DIY Indoor Doggie Potty

getting a chihuahua puppy and with the temps hovering around 5F theres no way to train him to go outside.   So I started digging for ways to make one of the nifty indoor dog toilets that I have seen for 100s of dollars.

You will need (local lowes prices here)
Washer tray 25 dollars for a 29x31 (they had a larger one for 10 more)
Ceiling grate thing 9 bucks.. in lumber area with ceiling tiles
Zip Ties - 100 for 4 bucks
Astro turf stuff.  Heres where it gets iffy.. they have green, blue and grey... they have thick and course, or smooth and soft.  I chose the thick because I did not want to have any association with carpet at all.  Grey was only because eventually it will go on my porch and i want it to blend a little bit.  The underneath was also made like regular carpet so it eliminated the need to pop hole for drainage unlike the base of the green stuff which was more grass like.
The grey astroturf stuff cost me 4 bucks a linear foot and I got 2 feet (2'x6' gives me 2 extra squares for later)
Total cost around 41 dollars

Step 1 Step one

You need to cut down the grate.  I tried using the scissors but it just snapped the plastic.  I figured out halfway through that a pair of pliers and a twisting motion snaps the pieces right off separating the sides. 
I personally would measure one square less than needed as mine was a little snug when put together. 

What I did was lay the grate on the top and guess at which square to chop at.   Plan on losing a whole square where you cut/snap it.
After you get the main part cut you will have to cut the spare up and piece the ends together.

An alternative I found online is to use metal but I could not find any sturdy enough.

Following the cut out, take your zip ties and attach the pieces together to make a nice almost square.  It should fit in your tray with a tiny room to spare on each side, if not trim the sides now.