the pad.
My only fear is that when we move to a house (within a year) will the indoor training carry over? The new location will allow us to walk and/or let outside at all hours.
Time will tell by for now it definitely has made life easier on all of us.
I am glad it is working out OK. A common problem people run into when they remove the pad is that the dog has already learned to go inside and then starts to go on the floor where the pad was or on rugs and things that look similar to the pad. But as long as you are consistent with training, I’m sure you will be fine. The problem, as you know, is that most people are not consistent.
I think your article has a lot of a very valid reasons. I spent a huge amount of time training my dog and ensuring he is 100% housetrained, and it pains me that I am considering this product at all. Unfortunatly my dog has IMHA, a very deadly immune system issue and with the drugs he is on he just cannot hold it any longer than 3 hours. We have had to resort to pee pads and potentially a litter box with fake grass, as the alternative is for him to go on the floor. So while I agree with a lot of this, please understand its not all lazy dog owners, but sometimes ill or elderly dogs that might make use of these.
I do understand. I appreciate your comment, and I am sorry your dog has an immune system issue. I hope that some sort of setup with pads or fake grass will make his life more comfortable. And less stressful for you!
We have a small dog that hates to go outside to do his business when it is wet or cold. I do not blame him, his little bottom is too close to the cold, wet area. we are looking for option for him to use when the weather is too cold or wet. are not lazy, as know that indoor options are labor intensive to keep clean. but want to have option for him to use for his comfort. We live in the mountains, and weather can be pretty cold here.