Review: Fresh Patch Brings the Dog Park to Your Pad

My dog, Mr. Moxie, is kind of like a cat. He climbs on the furniture, can leap up onto counters in a single bound, has his people trained instead of vice versa — and then there’s the litter box.

Since Mox was a wee pupster, he was trained to do his business in a pan with Yesterday’s News litter (which, made of rolled-up bits of newspaper, was the least “catty” of our options … I’m looking at you, Feline Pine).

Italian Greyhounds are notorious for potty problems, and since we live in a high rise, the box seemed like a good bet. Mox impressed us by taking to it rather quickly, and these days he lifts a dainty leg and makes canine elimination look like an art form.

Really, it’s quite impressive. Some people invite guests over to have them marvel at their mad cooking skills. Me? I just want you to come to my house and watch my dog pee into a box.

Anyway! While we clean the box weekly and scoop the poop as soon as it plops upon the pellets, Moxie’s box area isn’t the most appealing to those of us with a sense of smell. There’s a small window by the box that we crack open to make things bearable, but it’s closed most of the time to keep out the chill. So we were intrigued when we visited Dog Milk (for the record, one of our favorite dog sites out there) and read its brief write-up on Fresh Patch, a disposable dog potty that consists of a 16-by-24-inch plot of grass.

The box arrives!

We e-mailed the Fresh Patch folks and they sent us a sample patch days later. (Thanks, guys!) It’s exactly what you’d expect: a patch of grass in a box. Note that the grass is hydroponically grown, so there’s no dirt or mess.

The box opens. Note curious Moxie in the background.

It took me quite some time to get the box open, mostly because I’m an idiot. The boyfriend looked concerned as I wrestled with the thick cardboard sides and a kitchen knife, but eventually the top swung open.

Moxie's soiled litter box.

For reference, here is Moxie’s old litter box, complete with somewhat wet litter. We cleaned up his area before slapping down the neat little grass plot.

Moxie takes a sniff.

He took a liking to it right away, and within the hour had christened his new box with something solid. We were worried he’d be weirded out by having a bit of the outside indoors, but Mox seemed pleased that his two-legged slaves had installed a miniature dog park in the apartment.

Mox and his new box.

It’s been around five days since we opened the box and the apartment is smelling great. We’re definitely considering becoming converts, but the $20 a week price point may have us reverting to our litter box ways. Maybe when I’m done paying off the money the IRS magically decided I owe, we can revisit this.

Thanks again to the Fresh Patch folks for letting us give this a whirl!

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