Potty training in dogs, most especially puppies is one of the most daunting tasks to ever be introduced to pet owners and pet lovers. For first-time pet owners, especially dogs, this can spell the difference between deciding to keep a puppy and giving it away or giving up on pets altogether. In fact, if you are a kid who got his wish for a new puppy, this is one of the cardinal things that your parents would remind you “feed the dog, bathe the dog and potty train the dog.”
Potty training is not an easy thing to do for dogs. Other animals like cats can be trained to use the toilet, or you can buy a litter box, or even an automated litter box to make it easy on you. The sheer size and hyperactive and clumsy nature of a dog, especially a puppy make it simply impossible for them to avail of those things. The best thing that we can do for a dog is potty train him enough that he can hold his bowel and bladders in until such time that we can let them out or help them by opening the door to the yard. But recent studies suggest that asking our pet dogs and puppies to hold their bladder and bowels in might not be such a good idea especially if we are not able to follow a strict schedule when to let them out. Accidents can happen even if you have an indoor dog potty. Recently, I received and tried a new innovative product called Paws2Go. Let me share my experience and explain why you need it.
Enter Paws2Go. What is Paws2Go?
Basically, the Paws2Go is a communication device for you and your dog that reminds you that your dog or puppy needs to go out to pee or poo. It uses proximity and touch sensing technology in a mountable pad that will send a message to your phone to let you know that it is peeing or pooping time for your dog. Your dog can activate it with his paws or nose. The Paws2Go conveniently replaces the scratch marks on your doors, walls, and floors when your dog really needs to go and he constantly begs for your attention by needlessly scratching and digging. You can mount it on the wall or place it on the floor near your door and it does not matter where you are in the house or in the yard, you or anybody running the Paws2Go app will receive a notification their dog(s) need to poo and pee.
Paws2Go Product Dimension and Description
The Paws2Go is quite bulky for its design because it was engineered to be tough enough for big 100 pound dogs or smaller toy dogs. We live in a multi-pet, multi-dog household with a huge German Shepherd and a small Japanese Spitz, and we found that the Paws2Go works perfectly for both of them. It is 5.8 inches in length and 5.8 in width and about an inch thick. It weighs close to half a pound. It is powered by three triple A batteries, which comes along with the pack and aside from the touch-activated surface, it also features a light indicator telling you that it has been activated, a wall mounting option at the back, a mic for recording and a small speaker. (More on these later)
How does the Paws2Go work?
Like I said a while ago, the Paws2Go gives your pet a way to communicate with you regarding his needs. While it might sound cumbersome at first, all you have to do with the Paws2Go is to teach your dogs and puppies to paw at it or touch it with their nose to signal that they want to go outside for their “bathroom needs.” The mic and the small speaker at the back is a great incentive because you can record positive reinforcements like “good boy” or “good girl” when your pets paw at it. This way they are reminded that it is a good thing to use the Paws2Go when they want to go outside for poo and pee time. As an owner, you need to download the app which is compatible with Android and iOS, and that is all you need.
I spent two days teaching my 4 y.o. dog how to use it. It was fun, and pretty easy. However, he is very well-trained.
For beginners, you might want to use treats and snacks to entice the dogs and puppies to use it at first, then slowly wean them off the treats once they figured it out what is the purpose of the Paws2Go device.
What is good about the Paws2Go?
What is great about the Paws2Go is that it has no moving parts which lessens the tension for us pet owners of thinking, “what if my pet will get stuck to it or will be hurt by it?” And since its touch sensor activated, similar to smart dog doors, and not “push button” even smaller pets and puppies will not have a hard time activating it. Most competing brands, if not all use mechanical and spring loaded switches to activate their system, Paws2Go uses a touch sensor. The LED lights illuminate all the sides and are also fun and useful additions, I thought at first it was just a novelty design to look, well… “cute” until I received a notification message from the Paws2Go app at 2 am in the morning and I had to walk around the dark house. The Paws2Go LED light was bright enough to let me know where my little spitz was yet dark enough not to hurt my “just woke up” squinty eyes.
Also, as far as we know, only the Paws2Go offers the personalized playback message option. Other similar devices use bells or sounds, but the Paws2Go allows up to 10 seconds of a recorded message to reassure our furry pets that what they are doing is correct. Another first in its technology is the mobile app service that is free to download and use. The Paws2Go uses Bluetooth to send notification messages to any nearby mobile device that has the installed app.
Little pieces of engineering nuggets like the clear plastic looking top piece that covers the majority of the face of the Paws2Go was actually engineered using UV resistant plastic so that the top clear piece would not yellow or discolor over time like those cheap plastic buckets or handles that we often see in kitchen stores. The same plastic is also made with a very heavy duty and durable overlay material that is velvet matte finished to make sure that it is scratch resistant and will not hurt our furry pet’s paws. The overall plastic casing was also designed to be stepped on and abused and is guaranteed not to break under reasonably heavyweight or hard usage.
What needs to improve with the Paws2Go?
For all our praises that we sing of the Paws2Go, it does come with its own misgivings or things that we want the developer to possibly look at in the future to improve the overall experience with the Paws2Go. First of all the not so obvious problem that needs to be addressed is actually a by-product of the Paws2Go function. When do we know that our pet dogs and puppies want back in? Wouldn’t it be amazing if we had a similar system or a counterpart system for the Paws2Go that our dogs can knock, paw or nose to let us know that they have done their business and are now ready to come back in?
Obviously, we can wait on them but some of the dogs especially the puppies take a long time to do their thing. And waiting for them just defeats the purpose of having a system that helps you communicate better with your pets. Plus, I think the Paws2Go system that would let us know if our furry family members want to come back inside is a little bit more useful than the existing Paws2Go. Because not only does it account for our pets wanting to come back in, they can also help our pets who have been accidentally left out and want back inside.
Lastly, I would like to see a different Paws2Go color in terms of casing and the LED light indicators. It might be something small but with such a simple and perfect system, a little personalization in terms of color and light indicator really pushes it a long way.
The final verdict on the Paws2Go?
If it is still not painfully obvious by now, we are crazy over the Paws2Go. It is affordable, easy to train our dogs and puppies, very practical and you have a feeling of silent pride whenever your dogs would let you know that they want to do their business. Not only is it effective, but it is also quite a conversation piece with guests. Learn more about this device at Paws2Go Official Website.
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