Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is the first time I have ever reviewed any item on any web site but I felt compelled to convey some strong feelings I have after having our dog use the Porch Potty for the last month. We were desperate for something like this and needed a doggie potty to put on a second floor deck, exposed to the weather. Our previous doggie potty used kitty litter but proved impractical with the exposure to rain outdoors. We needed something that could get wet and it would not cause any problem. I actually purchased the Porch Potty Premium. This is the one with the sprinklers that allow you to sprinkle the grass as needed. Here is the summary: Good Points: - It has the best size of any other similar item for a dog our size--a 28 pound cocker spaniel. - The drain system works nicely so far, just as advertised. The drain hose is plenty long too. - I think that, given the modifications that I have made (see below), this device will suit our needs. Bad Points: - The plastic base is fairly flimsy. The company states that it can hold dogs up to 120 pounds. The Porch Potty was very springy when our 28 pound dog walked on it, so much so that it sort of spooked him. I had to install support brackets under the Porch Potty to give it enough support so that it does not "give" so much when he walks on it. I don't see how a 120 pound dog can use this, both because of the flimsy plastic base and because of the size (2 ft x 4 ft). - The artificial turf was not cut to fit the Porch Potty very well. I had to cut almost one inch off one side to get it to fit inside the plastic base. - The artificial turf backing has holes melted into it so it will drain. This is a really good idea for obvious reasons. Unfortunately these holes were not cleaned out very well so I scraped off all the loose and melted pieces on the bottom of the artificial turf mat before letting the dog use it. This is not mandatory but I did not want to deal with a lumpy turf backing or loose turf pieces after the artificial turf had been used. - The sprinkler system (for the Porch Potty Premium version) does work to wet the grass but I found it impractical. If our dog does #2, I really need a hose to clean up what I cannot scoop up completely. If I use the sprinklers, it takes too long to clean the artificial turf in the one spot where it was soiled. A hose just takes a few seconds. If our dog does #1, I could wait and not water down the area, but then that area starts to smell bad. So once again I use a hose to wash down the area just used. Again the sprinklers take too long to clean things up. Also, the sprinklers spray outside the Porch Potty, getting our deck and house wet. Bottom line is that I found the sprinklers impractical. Since I quit using them completely I removed them, plugged the holes in the plastic tray, and purchased an extra square foot of artificial turf to plug the two holes in the turf, effectively converting the Porch Potty Premium into a Porch Potty Standard. - There are four little rubber "feet" on the bottom corners of the Porch Potty plastic base, presumably to elevate it off the surface it is resting on so that only these four points touch the floor/deck. The Porch Potty was flimsy enough that the whole thing sagged and these feet were ineffectual. In fact one of them fell off so I removed the other three. - This is nobody's fault, but our dog does not seem to like stepping on the artificial grass if it is wet. Maybe if we used real turf this would not be an issue. - #1 Major Bad Point - This item is way overpriced for what you get. It is basically a molded plastic tray with a drain hose attached and a piece of artificial turf on top. If I were retailing this, I would put a price tag of $99 on it. It is plainly one of those items that you get mail order and think, wow, I paid way too much for what I just got. I was really disappointed that I sort of got ripped off from a price perspective. I have no opinion on the included fire hydrant. We did not use it because our dog does not need it to be compelled to go. I would think long and hard about purchasing the Porch Potty Premium. Like I said, I converted back to the Porch Potty Standard. That was about a $50 mistake given all the costs involved. In the end, after the fixes made, it does seem to be working to meet the needs of our dog in our situation. But the problems with it make me drop its rating 1-2 stars. And, in addition, because of such a clearly inflated price, it really deserves to lose 1-2 additional stars. Thus, I give it a two star rating. In the end, given all its shortcomings in design and manufacture and its inflated price, I am still glad that we got it because it is now meeting our needs. It was just sort of an unpleasant road to get to this point. NOTES: Oct 2010 I wrote the above review a year ago on Amazon for the identical product, then called "Porch Potty Standard - with Synthetic Grass". It appears that this product has since been re-named to "Large Porch Potty Standard" and re-listed here on Amazon. My observations about this product remain unchanged. We are still using it. The only addtional observation worth adding is that the syntehtic turf provided has pretty well lost it "spring" and sort of lays flat where our dog normally walks on it. This is probably more a cosmetic issue than a functional one. Dec 2010 I added three pictures (with notes) of our Porch Potty installation on our second floor deck. I built the little comfort station with hose and plumbed the drain under the deck, making the whole potty process pretty easy now. Jan 2012 I made a modification to this product that I think is worth passing on. I have a problem with the sythetic grass not drying out very fast and part if the reason is that the syntehetic turf backing (the turf that has the holes melted in it) does not drain quickly becuase it is laying right on top of the plastic base. Just becuase they are touching each other tends to reduce the ability of this system to drain qickly or completely. My dog doesn't like wet turf so this is a problem. The Solution: I inserted a spacer between the turf and the white plastic base. There is a perfect, cheap spacer readily available--the 2ft x 4ft plastic "eggcrate" louvers you see in flourescent ceiling light fixtures in offices. It has thousands of little square holes for the water to fall through. You can get one for about $13 at Home Depot (its called "Lithonia Lighting 4 ft. Replacement Diffuser" on their web site). It doesn't need any trimming and just fits perfectly. This spacer allows water to easily pass through and the turf empties much, much quicker and the turf then dries much quicker too. It is so simple yet highly effective.