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DIY Dog Grass Box: Fun & Practical Solution For Urban Pooches!

  • A dog grass box is a great solution for everyone living in the apartment, potty training a puppy or working long hours.
  • It can serve as an “emergency bathroom” for dogs with medical conditions.
  • Making a DIY grass box is easy, cheap, and will benefit you in the long run. See the step-by-step instructions below (video included)!

Living with a dog in a city is… well, complicated! Not that we’re complaining, of course. But it requires some adaptations. Like catching an elevator and getting the dog down all those floors to get outside. Several times a day. In any weather.

And not to forget, even though they are born and bred in cities, dogs still have to follow their instincts when it comes to their most basic needs. Among other things, this means they like to do their business on grass. So good luck with trying to convince your dog to ‘go’ on a sidewalk.

This is why a DIY dog grass box is a great idea.

Why Use A Dog Grass Box?

There are many situations when a dog grass box is a live-saver.

1. Living In An Apartment

Anyone who lives in an apartment building clearly understands the struggle. You can’t just open the back door to let your dog go outside. Obviously.

And even if you don’t mind taking the elevator up and down a few times a day, it doesn’t mean that the nearest park is just around the corner.

2. Potty Training a Puppy

Dogs prefer a grassy surface over anything else. Even puppies born and raised in apartments!

A grass box is an ideal choice from the very beginning—and much more natural than pee pads. It also makes the transition for training your puppy to start going potty outside easier and quicker.

3. Working Long Hours

If you don’t have a dog walker, then an apartment potty box is the only alternative.

Instead of pee pads or a pile of newspapers, a grass box brings a patch of outside into your apartment. That’s mainly the reason why grass boxes became so popular in the first place!

4. Solution For Dogs With Medical Conditions

In some cases, medical conditions can cause a weak bladder or diarrhea. That means the dog might not be able to hold it in for a long time.

Being ill is already very stressful for the dog (and you!) so why make it worse with rushing to the elevator or having accidents all around the apartment? A dog grass box is a great emergency bathroom in such cases.

Gino and his new indoor potty area (@flouffygino) made using only the most basic equipment.

At the moment of writing this post we’re in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis—everyone is staying at home and most stores with non-essential things are closed.

That means I had to improvise when figuring out what tools I’m going to use for our grass box (has to be really simple and easy to find!). And I came up with a solution that’s super easy to make and more importantly, easy to clean.

What you’ll need:

  • Reusable plastic containers—the ones that you see in stores for transporting veggies and fruit (I actually went to the nearest store and asked if they have any left); how many you need depends on how big you want your grass box to be as you’ll be stacking them together.

  • Artificial grass

  • Strong scissors

  • Dog pee pads

  • Artificial bush (optional)

  • Thin rope (optional)

STEP 1

Clean your reusable plastic containers and tie them together with a rope. Turn them upside down.

This method is very practical because you can stack together as many containers as you want to get a bigger surface.

STEP 2

Place the containers on top of the grass to measure where you have to cut out the patch to get the same dimensions.

Place the new grass patch on the containers.

STEP 3

Attach the grass patch to containers using the rope.

Use scissors to make two small holes, put the rope through them and tie it at the bottom (watch the video for more detailed instructions).

STEP 4

This step is important if you have a male dog at home (like myself!).

Attach the artificial bush to the grass box using another piece of rope.

Put the rope through the holes inside of the bush and again make two holes in the grass to tie tie rope at the bottom.

STEP 5

Place the pee pad underneath your new dog grass box. The pee will leak through the grass onto the pee pad.

Simply replace the pee pad when necessary.

Tip for cleaning: put it under the shower. Mix water with appropriate cleaner and pour it over the box. Then wash with water.

STEP 6

Place your new dog grass box anywhere you want!

Conclusion

As you saw, making a DIY grass container can be very easy and quick. Ever since we made one for my dog Gino, it’s made our life much less stressful. Of course we still regularly take him out for a walk! But this is a great solution for those situations when going outside is not an option.

It might take a while for your dog to get used to the new grass potty area. It can help if you take the artificial bush or a patch of grass with you next time you go outside and soak it in the pee of your dog. Yucky, I know, but it will make it smell like something that ‘needs to be peed on’. If you want to save the hassle, you can also use this ‘Loo Attractant’ and spray it over the area.

Are you going to try it yourself? Or maybe you’ve come up with a better method yourself? Please share your comments below!

Not a fan of DIY?

Here are top 3 indoor dog potty alternatives that you can get on Amazon:

Not a fan of DIY? Order your own Porch Potty on Amazon >>

Dog Artificial Grass Pee Pad

$46 FROM AMAZON

Fresh Patch Disposable Dog Potty with Real Grass

$29 FROM AMAZON

Porch Potty Grass Small Area

$275 FROM AMAZON

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