Meet Pilsen’s Newest Urban Furniture: The Dog Urinal!

They were placed keeping the dogs’ territorial instincts in mind. 

Complaints about house facades regularly soiled with dog pee have been mounting in the city of Pilsen recently, which is why Municipal District 3 decided to do something about that problem. The solution came in the form of an unusual urban furniture item called a dog urinal (psí pisoár).

The district authorities announced at the start of this week that they’ve purchased 24 such urinals and that they’ve begun installing them on various streets around the neighbourhood.

The dog urinal appears to be a purely Czech invention integrating simple design with smart implications. They are made from concrete and feature holes that trap some of the dog pee inside the container.

The reason for this is that the urinal will be resistant to weather changes, such as rain or snow, and preserve the urine scent. That scent will keep attracting dogs to the spot where they can do their business rather than elsewhere in the city.

The latest trend in urban hygiene

What’s more, the location of the dog urinals is not random at all. You will find them in green, grassy spaces and off the sidewalks.

They are also harmonized with the dogs’ needs as territorial animals. Dogs pee on different objects not out of urgent need but as a way of marking the border of what they consider to be their domain. It is thus a way of communicating with other dogs.

That’s why the dog urinals will be located at the beginning or end of a street or near intersections. Once a urinal has been peed on it will become known among the dog community as a marker post.

“We will be happy for residents’ feedback on whether they see that the placement of urinals fulfils its purpose -that is, whether thanks to them the number of facades of houses marked with dog signatures decreases and whether it is worth acquiring more,” explained District 3 Mayor David Procházka, as quoted by Plzen.cz.

The dog urinals will also help direct the animal owners to the right spots and not let their furry friends deface private property.