Large Bark Potty Training Pad

I really like this product. I lived in an area with pretty rough winters and my pup was born in November right before the season started, it has worked wonders for us. I lived in a small apartment (2nd) floor in an urban area with almost cero areas for him to potty. He adjusted very quick to it and lasted for over a month with no smell, I Love than it means less waste and mess than the potty pads and it is very easy to install and move around. I have a french bulldog he is now 1+ years and 22 pounds, since he is more of a chunk, I have to renew the box more often (every 2 weeks average in winter), but as a single first dog-mom living in the wild of urban areas with a 9-5 job, it saved my life, and the smell of the box also helped my dog identify 'dirt/ grass' as potty spots so he also does pretty good when we take him outside for potty.

I was really disappointed in this product. I know it may work for some but it wasn’t a good fit for us (even with the recommended practice training guidelines). I had my neighbor‘s dog pee on it and my dog still would not use it. I believe it is too thick of a mat for her; it looked awkward for her to step up onto something to squat, and she lost her footing on the edge a couple times. I bought the largest size. I understand it takes some training for dogs who have already been trained to only void outside, but when I called for support, I was met with somebody interrupting me and repeating something they had clearly repeated multiple times to other people. When I tried to express concerns over forcing a dog to hold their urine for long lengths of time leading to UTIs (as years of evidence-based hospital practice with people has taught us), I was met with an argumentative tone and wasn’t allowed to finish my point/concern. The owner went on to say to me “I don’t know why I hear that so much, dogs can hold their urine longer than you think”, which was NOT the point of my concern. I feel as though if it’s something you are hearing from multiple customers as a concern, there probably is a reason it’s a common topic of concern. While I have no problem “eating” the cost of this un-returnable item that isn’t a good fit for us, I do have a problem with a small business almost arguing with me on the phone when I’m trying to ask relevant, evidence-based concerns/questions for the sake of the health of my aging dog. I would’ve loved to have tried their grass patch, but the customer service left a bad impression.

Alright, so, when I first tried this, my picky little doggie would not use it. They have a great video on training that I used, though, and she started using it while we were living in an apartment. Then when we moved to a townhouse with limited access to grass, it was like she realized it was the best choice and started using it. I freaking love the bark pad. What I like: (1) Dog doesn’t miss. My little girl had a tendency to miss a pee pad, and even if she didn’t miss a pee pad, she would often step in her own pee and leave a trail of pee paw prints. With the bark pottt, she climbs up the teeny ledge, goes, and then steps off. So no more missing!!! I love this. (2) High performance. This works for at least a month for a small dog. Look, if you have a large dog, you probably aren’t going to get a month out of this thing. But I have a 10 pound dog. We are the bark potty’s target audience. It lasts us 4-5 weeks with no problems at all with smell. Also no leaks and you have to look to see where she has peed. No need to clean the thing. Just put it by the door and leave it alone for your doggie’s use. (3) Accessories. I think this is far more attractive than a pee pad, but I would love to see more accessories. The company does make a nonslip mat, though, and a nice looking wooden box. I plan to order one of those soon. The thing I am most concerned about is that this will not be available in a few months because not enough people give it a long enough chance to work. Give it a try! Use their training methods. This is replacing pee pads in my house. So satisfied!

Update: I decided to stop using the potty bark box because it was so expensive. We had to replace it every 2 to 2.5 weeks because it smelled really gross (even on the balcony of the apartment). I tried a dog litter box with paper pellets, but puppy just ate them and strewn them all over the apartment. Also gross. Ultimately the thing that worked best for our puppy was the reusable/washable pee pads. I use Natures Miracle laundry booster and regular laundry detergent on them and they come out clean. Original Review: We are potty training our 11 week old puppy to use this bark box. I gave it 4 stars because, as other reviews pointed out, if the dog’s stool is mushy or he has diarrhea then the bark box goes into the trash. That hasn’t happened yet, but I did order an extra one for that eventually. We have trained puppy to go on the box (on the balcony of our apartment) and he makes it there most of the time or he goes on his walk. This has reduced the number of potty accidents that I have had to clean up in the house. We got this because the landscaping at our dog friendly apartment complex has a lot of bark around the plants and we thought that he might associate the act of peeing outside with the act of peeing on the bark box. That did actually work. We had it inside at first and he only used it once, but after we moved it to the balcony it has become his favorite potty spot. It is very expensive though, which is a negative. I also bought a plastic dog little box and paper dog litter pellets from Petco for puppy to use inside. So far he prefers the bark box on the balcony. Puppy does try to rip the bark out of the box for fun though. The bark box has been surprisingly durable against his efforts. Puppy also chews on the paper litter from his litter box and he drags/plays with the reusable pee pads that we put on the carpet in his favorite “accident” potty spots. My point is, that there is no perfect option, but this is working for us.