"pick of the litter" information, resources & connections
Condo buildings banning "doggy boxes" on decks?
I just came across this article on Neighborhood Notes:
http://www.neighborhoodnotes.com/nw/pearl_district/news/2008/10/dog...
My head exploded so I thought I'd post here to see what other dog-friendly people think. People must have a lot of spare time to sit with binoculars to see whether or not somebody else's deck may or may not have little brown blobs on it. I have a doggy box, but not a deck, so mine is inside my condo in the den. It's a little box with astroturf---how "unsightly" (?!) Personally I would rather people have their dog's business on their deck, rather than on the sidewalks around the building. How do you all feel about it?
http://www.neighborhoodnotes.com/nw/pearl_district/news/2008/10/dog...
My head exploded so I thought I'd post here to see what other dog-friendly people think. People must have a lot of spare time to sit with binoculars to see whether or not somebody else's deck may or may not have little brown blobs on it. I have a doggy box, but not a deck, so mine is inside my condo in the den. It's a little box with astroturf---how "unsightly" (?!) Personally I would rather people have their dog's business on their deck, rather than on the sidewalks around the building. How do you all feel about it?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Andrea Schneider on
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Hi,
I posted that on neighborhood notes because someone asked me about it. I know when I had my store the residents made a huge stink (no pun intended) about the doggy duty product box I had on the deck. They were awful and made me give it back to the vendor.
Recently, someone told me that a friend of theirs in the Pearl was told they couldn't have a box on their residential deck in a unit they own. I put it up to see what people thought about it. I agree, there are a lot of people with nothing to do!
Andrea
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Permalink Reply by Courtney Anders on -
This is so unfortunate because my balcony's litter box is great for me and my pets. Initially when my husband proposed the idea of a balcony litter box I was opposed because I didn't want my dogs to think it was appropriate to eliminate anywhere near the house. I thought they may get confused or lazy and start to go in the house too. Now I couldn't imagine living without it for so many reasons:
1. Quick access when your pet has to go...no more waiting for the elevator or running up and down the stairs. This can be a huge problem for younger and older pets with special needs.
2. It protects pets from so many communicable diseases. I just opened Pearl Animal Hospital on 10th ave at the Pinnacle and three out of five fecal tests are coming back positive for Giardia....I'm suspecting the field park due to the standing water and lots of feces that haven't been removed... so be careful.
3. As mentioned above, it is cleaner for the city.
4. Prevents people and pets from having to go outside in cold and wet weather.
Just because it's on the balcony doesn't mean that people don't or won't maintain its cleanliness. It's an extension of your home and people take pride in their homes....not to mention people don't want their pet's tracking their waste into their condos. I have never had a complaint about my litter box. For those that are curious about our setup: Our strategy was to take the outside to our dogs. They were already used to city living and eliminating on the bark chips around sidewalk trees so we brought the sidewalk trees to them. We built a box out of plywood and 4x4. We line the box with a heavy duty trash bag, place a pee pad on top of the trashbag in the box and cover with barkdust chips (we get in bulk very cheap at Mt Scott Fuels, but you can find at many places). We remove feces as they go or as we notice it (we leave a window open for easy access) and weekly we change the entire trashbag/peepad/barkchips by turning the trash bag inside out and tossing. It doesn't smell at all. Instead of alerting us that they need to go potty by waiting at the front door, they go to the balcony door.
I think the HOA's need some guidelines to follow or restrictions on the types of litter boxes and how they are to be maintained, but I feel they are making a mistake to ban completely. I don't live downtown, but would be happy to assist in anyway to get "doggy boxes" approved. The most reliable way to reach me is via email: canders@pearlanimalhospital.com. I love this site, but am still trying to find time to regularly visit.
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Permalink Reply by pearlgirl on -
Hi everyone,
Just to be clear—condominiums are not considering banning these boxes. In most cases, the boxes are simply not approved deck items in the HOA bylaws. Andrea (yes, PDXdog Andrea) simply wanted to explore why these boxes were not allowed on some Pearl District decks. In short, it's the bylaws—those rules created by the developer that every building inherits.
Residents can change the bylaws. The power is in your paws, um, hands.
© 2008 Created by Andrea Schneider
