Whole Dog Journal’s 2022 Dog Gear of The Year

The most exciting and useful dog products you can use in the new year.

DOGGY BATHROOM $169

Let’s talk about doggy pee pads. I wish we didn’t need them – the great outdoors is the best place for all that! – but the pads can be a much-appreciated answer for the Yorkie on the 30th floor, the French Bulldog who won’t go out in bad weather, and the Bichon whose owner is recovering from surgery. Typically, though, this “solution” comes with an acceptance that the entire living space now feels like a doggy bathroom, with pee pads scattered across the floor.

indoor dog bathroom
It’s hard to see, but there are absorbent pee pads fastened to the interior sides of the Doggy Bathroom, in addition to a pad on the bottom. The pads on the side help capture the output of male dogs who will only urinate while lifting a hind leg.

Enter the Doggy Bathroom, which will be a game-changer in this arena. Looking a bit like a traditional kitty litter box, but with three high sides, it dramatically minimizes (and shields from view) the impact of indoor pottying, allowing owners to reclaim their living space and providing dogs with a bit of privacy, too! 

The biggest benefit of those high sides, though, is that they give male dogs a place to lift their legs. The Doggy Bathroom gives the boys a target; a clipping system keeps the sides lined with pee pads that are designed to be absorbent enough to catch urine even when held vertical. Pads on the bottom soak up the rest – and even if the pads get kicked out of place, the single-piece molded-plastic Bathroom won’t allow urine to seep onto floors. (You can use any pads, but the ones sold by Doggy Bathroom are super absorbent and have an adhesive backing that helps secure them.) 

Alternatively, you could also use the Doggy Bathroom with a dog-litter product on the bottom, and the adhesive pads on the sides (if needed for male dogs). 

The big white box drops into a rubber base, which keeps the box from slipping or scratching floors. Also included in the price are 50 pee pads and two rails and six clips that help hold the pads on the interior vertical sides of the box. 

Fantastic off-label uses we’ve seen so far include:

  • Litter box for cats who kick out litter.
  • Whelping pen for toy breeds.
waterproof indoor dog bathroom
WDJ editor Nancy Kerns recently used the Doggy Bathroom to contain all the water spilled and splashed around by a litter of water-loving foster puppies, saving her laminate flooring from water damage!

Water bowl housing for puppies who love to splash in their bowls (last summer, WDJ Editor Nancy Kerns pressed the product into service this way, and credits its water-containment abilities for saving the not-waterproof laminate floor in her office).

 The Doggy Bathroom is made in Canada and comes in two sizes. The original is 28″ x 20″ (and 16″ tall). The Mini (available in April) is 23″ by 18″ and 13″ tall. Any pads can be used, but if you like the extra-absorbent pads sold by Doggy Bathroom best, you can buy more from them by subscription. – K.C.

14 COMMENTS

  1. Do these harnesses control dogs who pull? I generally find harnesses that attach to the leash from the front give somewhat more and easier control than those that attach from the top and it is not clear to me how these harnesses attach to the leash. Thank you!!

    • The Baumutt In.Line Harness has a unique attachment point on the front of the harness, making it perfect to manage dogs who are still learning not to pull. If has an extra attachment point on the back of the harness for when they behaving better 🙂

  2. The Heyday beds look nice and practical. That said, for BIG dogs (mine is 100lbs) I’d like to recommend the Big Barker line of orthopedic beds specifically made for the needs of big/heavy dogs. WDJ please check them out!

    • I got both of my dogs Kopek’s orthopedic beds even though they are still young. I bought one for Ramses when he was 12 and should have bought one much sooner. Not only is the foam great but it has both an outer microfiber cover that washes beautifully and in inner waterproof liner that is also washable. I originally got Ramses a DogBeds4Less for the bedroom and that was also very good and fit quite well next to the bed. Also with both a cover and liner and good foam mattress. He had that in the bedroom and his Kopeks in the living room. When I got Freyja I bought her a round Kopek’s and this morning when I woke up she was sleeping in it. She hasn’t done that for months but I guess with the cold weather she wanted a bit of warmth and to be closer to me. Diana is still sleeping in the bed so she has an Olympic Queen Serta or Sealy or whatever it is with a memory foam topper. Her Kopek’s is in the living room.

  3. I think both Diana pawPrints and Freyja Grey are in Kurgo, Freyja inheriting the harness Diana grew out of. I bought both because they were so highly rated for the car. I can put them in any harness for walking but for the car I want a harness that is the best rated in case of accident. They don’t like being buckled in but who does? It’s for their own good and I don’t want them flying through a windshield because a quick release buckle broke. I research from time to time but every time, those quick release buckles no matter what the design fail in car accident tests. I believe Diana’s large Kurgo has an infinity loop to secure her. Freyja’s smaller harness has metal tabs that go through metal loops to secure her. Sure it’s more difficult as she is a spinner, but it is a small price to pay for their safety.

  4. It’s so nice to see Otto modeling again. I’ve been an Otto fan since first graced WDJ’s pages. I just adore him.
    About doggy seat-belt harnesses, traveling in a crate has been proven to be much safer. Having said that, I admit to using a harness more often because I’m an inconsistent human being. Rufus, too, is a spinner. We get around that problem by attaching the harness to the seatbelt with a rotating hook cut from an old leash.

  5. As a professional trainer that routinely utilizes harnesses and recommends that my clients do as well, I have observed a lack of choices when it comes to harness, including this one as described. Yes, there’s tons on the market, but when looking for correct sizing (almost impossible to find for dogs under 10 lbs), that ALSO have a neck adjustment and release and a front buckle attachment for the leash, the choices are very, very few. More harnesses need to have the neck adjustment and release because there’s many dogs that are fearful of equipment going over their head. I’m at the point where I think I need to design my own just to offer these options. Currently the 3 n 1 harness accomplishes this but is limited for use in smaller breeds.

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