We’ve officially gone to the dogs, garden décor included. This DIY fire hydrant garden pee post for our dogs was made with PVC pipe and accent hardware to be relatively inexpensive, good-looking, secure yet readily moveable if required, and durable in all sorts of outdoor conditions – including (ideally) plenty of dog pee. Here’s how we made our DIY fire hydrant dog pee post.
Fire Hydrant Pee Post Options
One of the things we wanted to try at the new house was teaching the dogs to use a designated location as their preferred toilet area, which for our dogs would require some sort of potty post. A fire hydrant would be perfect. It’s a great pee post for any dog, but even more so for Dalmatians. Unfortunately, New Zealand doesn’t use that style of above-ground fire hydrant, so buying an old surplus hydrant, while a cool idea, wasn’t an option. We decided to make a look-alike DIY fire hydrant dog pee post instead.
DIY Fire Hydrant Dog Pee Post Design Considerations
The objectives for the post were to be inexpensive, good-looking, secure yet readily moveable if required, and durable. The hydrant would be fully exposed to our strong UV, baking summers, frosty winters, a whole lot of rain, and ideally plenty of dog pee!
We used PVC pipe to create a single straight-line standpipe design (less expensive than fancier configurations), and splurged a little on hardware to dress it up. I considered gluing a curvy object, like a bowl, on the top to make a more old-school hydrant look. But we were dubious about how something like that would hold up in our harsh conditions, so decided to just keep it sleek and simple.
PVC pipe is durable, but not cheap. If you know someone having work done who may have off-cuts, or if you have a plumber or tradie pal, you may be able to score some freebies or a discount. Keeping the shape and fittings relatively simple will help keep costs down. Shop carefully for hardware as well. Similar looking pieces can vary greatly in price, but make sure whatever you choose is suitable for outdoors. For more savings, scour the bargain bins and/or look for salvage objects that can be repurposed.
Creating the DIY Fire Hydrant Dog Pee Post
Supplies and Materials
The body of our fake fire hydrant was made using PVC pipe, a curved junction, and two flat-topped end caps, with all the PVC components in compatible sizes for fitting their respective ends together. Note that the length of PVC pipe was significantly longer than the visible finished hydrant. See below on how we installed it for easy removal or relocation, if needed.
To simulate hydrant hardware and add some pizazz to the plain pipes, we used two outdoor water spigot-style gate valve knob handles (ready-made in red) along with attaching hardware supplemented by a large stand-off nut and big beefy square galvanised metal washer plate to create metallic features on the caps. Flashy enough, but cheap and durable. Perfect.
- PVC pipe, junction, and end caps
- Red spray paint
- Gate valve knob handles
- Stand-off nuts
- Square washer plates
- Bolts and nuts for securing the values in place through the PVC caps
- Glue for securing pipes and embellishments
Making the Fake Fire Hydrant
The pipes were cleaned and painted with self-priming exterior rated plastic-suitable spray paint in a vibrant red and allowed to thoroughly dry and cure before further assembly.
To simulate hydrant hardware, we used two outdoor water spigot-style gate valve knob handles (ready-made in red) along with attaching hardware supplemented by a large stand-off nut and big beefy square galvanised metal washer plate to create metallic features on the caps. The hardware is shown disassembled in the collage above. Since there is nothing to attach into on the back of the PVC end caps, small nuts were used on the back (insides) of the end caps to keep the external hardware securely bolted onto the caps.
The finished PVC components were glued together and allowed to set before mounting.
Installing the Fire Hydrant in the Garden as a Pee Post for the Dogs
Mounting the hydrant in the garden was fairly simple (deep digging not withstanding). Since we wanted the hydrant to be secure but moveable if needed, we opted to deeply embed and pack it into the ground. With our clay soil, this is very sturdy. Once fully backfilled and the the surrounding mulch repositioned, it looks perfectly at home in the garden. Especially in our very dog-friendly garden with our Dalmatians.
To Pee, or Not to Pee. That is the Question...
Training the Dogs to Use a Designated Pee Position
In full disclosure, I share this post with a bit of a sigh. This project was completed a while ago (some of you may have seen it in our Instagram stories). All good so far and still looking great. Although the post looks awesome, sadly I’ve not yet been able to consistently get our boys to use it as their preferential pee place! Training tips or tales of commiserating woe are welcome.
I know people who use designated potty places, and I’d love to spare our lawn from the dreaded pee patches. At Oli’s age, we knew it would be unlikely but we were hopeful Humphrey would like peeing on his hydrant. He likes having a few preferential leg-up pee points, and section of our garden we chose is both pee-safe and one of his favourite destinations for number two, so we thought it would be a good option. I’ve tried leading, bribery, and even using dog pee to mark the post. One of the surprise dog mom skills I’ve honed over our years is getting handy at urine sample collection – see our purine post for details.
Our dogs have the luxury of spending lots of time roving about in the garden, so training on-position is difficult but still the goal. If you have a new pup and/or consistently observed (or ideally on lead to start) potty time, location training is much easier.
Alternative Methods of Managing Dog Pee Patches on the Lawn
Pee patches of concentrated dog urine are a lot like like accidentally putting too much fertiliser in one spot on your lawn (read more about pee patch causes and management). This is completely natural for healthy dog urine. If well-diluted and of moderate pH, nitrogen-rich dog pee can actually be quite good for grass! In our experience, Dalmatian pee seems more effective than a lot of commercial herbicides, unfortunately. I suspect it is linked to the differences in urine linked with Dalmatians and purines.
If location training fails (like mine has so far, unfortunately) watering helps immensely. Especially in the summer seasons or other stretches of dry weather. Maintaining a healthy hydrated lawn (less vulnerable) and watering the wee in, whenever possible, is the best line of defence. I keep a full watering can handy for dousing – much to our neighbours’ amusement, but it works!
