A Fresh Grass Toilet Your Dog Will Love!

Toxin Free Puppy Pads – Chemical Free Grass Patches

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Toxin Free Puppy Training Pads

Real grass puppy training pads have a lot of benefits over traditional training pads and artificial turf. They’re more intuitive, easily biodegradable and can speed up the toilet training process.

But another particular benefit of Piddle Patch products is that they’re toxin and chemical free, something that’s really important to us and incredibly important to the health of your pup.

We want to talk about toxins and puppy pads and the steps we’ve taken to make sure ours are safe.

Are There Toxins and Chemicals in Artificial Turf Pads?

Artificial turf pads may look like grass, but they’re made from synthetic materials (typically from polyethylene and polypropylene). These pads are mass produced in factories and made from chemicals and plastics.

And we all know our furry friends are often partial to chewing on, well, pretty much anything. You’ve probably witnessed your own pup eating a good mouthful of grass when out for a walk and you often see dogs chewing artificial grass too. However, this is made of synthetic materials which, if swallowed, won’t be easily passed and cannot be digested. So there’s a risk it might cause your pup some tummy troubles while it passes.

Toxins in Traditional Puppy Pads

With textile or paper pads there are lots of different options on the market. Most have some form of plastic backing so that you can fold it up and dispose of it without touching the soiled material. And from there, they’re typically made up of layers.

Some puppy pads use paper tissue and absorbent fluff like material that turns urine to gel. Some use things like baking soda or even charcoal to help keep them free of bad smells.

We believe that any puppy pad on the market should be “toxin free”. We all know pups have a tendency to chew things, so we believe strongly that there should be nothing inside puppy pads that could cause them any problems. Sadly, research shows that any products made with plastics as likely to come with “hidden risks.” You may be able to trust yourself not to chew your plastic products, but we all know pups love a little nibble on pretty much anything.

Steps We Take to Keep Our Real Grass Patches Toxin Free

Our patches are made from natural materials, not synthetic ones. But we’ve gone even further than that to make sure our real grass puppy pads are safe for your furry friends.

Here’s what we do:

  • We make our pads soil free 
  • We make sure all of our pads are completely free from pesticides and chemicals
  • We make sure they’re free of wildflowers and shamrocks which can be toxic to dogs if they eat them
  • We grow our grass with the utmost care over a period of 14 months to ensure a strong and resilient grass product
  • Our grass is grown using Linking Environment And Farming (LEAF) principles, to ensure sustainable farming practices that enriches the local environment 
  • We carefully source our materials and packaging and work closely with other British businesses to deliver a high quality product to you
  • We grow our grass in textiles diverted from landfill, instead of soil, as this helps to extend the lifespan of the grass and prevent muddy paw prints from being tracked in the house. At the same time, it also helps to reduce waste and lower the carbon impact these materials would otherwise have if they were sent to landfill
  • We harvest each Piddle Patch fresh to order to ensure the freshest grass is always delivered to your door

We’re always happy to chat about the safety of our patches. So if you’ve got any questions at all, do get in touch!

How to Toilet Train Your Puppy at Night: A Step-by-Step Guide

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Puppy Toilet Training At Night

Potty training your new puppy with a nighttime routine is extremely important, although it can be one of the hardest parts of training your dog. That’s why we’ve put together this handy guide on how to toilet train your puppy at night, so you can use these simple tips to avoid sleepless nights and uncontrollable mess! 

Setting a Nighttime Routine for Your Puppy

Establish a regular bedtime and wake up time 

A routine can be a powerful tool when training your puppy, teaching them when they can use the toilet and when they should be asleep. Start by creating a schedule with your dog and try to maintain consistent times for when you both go to sleep and when you wake up, teaching your puppy when it’s the right time for them to use the bathroom. 

Use the ‘last call’ system before bed 

Before going to bed at night, give your puppy a “last call” and allow them one last chance to use the toilet before you go to sleep. After your puppy has done their business and begins to calm down, place them where they sleep, either in their crate or in their bed. It’s a great way of teaching your puppy that it’s time to calm down and go to sleep and also reduces the chance of them making a mess on your furniture during the night.

Take them out during the night, but only for the first few months 

It’s important to understand that young puppies will need to use the toilet at least once during the night. So, for the initial few weeks, make sure you set an alarm during the night to let your puppy use the bathroom (usually around 6 hours after their last potty break). If your puppy doesn’t have an accident during those hours for a few weeks, start to increase the time between their last toilet break before bed and you taking them out at night. Delaying their potty break by 15 minutes every night will teach them to wait a little longer to do their business, eventually turning it into a morning routine.

Once your puppy is three or four months old, they will most likely be able to go the full night (7 to 8 hours) without a toilet break.

Get them up and out each morning 

First thing in the morning, take your dog outside so they can once again do their business. Doing this as soon as they wake every day helps set a consistent routine and teaches your puppy to expect the toilet in the morning.

How to Avoid Accidents in the Middle of the Night

Taking your puppy outside to do their business in the middle of the night is crucial when your puppy is at a very young age and there are bound to be a few accidents in the process. That being said, it may not always be feasible to take your dog out at crazy hours of the night and certainly isn’t a long term solution.

That’s when using a real grass dog toilet like Piddle Patch can really come in handy. It’s a great way to avoid accidents in the middle of the night and is also a fantastic way of training your puppy to do their business when they’re outside the house.

Controlling Your Puppy’s Diet

Controlling when your puppy eats and drinks can help reduce the chances of your dog needing the toilet in the middle of the night. Try to avoid feeding your puppy for at least 2 hours before their bedtime, allowing most of their food to be digested prior to their final potty break before bedtime. 

6 More Tips to Potty Train Your Puppy at Night

Over time, following the above guidance can work wonders for you and your puppy. However, we know it’s not always so straight-forward and sometimes a little extra help can be really useful when trying to potty train your dog or puppy. 

If you’ve followed all of the usual advice and guidance and are still struggling to toilet train your puppy, give the following tips and tricks a go and see how you get on: 

  1. If your puppy keeps having accidents at night, give them more frequent toilet breaks. It’s very important that a puppy never feels forced to do their business where they sleep. If they are not taken to the toilet regularly enough, they are much more likely to have an accident during the night and may even pick up a few bad habits in the process. Setting more regular alarms to take them out more frequently during the night can work wonders, especially during those first few weeks while they start to develop a routine.
  1. Prepare for accidents before they happen. Sometimes, simple changes like moving your puppy’s bed closer to the door can make a huge difference in the case of an emergency. 
  1. Make sure your puppy is ready for sleep. A good amount of exercise during the day should have your puppy feeling exhausted by bedtime, making them much more likely to sleep for longer stretches, resulting in less need for the toilet.
  1. Avoid playing with your puppy just before their bedtime. Getting them excited before you put them to bed will make them much less likely to sleep. Instead, focus on calming your puppy down in the hours leading up to bedtime.
  1. Wake your puppy before they wake you. This reduces the chance of them whining and scratching during the night and places you in control of when they can and can’t use the bathroom.
  1. Have fun! While potty training your new puppy, remember that it’s a journey where there will be some accidents and sleepless nights. This is all a completely normal part of having a puppy! So when it gets tough, just remind yourself that it won’t be forever and that with perseverance, your pup will be a potty pro in no time.

How to Toilet Train a Puppy Fast – The Essential Guide

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How to Toilet Train a Puppy Fast

Toilet training your puppy is an essential step in their development, maintaining a hygienic and clean space for both yourself and your new pet pooch. This guide walks you through the essential tips and knowledge you’ll need to potty train your new puppy, from knowing how to recognise when they need a potty break to the equipment you’ll need, and how to set the good habits that will make the entire process just that little bit easier.

How Long Does it Take to Potty Train a Puppy? 

Every puppy is different. The amount of time needed to potty train a dog depends on many factors, from the breed and age of the pooch, to their previous living conditions, and more. Potty training a puppy takes time and rushing the process can be a recipe for disaster.

From our research and experience, we know it can take anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 months to train your puppy depending on your circumstances and your puppy’s history. 

The potty training process generally takes longer if you need to break a puppy’s bad habit before teaching them a new good habit. If multiple people are training the puppy, the training methods and schedule must be consistent to speed up the process, otherwise, your dog could get easily confused and the process can take longer. 

What Equipment Do I Need to Toilet Train My Puppy?

We’ve compiled a list of all the things you’ll need to make the process of potty training your puppy as smooth and stress-free as possible:

  • A dog toilet – or a place for your puppy to do its business. Many dog owners resort to regular puppy pads during the toilet training process to prevent their dog from peeing (or worse!) on carpets and furniture. Unfortunately, puppy pads are really bad for the environment, are unhygienic and smell particularly bad, and can even be dangerous as puppies have a tendency to chew them. A real grass dog toilet like Piddle Patch is a much more comfortable, fun, hygienic and environmentally friendly way of training your dog. It also teaches your dog to only go potty on grass, rather than pads or other textiles.
  • Collar and leash – to keep your puppy focussed on the task at hand, rather than becoming distracted with other things.
  • Dog Treats – reinforcing good behaviour is one of the best ways to train your puppy, so be sure to have plenty of tasty dog treats at hand.

How Do You Know When Your Puppy Needs the Toilet?

Learning to recognise when your puppy needs the toilet is essential when it comes to training your puppy to do their business where you’d like them to do it. Common signs that your puppy needs the toilet include:

  • Sniffing the floor
  • Circling
  • Looking restless
  • Going into a room or to a space they’ve previously been to the toilet in
  • Wandering away from family
  • Whimpering
  • Running to the door

If you see any of these signs, accompany your puppy to wherever they are being trained to do their business and praise them if they relieve themselves in the correct location.

Puppy Potty Training Step by Step

We’ve put together a step by step guide on how to set up a potty training routine with your puppy:

  1. Establish a place for your puppy to go to the toilet

It’s extremely important that your puppy has a consistent place to do its business. Start by establishing one particular place for your dog to go to the toilet. Ideally, this should be an outdoor space like a back garden. If , however, you don’t have any outdoor space because you live in an apartment, using a real grass dog toilet like a Piddle Patch can be a great way to potty train your puppy while still encouraging them to look for natural spaces to go potty.

  1. Create a potty training schedule

Perhaps the most important part of the entire potty training process is timing, so keeping a consistent potty training schedule is crucial. Identify when your puppy is likely to need a toilet break based on their regular patterns. Generally, a puppy potty training schedule will include toilet breaks first thing in the morning, after meal times and playtime and, of course, last thing at night before you and your puppy go to bed. Keep in mind that younger puppies may need to go more frequently.

  1. Adapt the schedule if needed

As your puppy grows up, their toilet times will likely change a little, so you’ll need to adapt your potty training schedule. When doing so, be sure to make the changes bit by bit to avoid throwing your dog’s routine off completely. Consider making changes of 10-15 minutes at the most if you need to. Eventually, you’ll find a potty routine that works perfectly for both of you.

  1. Making the routine stick

Once settled into a routine, make sure both you and your puppy stick to it. Encourage your puppy to go to the toilet at regular times and avoid breaking the pattern. Rewarding your pooch for good behaviour is a fantastic way of telling them they are doing a good job. That’s where the tasty dog treats come in!

General Tips on Toilet Training a Puppy

Some quick tips on how to make the whole process easier and more likely to work.

  • Always praise your dog for good behaviour, rather than punishing for bad behaviour.
  • Be patient with your puppy, mistakes can and will happen but be sure to clean up any mess quickly in order to teach your puppy that this is where their waste does not belong.
  • Don’t carry your dog to the toilet. This can set a bad habit and lead them to form a reliance on you taking action.
  • Set a consistent routine, particularly for potty training your puppy at night. This is an especially challenging part of the process, so be sure to check out our guide on “How To Potty Train Your Puppy At Night”.

And that’s it! That’s everything you need to know about how to potty train a dog. We might make it sound easy, but toilet training a puppy is always a challenging task, so be sure to be patient and have as much fun as you can.

We hope that this guide will help you to potty train your puppy and wish you all the best on your journey with your new best friend!

Why Piddle Patch is better than puppy pads for the environment

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Here at Piddle Patch we know how important nature, wildlife and the outdoors are to both our furry four legged friends and their owners, which is why we developed the innovative, 100% natural Piddle Patch!

Made from eco-friendly, biodegradable and recycled materials, Piddle Patch is a zero waste product, so you can rest assured that you’ll be doing your part in protecting the environment when using yours. Piddle Patch is soil-free and made from real, fresh grass, providing a natural and intuitive solution to help potty train your pup faster.

Did you know that puppy pads can take up to 500 years to degrade in landfills? As a plastic product, puppy pads do not easily degrade, and cannot be recycled or composted. With many puppies requiring frequent puppy pad changes, the amount of plastic waste produced can quickly add up. That’s why Piddle Patch has been specially designed to be both a more intuitive house-training solution, and a more environmentally friendly toilet solution, so you can rest assured you’re making the best decision for your dog and for the environment.

Biodegradable Puppy Pads Made in the UK

As a planet, we’re now becoming more and more conscious about the effects our purchases and household items have on the environment. This is why we think it’s time to wave goodbye to the days of disposable plastic puppy pads and say Hello to the wonder that is Piddle Patch. Trust us – you and your pup will never look back!

Biodegradable Puppy Pads vs Regular Puppy Pads

We’re glad you asked! Here’s a breakdown of all of the key similarities and differences between regular puppy pads and Piddle Patch’s biodegradable puppy pad alternative:

What carbon footprint impact do puppy pads have?

Our puppy pads are made from grass grown in the UK using LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) principles for sustainable agriculture. Given that the grass is sourced locally and sustainably, the carbon footprint is likely to be far lower than that of regular puppy pads which contain less sustainable materials, such as plastic.

Piddle Patch is also grown in textiles that have been diverted from landfill. This helps reduce textile waste and lowers the carbon impact these textiles would otherwise have if they were sent to landfill.

Lifespan

Regular puppy pads need to be changed at least once a day, whereas owners who use a Piddle Patch only need to change them once every few weeks! Most people subscribe to a Piddle Patch delivery once every 2 to 3 weeks, and only need to dispose of solid waste in between, just like you would when walking your dog.

Disposal

When it’s time to replace your Piddle Patch, check your local authority’s rules and, if permitted, simply dispose of it in your garden waste bin as you would with any other compostable materials from your home, or in your general waste bin. Piddle Patch is much kinder to the environment than regular puppy pads as it’s 100% eco-friendly, providing you with peace of mind when it comes to your new puppy’s impact on the planet!

Packaging and delivery

Piddle Patch packaging is, of course, 100% biodegradable as well as being sturdy and tough enough to keep your package safe while it’s en route to you and your pooch. All the materials, from the labels to the packing tape, have been carefully selected to ensure they are eco-friendly and either biodegradable or recyclable.

Maintenance

Puppy pads made from artificial grass require regular cleaning which often includes the use of harsh chemicals that are not beneficial to the environment. Your dog will also walk on these chemicals, licking their paws later and potentially ingesting trace amounts of them! Piddle Patch on the other hand, offers a much lower maintenance solution. Simply dispose of any solid waste, just as you would when walking your dog, and any liquid will be absorbed into the grass.

Environmentally-friendly puppy pads made in the UK

Not only is it kinder to the environment, but by using Piddle Patch you’re training your puppy to only go on the grass and not teaching them to go on pads and other household textiles. This can help to speed up the house-training process, because there’s no mixed messaging, and also to prevent your puppy from having accidents in the house or developing bad toilet habits. So why not give it a go and make the switch to our sustainable puppy pad alternatives? Simply order one of our starter packs today to get your hands (and their paws) on a Piddle Patch of your own delivered straight to your door!

Would you rather a puppy pad or a fresh grass dog toilet?
Piddle Patch is the UK’s environmentally friendly alternative to puppy pads.

A Piddle Patch customer talks about her experience house-training her puppy using Piddle Patch

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While bringing home a puppy is an exciting time, knowing how to get them house-trained can be daunting. There are so many choices to make and questions to ask – should you give your new pup a puppy pad? Will that confuse your dog into urinating on rugs and towels? How often will they need to go potty? How do I teach them what to do? The questions can be overwhelming.

Sophie found that using Piddle Patch helped to speed up the process of house-training her puppy, Amber.

Sophie says that she expected house-training her puppy to be much harder than it turned out to be and she puts that down to giving her dog Amber a toilet solution she already knew and understood – fresh grass! Check out her testimonial below*:


Video Testimonial:

It made my life so easy, it really made my life easy. I thought ‘oh hang on a minute, what’s everyone going on about? About puppy training’. I was warned it’s going to be a nightmare, you’re going to be up all hours, there’s going to be messes around the flat. And there wasn’t. It really wasn’t difficult at all. It was the case of showing it to her, she was happy with it because it was something she understood and knew, and then just helping her along for a few days and then she literally just using it off her back. There was no issue. I would 100% – and I mean this, which is why I’m doing this – I would 100% recommend using Piddle Patch. Spread the word because it’s worth every penny.

Watch more about Sophie’s experience house-training her puppy using Piddle Patch.

*Sophie was not paid to endorse Piddle Patch. She is an actual customer and her testimonial was provided on a voluntary basis.

With thanks to Sophie Bradley for sharing her photo of her gorgeous puppy Amber.

Here’s why Sophie house-trained her puppy using a fresh grass dog toilet

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I recently met up with Sophie who has been using Piddle Patch to house-train her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy, Amber. Sophie lives in a flat in London and wanted to give her puppy a grassy area to go potty on the balcony. During our meeting, Sophie agreed to let me film a testimonial on her experience using Piddle Patch. This is what she had to say*:

Video transcript:

We were amazed actually and other people have been amazed at how quickly she’s transitioned to use outside. The only messes that she’s made is because of my misunderstanding and not reading her signs that she wanted to go for a wee. We have the Piddle Patch as a sort of backup system. So when it’s been really bad rain, we’ve had bad bad weather of late, she’s been frightened by the rain and not wanting to go out, so we’ve used the Piddle Patch. And it doesn’t smell, we haven’t had any flies on it even though we’ve had it out the balcony. I can maintain it enough by spraying water on it as well which regenerates it enough, she doesn’t get dirty as it’s made from textiles as well so she doesn’t come in with dirty paws and her paws don’t smell actually. So I would wholeheartedly recommend it, and have!

Watch Sophie’s testimonial on how she found the process of house-training her puppy.

*Sophie is a genuine Piddle Patch customer and she was not paid to give this testimonial.

With thanks to Sophie Bradley for her photo of her gorgeous pup Amber.

How to take care of your Piddle Patch grass

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By signing up for a Piddle Patch subscription service, you’re removing the hassle of purchasing toilet solutions from the stores, cleaning up accidental messes and, most of all, ensuring that your dog, and home, is always filled with fresh, healthy grass.

We recommend that you replace your grass every one to two weeks. This will require the least amount of upkeep on the grass, while ensuring the best quality of grass for your dog and home. However, if you’d like to prolong the life of your grass, here are some tips for maintaining it.

Healthy grass requires:

Access to sunlight – Remove the lid as soon as possible on the day of delivery. If at all possible, keep your grass in an area where it has some access to natural light.

Water – Watering your grass regularly will help to keep it fresh and strong. Dehydrated grass will look less plump, less green and straw like.

Occasional trims – Keeping the grass at a suitable length not only helps the grass to stay healthy, but helps Piddle Patch stay a suitable environment for your dog. This is because some dogs, especially some smaller dogs, dislike the feel of grass along their belly, so this may deter the dog from using Piddle Patch. To trim your grass, use scissors or small shears. To maintain healthy grass it is recommended to cut off only the top third of the grass blade each time. Clear the cuttings off of Piddle Patch. Remember to clean your hands and disinfect the tools you use after trimming the grass.

What to do if: Piddle Patch from above

The grass is yellowing – this is a sign that your grass needs natural light. In an ideal situation, Piddle Patch will be placed in an area where it will have periodic access to light throughout the day. However, if this is not possible, try to give your Piddle Patch access to sunlight at a time when your dog will not require it.

A white substance appears suddenly on the grass – This white substance is a form of mildew.  It generally only occurs if you continually remove and replace the lid of the box.  Therefore we recommend that the lid is removed for the first time after delivery as soon as possible and that the lid is NOT replaced back on top of the grass.  If mildew has appeared, this can easily be removed by wiping your grass softly with a biodegradable baby wipe or a slightly damp paper towel.

There are bugs in the grass – While we take every possible care to ensure there are no bugs in the grass, they can occasionally be found. These bugs are harmless and can simply be vacuumed up.

5 ways Piddle Patch is good for the environment

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It’s no secret that the world’s limited resources are starting to run out. While loveable and wonderful, dogs are not excluded from the list of environmental offenders. In fact, it’s been alleged in one study that a medium sized dog has a larger carbon footprint than a gas guzzling SUV!

That’s why we’ve developed an environmentally friendly alternative to dog training pads and a product that helps to minimise your dog’s impact on the environment.

Here’s 5 environmental benefits to choosing Piddle Patch.

  1. Provides a natural solution. The most immediate environmental benefit you’ll see from your Piddle Patch can be found in the home. Unlike a dog training pads, Piddle Patch is a natural product and offers a number of secondary benefits to it’s immediate purpose as a fresh grass dog toilet. Many studies highlight the psychological benefits of plants which includes decreased depression and anxiety, and greater life satisfaction. A 2009 study found that “plants brightened up the room environment, reduced stress, and also conveyed positive impressions”.
  2. Diverts textiles from landfill. Our soil-free grass is grown in textiles that have been diverted from landfill. This process extends the life of our grass and creates a thick root system which helps to drain urine away from the surface of each Piddle Patch. In contrast to turf grass from a local garden centre, which needs to be planted within 48 hours or else it dies, our grass lasts between one to two weeks before it requires replacing (variance comes down in part to frequency of use, strength of the dog’s urine, and any care provided to Piddle Patch).  In addition to the benefits the textiles offer the product, it also helps us to reduce the carbon impact these resources would otherwise have if they had simply been sent to landfill after their first use.  According to WRAP UK, one tonne of reused textiles “can result in a net GHG saving of 8 tonnes CO2-eq net…As well as the carbon benefits, there are parallel resource and energy savings as a result of this reuse activity” .
  3. Benefits the local environment. Our grass is grown using LEAF – Linking Environment and Farming – principles. This means that our team works hard to ensure best environmental practices are undertaken and that the growth of our grass enriches the environment.
  4. Eliminates garbage. Piddle Patch is the only natural and environmentally friendly toilet solution in the UK. Unlike pee pads, which take 500 years to decompose in landfill and leachate harmful toxins into the local environment, Piddle Patch and it’s packaging are 100% biodegradable/recyclable. After use, Piddle Patch can be composted (for use on flower-beds and non-edible produce only). In some regions, it may also be possible to place Piddle Patch into your garden waste collection where it will be treated and converted into compost. Piddle Patch packaging can be recycled.
  5. Supports British agriculture. Piddle Patch grass is in the UK and harvested fresh for each order.  By ordering Piddle Patch, you’re benefiting the local environment, supporting local business, and investing in the British economy.