Welcome You have purchased the Porch Potty. The most convenient and versatile dog potty you will ever own. The Porch Potty makes house breaking your puppy easy and stress free for both you and your dog. Simply put, it gives your dog a place to potty as close as possible, without the mess and odor of piddle pads. The relationship between you and your dog is important. By making potty time easy and convenient for your dog not only makes him happy, it is less of a chore for you, giving you more time to focus on the fun times you will have with your dog. After some basic training, you and your pup will have years of stress free potty habits in no time.

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Which Porch Potty do you have? Depending on your needs the Porch Potty can be configured in two variations.

Porch Potty – Standard The Porch Potty Standard can be drained into the included container by placing the container under the Porch Potty. You can also choose to use the included 14 foot drain hose. The drain hose will automatically drain the Porch Potty using gravity. To use the drain hose, simply connect the drain hose to the center drain hole and direct the hose to a nearby drainage location like a floor drain, or rain gutter. If you choose to use the catch basin under the Porch Potty, do not use the 14 foot drain hose. Use one or the other.

Porch Potty – Premium The Porch Potty Premium includes a patented sprinkler system to connect to a nearby garden hose. The sprinklers pop up and spray down the entire grass area for you. If you also have the hose timer, you will be able to set how often the sprinklers turn on. It is important that the sprinklers only run for 1 minute or less. Be sure to set the timer for 1 minute duration. It is also important that the Porch Potty Premium be used outdoors only, using the drain hose instead of the Catch Basin below it. Do not use the Porch Potty Catch Basin when using the sprinkler system. The container may overflow.

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Getting Started To get started quickly, follow the steps below. • Attach the rubber feet to each corner of the Porch Potty. • Partially fill the included Fire Hydrant with water to keep it in place and standing up. • Give your dog a hug! (you can never have too many, right?)

Find a location that meets the following criteria. • Away from the food and water dish. Dogs do not like to potty near their food. • Away from their bed. Dogs do not like to potty where they sleep. • Within 14 feet of a drainage location (if you will be using the drain hose). • The path of the drain hose must remain at ground level or below for gravity to work at moving the water through the drain hose. • Within reach of your garden hose (if you will be using the sprinkler feature). • A safe place where your dog will not accidently fall from a high level or may be harmed if unsupervised. • Outdoors is recommended, but not necessary. If indoors, the training sod may not stay green, or may even attract nats. It may also cause an odor without proper ventilation.

Assembly of the Drain Hose Remove the nut from the drain elbow and insert it through the drain hole in the center of the Porch Potty shell. Tighten the nut on the other side. After placing the Porch Potty in its final location, run the drain hose through any of the hand hold slots located on the sides of the shell. Be sure the entire length of drain hose is at ground level or below. This ensures water will flow using gravity. Cut any execss length off with scissors.

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Using Your Porch Potty To using your porch potty, follow the steps below.

Training Sod and Synthetic Grass Each Porch Potty comes with synthetic grass, but most customers like to start out with Training Sod for the first month. We recommend starting with Training Sod to help make training your dog easier. The smell of real grass attracts dogs to it, and they instinctively potty on the real grass. You can always get Training Sod at www.PorchPotty.com. Training Sod is delivered one time, or monthly if you desire. The Training Sod from PorchPotty.com is unique in that it is exact size and has no dirt or soil in the roots. This prevents any dirt and mud from clogging the drain hose and also makes it less messy to deal with while installing it. Simply place the sod in the Porch Potty and unroll it. The Training Sod will last between 1 – 4 months depending on frequency of use, and weather conditions.

Watering the grass (real or fake grass) You will water both Training Sod and Synthetic Grass with either the sprinkler system or manually using a watering can (as you would water a flower pot). Watering the grass has two purposes: • It rinses the urine out of the grass and down the drain hose • It keeps the real sod living longer and staying green. How often to water: Plan on watering the grass 2-3 times per week. (1 minute using sprinklers, or 2 gallons using a watering can) 4

• Water more often if warm weather or windy conditions begins to dry out the edges of the Training Sod. • Water more often if strong odor begins to be a problem. (some odor is good – see training tips below) • Water less often if you see the grass getting muddy or soggy. • Never exceed 1 minute when using the sprinklers. Freezing cold weather: If you live in a climate that gets below 32 degrees, turn off the sprinklers during those times of the year. Water remains inside the sprinkler and may crack the sprinkler body. However, go ahead and continue pouring water over the grass. The drain hose will not freeze or crack. Some urine and water may freeze to the grass, but will not cause any problems. If snow covers the Porch Potty, simply shake off the synthetic grass and replace. Using a Hose Timer with the sprinklers: For true convenience, you can turn the sprinklers on and off with the Hose Timer. When setting the timer, start off with 1 minute duration every 72 hours. Never exceed 1 minute duration; however you may adjust the frequency if necessary. When connecting the Hose Timer, it is best if you attach the timer to end of the hose bib of your house instead of the end connecting to the Porch Potty. This prevents pressure from building up on the hose, and potentially bursting over time. If too much water causes the Porch Potty to overflow during 1 minute, adjust the pop-up sprinkler head.

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Adjusting the Sprinkler Heads: Depending on your home’s water pressure, you may need to adjust the sprinkler heads. If you notice too much water causes over-spray, or overflowing, turn the water on and use a flat head screwdriver to turn the screw to the left. While the sprinkler is running, turn the screw to the left until over-spray is eliminated, or the level of water comes just below the edge of the Porch Potty without overflowing.

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Training your Dog To Training your Dog, follow the steps below.

Potty Training with the Porch Potty It doesn’t matter if your canine friend is a puppy or an older dog, training your dog to use the Porch Potty is easy if you follow a few guidelines. What you’ll need • Box of treats kept nearby. • A crate for crate training • Some chicken broth • An old rag • Love and plenty of patience • Windex - just a small amount sprayed on the grass or sod gives an ammonia smell that will encourage your dog. Remember, just use a little bit!

Methods of Potty Training There are a number of methods for housebreaking your dog. We have found the most common and most successful to be “Crate Training”. Crate Training is effective because it gives the owner more opportunity to praise the dog when correct action is taken. Since a dog does not like to potty where they sleep, a crate allows the dog to “hold it” until you let him or her out to potty. Once they use the Porch Potty, it is your job to praise, praise, praise. The more opportunity you have to praise your dog for correct action, the more they associate using the Porch Potty as “doing good”. And after all, isn’t that what they want: to make their owner happy? Dogs are great aren’t they! 7



A crate (usually found at any pet store) is made of either wire, to plastic. You should keep your puppy in the crate during the nights, and while they are unsupervised. The goal is forecast the timing of when the dog needs to potty, so you can let him out at just the right time and take him to the Porch Potty. These times are typically right after they eat, sleep, or play. Put him on a leash, lead him to the Porch Potty, and say the command, “Go Potty” (or whatever command you might like to use). Be patient, it might take a few minutes. When your puppy potties on the Porch Potty, give LOTS OF PRAISE, and maybe a small treat. Since you will be doing this many times a day, it is helpful to keep a small bag of treats nearby, but out of reach of the dog. The quicker you are with praising your dog, the better. This is also a good time for a few minutes of play, if you have the time. It also reinforces the good behavior.

To review the steps: • Keep your puppy in the crate while unsupervised. This is not cruel; in fact they typically enjoy the safety and security it provides. It is in their deep rooted history to seek out secure dens. • Do your best to predict when they need to go potty. Watch for signs, and set a schedule relative to their eating, playing, and sleeping patterns. • When you let them out, put a leash on your dog, and lead them on to the Porch Potty. • Give the command, “Go Potty”. • When he or she uses the Porch Potty correctly, immediately praise, praise, praise and offer a small treat you have nearby. • Then lead your puppy back into the crate, or take a few minutes to play. • Be sure to clean up any poop that may have been left on the Porch Potty. Dogs like to have a clean surface for next time. You can use disposable ‘Poop Bags’, or simply tissue paper if you want to flush it down the toilet. 8

Teaching Your Adult Dog to Use the Porch Potty Porch Potty training your adult pooch is no more difficult than regular housetraining; however, you may need more patience when working with a grown dog than with a puppy. Your pet is probably already accustomed to doing his business outside, so it will take some time to convince him that using a Porch Potty inside is fine. You might want to consider using some actual “dirt less grass” that is available through the Porch Potty company. Real grass will make your dog more comfortable using it, especially if he’s used to relieving himself in the yard. When introducing the Porch Potty, take your dog to it on a leash- just as you would if you were teaching him to do his business outside. So, just as you would take your dog for a short walk in the yard, lead him to the Porch Potty. If he knows that a short walk on a leash means a trip to the bathroom, it will be easier for him to learn that the Porch Potty is his new toilet! Reward your dog as soon as he shows some interest in the Porch Potty. Giving a treat for using the Porch Potty will encourage him to utilize it again when he needs to go to the bathroom. Continue to do this as you would with any other training. Praise him often and offer a treats whenever he does something right. If you catch him starting to relieve himself in the wrong spot, interrupt him, take him to the Porch Potty and reward him when he goes to the bathroom. Your dog needs to know that the Porch Potty is the only place he can relieve himself when he is indoors. (*We also recommend keeping a good supply of TURFtastic on hand through this process.)

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Turftastic is: • Great cleaner for all parts and surfaces of the Porch Potty • An effective odor eliminator • Excellent cleaner for spots when you dog over shoots and hits the carpet, floor or furniture • An approved cleaner by the Carpet & Rug Institute. • Wonderful at cleaning upholstery • A great tool to help with your male dog’s marking behavior (which is entirely different from just urinating in a spot). • Used to spray around the Porch Potty just in case any “wet feet” got on the area around it. Have plenty on hand to clean around the Porch Potty in case of: • any accidents; • to clean the synthetic grass; • and to clean the actual Porch Potty (even use it to rinse through the hoses for any urine deposits.) It’s superior at counteracting odor and can clean urine and urine deposits!

What if she has an accident in the house? If your puppy has an accident (they all do), no big deal. It’s part of the process. The trick is to catch her in the act. If you catch her having an accident in the house, quickly clap loud, yell no, and pick her up. Then place her on the Porch Potty to finish. When she finishes on the Porch Potty, praise, praise, treat. It is your intention to get her attention with clapping, and loud noises. There is no reason to hit or spank your dog. This is especially true, if you found the accident without catching them in 10



the act. As hard is it may seem, your puppy will not associate your hitting them after the fact with the accident they made earlier. Be sure to clean up the mess to remove the scent from the spot. If you leave the scent in the carpet, she may be attracted to going there again. Use an odor neutralizer spray.

Tricks and Tips There are a few tricks we have found that help make training your dog faster and easier. You can use some or all of these tips. If you have any tips of your own, please let all the other Porch Potty customers know by visiting the fan page at www.PorchPotty.com

Using a scent attractant The smell of the grass has a big impact on whether your dog wants to use it as a potty place or not. We have already mentioned that using Training Sod gives the Porch Potty the scent of real grass, because it IS real grass. But there are also other tricks that might work for you as well. • Using your dog’s own urine – Using an old rag, or wad of paper towels you may have used to clean up an accident, you can either wipe the scent on the grass or place the rag under the synthetic grass or sod. This is the most inexpensive way to scent the Porch Potty. Once your dog begins to use the Porch Potty, having a slight urine smell is not a bad thing. But continue rinsing the Porch Potty with water to prevent it being a problem for you. • Using our Fire Hydrant with Attractant – we offer a small plastic fire hydrant that has an attractant inside dogs like to cover with their own scent. It also acts as a “target” for male dogs who like to aim at something. We suggest that you wipe some of your dogs urine on the hydrant to 11

“Personallize” the scent. Get the hydrant at www.PorchPotty.com • Scent sprays – we have had mixed results with the number of scent sprays on the market. Some work, some don’t. Different dogs act differently. Give it try if you feel you want to go that route. Any pet store carries them.

Chicken broth in the water trick If you are having problems timing your potty breaks with your puppy, try this trick. Put a ½ cup of chicken broth in a full bowl of water for your dog. Most dogs drink it all down quickly because they love the taste. Now with a full bladder, set a timer for 20 – 40 minutes depending on bladder size, and wait. Make sure your dog is in the crate while she holds it, when the timer goes off, it’s POTTY TIME. Lead the dog to the Porch Potty and you have guaranteed potty. Now praise, praise, praise…treat. Do not do this more than a few times per week, as too much sodium from the broth may not be healthy in large quantities. So use sparingly.

Typical Puppy Training Schedule The first few weeks, or even months can be very challenging, especially with young puppies. Don’t give up. It will all be worth it in the end. All dogs are trainable, even your stubborn rascal. Here is a schedule some use for young puppies with small bladders. Use it as a guideline, and watch for any signs your puppy may give along the way. You may keep this schedule for a just a few weeks, or even months. But keep at it. Pretty soon, you and your puppy will have a great understanding of each other, and a wonderful relationship for years to come.

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6:30 a.m.

take puppy out to Porch Potty

6:45

feed puppy breakfast

7:15

before leaving for work, take puppy out to Porch Potty

7:30

put puppy in her crate or gated area, then go to work

11:30

take puppy out to Porch Potty as soon as you get home for lunch

11:45

feed puppy lunch (if she eats three meals a day)

12 p.m.

take puppy out to Porch Potty before going back to work

12:15

put puppy back in crate

Midafternoon break go home for a potty break (for first few weeks)

5:15

arrive home from work, take puppy to potty, first thing.

5:30

feed puppy supper

5:45

Potty time!

Midevening

take puppy on a short walk, meet some new neighbors (make sure she potties before going back inside)

8:00

remove water bowl about an hour before bedtime

9:00

last chance to potty!

9:30

put puppy in her crate for bedtime

Middle of the night if necessary, take puppy out to Porch Potty.

Cleaning Your Porch Potty 1. You might want to use gloves to protect your hands from any urine in the hose or in any crevice area. 2. Use a mini-garden hose or watering can (if you don’t have the premium Porch Potty) and spray/ 13

rinse the grassy area so any urine residue will filter through into the bowl (You may also want to roll the grass aside within the tray and rinse underneath) 3. Wait about twenty-minutes for the urine residue to drain into the bowl, and then begin the cleaning process. 4. TURFtastic is fantastic for removing the urine odor and if you need a stronger dose of it leave a small amount on the grass and do not rinse it away. (just a small amount so your dog won’t have wet feet!)

Other Accessories to Consider Depending on your situation, you may have a porch or patio that easily adapts to using the Porch Potty. Some like the idea of their dog letting themselves out (dog door), or ringing a bell hanging from the door knob. These are all great tools to use. Just be sure your porch or balcony is safe for your dog if they are unsupervised. We recommend using Plexiglas or a wire fence around the balcony if you feel your dog might slip through or under the railing.

Learn More at PorchPotty.com Thanks for purchasing the Porch Potty. You can learn more tips and discuss ideas with other Porch Potty users. If you are someone who knows many other dog owners, you can become a Porch Potty affiliate by signing up online to earn commissions. Remember to give your dog a hug for us. www.PorchPotty.com

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