Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

When I adopted my puppy Toby, a Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier, in July, 2011, artificial grass was the only game in town. I started out with Potty Patch - As Seen on TV, Small, Color:Green and then upgraded to New! Ingrass Puppy Potty Bigger & Deeper Now! Free Spray Bottle of Puppy Attraction Aid Spray 22" X 32" Indoor Outdoor. In fact, I wrote a very positive review of the Ingrass product, viewable at the above link. I used artificial grass for close to a year, initially for training, and then for convenience. I installed a doggie door that leads to an outdoor deck. The issues of artificial grass are well-documented in reviews. For me, maintaining artificial grass was time-consuming and somewhat gross. I used potty pads between the artificial grass and the draining tray, almost obligatory. Otherwise you have the task of pouring urine from a large shallow rectangular into a container. Every other day, I donned rubber gloves, removed the grass, squeezed the urine out of the potty pad before disposing of it, rinsed off the artificial grass in the bathtub which then had to be disinfected, then laid down a new pad, the grass, and finally disposed of the rubber gloves. Particularly on hot days, fumes would waft from the artificial grass onto my porch or into my living room. For the dog, the experience is akin to using a "porta-potty" every time you have to go, and dogs have many more olfactory receptors than humans to take in the experience. As soon as I learned of the DoggieLawn product, I purchased a 24" x 24" piece of real grass on Amazon. It was delivered in an attractive Pizza-like Box and Toby immediately took to it. With real grass, there are no fumes and no upkeep other than watering it every so often. The urine dissipates organically. It just works. Depending on the time of year (I live in northern California), the grass starts to turn brown in sections after 5-10 days. This is to be expected. The good news is that the dog doesn't care. As far as Toby is concerned, it's like new. I upgraded to the 24"x 48" piece and went on a monthly subscription with DoggieLawn which lowers the cost. This option is only available on their website. The larger piece retards aging/death of the grass by dissipating the urine over a larger area. Concentrated urine kills the grass. If you are only potty training your dog for only a month or so, the advantages of using DoggieLawn over artificial grass are self-evident. DoggieLawn is cheaper as a one-time purchase and it's the real thing. It has no lingering noxious smell, requires no pads and no janitorial conscription. As a subscription, costs are certainly something to consider. Doggie Lawn charges and delivers me a piece of grass 13 times per year (52 weeks/4). For me, its well worth the investment. DoggieLawn delivers the grass to your door and if you have an questions or issues, they respond quickly. They have a very efficient operation. If you have a semi-ambulatory dog, because of age, back trouble or issues walking, are away from home for long periods of time or simply need to potty train a puppy, you can't go wrong with DoggieLawn. Update 8/9/2013 The monthly DoggieLawn delivery has now become a fixture of Toby's (my dog)life. It's delivered monthly, installs in a under minute (replace old grass by laying down a new 2x4 piece),water it and that's pretty much it. You can expect the grass to starting turning yellowish after about a week and after three weeks, the green is gone completely. Next year, I might switch to a 3 week interval. The grass is really a striking green when it first arrives. I have been using the worn out grass to fill large holes in the dog park here that have been created by burrowing dogs. It's a great way to patch them and many local dog parks have them.