Indoor Dog Potty

I have two mini Dachshunds who are trained primarily to go outside but I do put down Pooch Pads (which I love...washable) in case I don't hear their bark or in the middle of the night they have to go or the winter when it's cold and they don't want to go out.Well, I thought that if I had one of these indoor dog potty things, with the grate, I wouldn't have to pick up the pad as soon as they went pee pee. My dogs don't want their feet to get pee on them...but outside they can dig a hole large enough for them to crawl into to try and catch that chipmunk. Anyway, that was the logic behind me buying this UGODOG Indoor Dog Potty.Well, it is now May 12th, 2011 and one time one of the girls pee'd on the pooch pad inside the UGODOG Dog Potty...after I removed the grates. With the grates, they wouldn't even think of stepping on it. So I said, ok, let's remove the grates until they get use to it. Well, as I said one time...and that was probably because both of them had to go in the winter and one used the large pad and the other didn't want to take the chance of stepping on some wet part of that pad. They are spoiled rotten...I admit that. That's why I've put off writing this review. Maybe, the girls would finally get use to it. I've given cookies if they would come on it. They come on, take the cookie and leave.So,I bought this thing on January 17th, 2011 and here it is May 12th, 2011 and still no success in getting them to step on this thing with the pooch pad inside that plastic catch all...they will go on the pooch pad for sure, but they don't want to step on that plastic container. The grates are out of the question.My advice is, if you are getting a new puppy and looking at this thing, maybe it will work. Get them use to it right up front. My girls are both small dachshunds, one 7.9, the other 8.9, so size isn't the issue. I'm not sure what the issue is really. Maybe it is giving off a smell from the plastic they don't like. I know that sounds weird but I bought my former two dachshunds a sleeping bag for dogs. They always got under covers, so a dog sleeping bag would be great. Never went near it for months. Then one day I just threw it in the wash when I did the other blankets for them. Well, low and behold, after getting some Fabric Softener on it, they were in it every day. I just don't know what to wash a plastic dog potty with that could remove any smell from the plastic...if that is the problem.All I know is that I've had it for 5 months and my dogs won't use it. I just wanted to cut down on the washing a little. This Dog Potty would work great if only I could get them to want to step on it. I have some small Pooch Pads that just fit beautifully in this Dog Potty, so the pee would be absorbed and I wouldn't have to worry about how to empty this dog potty, without spilling pee all over the floors.If anyone who reads this review has encountered this problem and come up with a resolution, please respond.If and when I get them to accept this UGODOG Indoor Dog Potty, I'll update the review, but until that happens, I can only give it a 2 star....it's looks well made.Update: May 15th, 2011.I went to the UGODOG.com and contacted the support team and they told me how to get the manual. If you're reading this review, then you're in the market for buying this product...so go and get a copy of the manual.Email: "Support@ugodog.net"[...]I primarily was interested in the last part that dealt with transition of using a pee pad to to the UGODOG Indoor Potty.I had success in just one day. It wasn't the smell that kept my little dogs from using the indoor dog potty, it was the stability of the tray on my HARDWOOD floors. After looking at the manual and exchanging several emails with the Support person at UGODOG.com, it just hit me like a brick...maybe it moves and they don't like that. Worth a try....so I put half of their Pooch Pad under the tray. I then put a disposable pee pad in the tray, so if they used it, I could follow the directions and cut the pee pad down daily for the sent until the girls where totally transitioned.Well, I put the tray on top of that Pooch Pad, pee pad in the tray, left for shopping and church, so I was gone from say 2 PM til 6 PM and when I came home, one of them had used the disposable pee pad in the tray. I knew they wouldn't want to step on that pee pad again either, so I turned it around and put the soiled part on top of the Pooch Pad, basically hanging over the tray so it could be used again. Later that night, I must not have heard the bark or someone just preferred to do their business on the pad, it was soiled again...two times in one day, my girls pee'd using the UGODOG Indoor Potty. Still not convinced that the stability thing was the issue, I folded up the disposable pee pad and put it under a small Pooch Pad and placed it inside the UGODOG Indoor Potty. The tray is still sitting on top of the Pooch Pad, leaving very little Pooch Pad visible, but giving stability to the tray on the hardwood floors. Well, next morning I got up and I believe Maggie had to go poop and used the Indoor Potty.Now that is success for less than 24 hours following the manuals suggestions. I'm well on my way to total success thanks to the Support person Kami at UGODOG.I would definitely recommend this product to a friend. Great for my small little girls Maggie & Molly

The free shipping makes me tolerate the price a bit more. Other than that, the product is fine (I purchased 2). I have 2 Shih Tzu who are 1-y.o. and 2-y.o. who were previously trained to use puppy pads.PRODUCTThe construction of the product seems durable. I don't expect the base to break anytime soon. I believe the grates will hold up for some time as well, though it would be nice if they sold replacements just in case. It is a bit small and makes me wonder how medium-large dogs could ever use this! Sometimes my dogs go off the side so I can't imagine a larger dog (especially if they like to spin like mine) making the mark.Some reviewers have mentioned that it's a bit of an eye sore, however, I find it to be a huge improvement over looking at a pee stained white pad! The product is a bit bulky so I will stick to puppy pads for travel. The bulkiness can also affect cleaning, but I find [if they get really messy if a dog gets sick or something] filling up a bathtub and leaving them to soak with some cleaner and disinfectant makes the job a lot easier. The color and discreetness of the product makes me comfortable with placing it in high traffic areas of the house.The product description describes the system as being built to be used with newspaper to be eco-friendly, however, I wish they'd sized it to also accommodate PoochPad 20-Inch by 27-Inch Pet Training Pad, Medium, 2-Pack. If you're interested in using the reusable pads the smallest on the market (17" x 23") are the best fit, but do leave some uncovered areas(length). Not ideal, but will save me a few hundred dollars a year (literally, not kidding, I did the math) compared to using disposable puppy pads and since most of my reading is online the newspaper idea won't go far with me.TRAININGI'll try to summarize, but will be more than happy to elaborate if asked. To train them I first used it without the grates and placed a puppy pad inside and placed it where they usually relieved themselves (replacing the old pad holder). One dog took to this right away. After a few days I placed the grates on. When they would go near it or look like they wanted to relieve themselves I placed them on the grates and gave them the command to relieve themselves. They looked at me like I was crazy, but after a while (with high praise and rewards when she go it right) my youngest dog became an expert.My older dog was not warming up to the system at all so I had to keep pads out or he would go on the floor instead! I even tried wiping his urine over the grates and stuff to get the smell in to no avail. Luckily I had a week off when the snow storms came through and made it my mission to get him used to it. I started from scratch and treated it like we were house-training all over again. I began with placing the reusable pad on the floor, then moved up to placing the pad in the base, finally put the grates on. I used the same training techniques I did when he was a puppy. If he went to the bathroom in the wrong place and I caught him in the act I said "bad potty" picked him up and put him on the pad. When we got up for the day I took him to the pad and put him on it and gave the command "go potty" so he knew that's where he goes. After a while I think he got used to the feel of the grates on his feet. The first time he used it on his own he got a huge celebration and treats. He's been good since. You really have to be prepared to retrain them to use it. It will take time for some, maybe even a few weeks (or months like my older puppy).SUMMARYThe price is ugly, but the initial investment makes it cheaper in the long run than my old system. I was going to give it 3-stars, but settled on 4 because it meets the criteria for the new house-training setup. Not 5 because of the price and sizing.I wanted [and it met]:-Something that would save me money compared to what I was using at the time which was a plastic pad holder and disposable pads.-Something that wouldn't become a toy or project in the middle of the day. My youngest dog started tearing up pads and showed the older one how much fun it could be.-Something that I could use reusable poochpads with. I wish it was better sized to accommodate these especially since they help with smell.-Something that would keep paws dry (especially after moving to a place with wall-to-wall carpeting).-Something that was more eye-pleasing. Most people have to ask what it is now!