The Flush Potty Has Been...Flushed

The Flush Potty lasted less than 24 hours in our house. There were a lot of things wrong with this product and I'm pretty sure if that me or Mr. K could see, we never would have ordered it in the first place.
First of all, the Flush Potty supposedly comes with a "bark mixture," which is used instead of synthetic grass. To me, if you say "bark mixture" I picture strips of bark and maybe other kind of thinly shaved organic product. I wasn't thinking hunks of tree. If I had known that the "bark mixture" meant palm sized pieces of wood, I never would have bought it. Who in their right mind would make a product for dogs with wood pieces? Maybe they don't own dogs because if they did, they would realise that there is no way to stop a dog from eating wood. Okay, maybe not "no way," but if you have dogs who are used to playing outside, they will automatically try to play with/chew wood. Unless you're planning on lighting the wood on fire or spraying it with hot sauce to discourage your dog from eating it, don't bother with the Flush Potty. You will just end up with a gigantic mess.
I can remember when we took Aria out for the first time. She was so small we didn't put her on a leash because our backyard is fenced in and she was so tiny we knew she wasn't going very far. (She didn't even weigh two pounds when she came home with us).One of the first things she did, instead of going potty, was to pick up an itty-bitty stick and carry it around proudly. It was the size of a toothpick, but she was very happy with it. What I am trying to say is that wood chunks is not a "bark mixture" and dogs will be more inclined to eat the potty material than potty on it.
Also, when we were reading about the stinking thing on the Flush Potty website, there was mention of a valve that you open when cleaning. Maybe we got a new model, but there is definitely no valve. It is just a hole in the front of the pan. The rest of the design of the Flush Potty follows the design of most other indoor potties. It is a metal tray with a grate above it with small holes for the waste product to filter through. There's nothing more special about this thing than any other indoor dog potty. The only difference is that, this one uses pieces of wood and the others usually use synthetic grass.
Now, I am one person with two dogs who won't use it. Well, I retract that statement. They won't use it for its intended purpose. They would rather make a mess of the living room by systematically pulling each wood chunk out and chewing it into pieces. Once that one has been reduced to mere crumbs, they go back and get another one. So, maybe there are dogs out there that will use it-maybe dogs that have lived in apartments all of their lives in gigantic cities and who have never seen a park in their lives...but I'm thinking most dogs would prefer pigging out than pottying.
Another concern I have with it is the fact that big wood chunks like that could be a choking hazard or cause blockages in small dogs. It can block big dogs as well, but it is more likely in little fuzzy ones. So again, who in their right mind would make a product for dogs with wood chunks.
Mr. K and I didn't want to give up too soon, so we did try a few different things in the hopes of encouraging them to use it as a potty.
First we tried putting a used wee pad over the "bark mixture," but they would just sneak under the pad and steal the pieces of wood. Then Mr. K bought some kind of marking spray to show them that it was a "potty" place, but that didn't work either. If he didn't use a whole bunch, they still took the wood and if he used more, the house smelled like dog urine and the dogs wouldn't even go near it. I can't even imagine how stinky it was for them, if I could smell it. The stink was the last straw for me.
I dragged the heavy metal tray outside,, bark mixture, stinky spray and all, on to the front porch and left it there. I haven't figured out what to do with the tray yet. The thing weighs probably ten pounds or more and it was expensive. I don't want to throw it out, but what else will we do with it? Keep it as an expensive wee pad holder?
Regardless of what we decide to do with it, I just want everyone out there with dogs, particularly little dogs, to know that the Flush Potty is a good way to "flush" money down the human toilet. Don't waste the 75 dollars on it just to find out if it will work as a potty or a tree buffet for your dogs. If you want them to chew on trees, put them outside or take them to the park. It's much cheaper.