# Belly Bands, what are your thoughts?



## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

On another forum I forum I sometimes circulate, a lot of people seem to promote using belly bands for their dogs. For some who may not know what those are, its pretty much like a diaper for make dogs for them to pee in. I personally find them to be a bad thing, your pretty much letting the dog pee on themselves, considering the pee isnt instantly absorbed - seems cruel to me. Either let the dog out more often, or use puppy pee pads. The only time I would see belly bands being ok is if the dog had a medical condition or serious urinary incontinence. I want to hear what your views are on them.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

well, they saved bubba's life. i fully support them, especially when trying to house train an adult dog or a dog who doesn't have full control of his bladder.

we never used them in place of housetraining, but accidents went into the belly band, not on the rug or the furniturre.

our vet, after he was neutered, said he had urinary incontinence because he would pee whilst sleeping and wanted to put him on prion.

instead, we took him out more often....used belly bands when he was not crated and he was a happier boy....we were happier mommy and daddy....

there is a person on ebay who makes them specially for pugs, though i'm sure she makes them for other breeds too....

i don't think bubba would have survived without them....and we'll use them again if we ever get another dog.

they are not meant to be used in place of taking the dog out...or rigourous housetraining.

but for adult non trained dogs...for puppies who are just about there...for dogs who have a medical leakage....for older dogs who are losing bladder control, they are a life saver...and we used a tampon between him and the actual belly band and changed them often.


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

Ya thats what Im saying, if its for an actual reason then yes, they are fine. My friend had to use them on her burnese when he got neutered because he was just peeing ALL over the place, it was bad. But from what I read the person was using them in place of taking the dog out more often, and the dog isnt a puppy. So I think in that position its just pure laziness and they just need to let the dog out more or get pee pads over a belly band.


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

They can be lifesavers for dogs that mark. I've only used them on two foster dogs but in both cases they were males who marked EVERYTHING. Both dogs ended up settling down (one took a while, ha) and then I didn't need belly bands anymore...I just had to supervise closely.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i agree, kat.....they should never be used in place of housetraining, but they were a lifesaver for us...in our situation ....

if anything, we took him out twice as much...he knew when he had graduated....it was a joyous occasion for a two year old boy who had never been housetrained.


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## flippedstars (May 22, 2010)

I show and breed chihuahuas. It is my choice to raise ALL my dogs inside my house, with free run unless a female in heat. This includes males. Let me just say, there pretty much is NO humanly possible way to train an intact male chihuahua out of marking. It's about impossible. 

My dogs are let out 5-8 times a day for 10-15 minutes. I try to encourage the boys to pee as much as possible out there. When we come in they are just about on empty.

They are belly banded the minute they get inside the door. I use soft flannel bands lined with super absorbent poise pads inside. They wick away the pee pretty quickly because even my white male does not get a stained belly, so, I can't imagine the pee is staying on him, the pad absorbs it pretty much instantly.

Each time they go outside, I check the band. If the pad needs to be changed, it is changed. 

So, as far as I am concerned, used properly they are a wonderful, wonderful thing! Before we started using them I was CONSTANTLY finding places the sneaky little guys would find to lift a leg.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i wonder if it makes a difference when a dog is 'let out' as opposed to walked.....especially when it comes to marking.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

I always thought they were to deter the male dog from peeing, not to pee into them lol.

The only experience I had is that we had a male frenchie when I lived in the breeders house who would mark cause of females in heat. So she would put a belly band on him to let him romp around the house without worrying about him marking everything. But he was too well endowed LOL, and would often slip out of the band...


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## flippedstars (May 22, 2010)

magicre said:


> i wonder if it makes a difference when a dog is 'let out' as opposed to walked.....especially when it comes to marking.


My males don't pee on walks, they are all business about bein' on the road LOL. They pee plenty in the yard. They still will try to mark inside, even if they are on completely empty bladders. My 'smart' male has figured out that when he has his belly band on, he can't pee on stuff. So he doesn't try. Take the band off? He lifts his leg almost instantly...sometimes on my shoe  but it doesn't seem to convince all males they can't still mark. So who knows.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

meggels said:


> I always thought they were to deter the male dog from peeing, not to pee into them lol.


Me too. I thought they squished their penis so they wouldn't go.

I had a female dog on a temporary basis who had an untreated spinal injury and she had lost most control of her bladder. She also had bladder stones, so I was floating her in water. 

She peed everywhere in my house - everywhere. Every time she moved, pee would come out even if I had just emptied her bladder. We had to wash every rug, every dog bed and blanket, every floor. I was amazed at how bad it smelled, and how the smell didn't come out in the wash.

I was most afraid that Rebel, who goes right along behind Snorkels and pees right where she just peed, would start peeing in the house on top of the pee that was there. Luckily he didn't.

I was told I shouldn't use diapers because they could cause another bladder infection. But man, I can see why people use/like belly bands.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

Since I tend to get my dogs as puppies, they potty train pretty fast.we also don't have a marking issue with our males EXCEPT for when I have a female in heat, during which time the boys are not given much free roam time inside. I actually might look into these, so poor Mousse doesn't have to be crated so much during the girls' heats.


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## flippedstars (May 22, 2010)

PuppyPaws said:


> Since I tend to get my dogs as puppies, they potty train pretty fast.we also don't have a marking issue with our males EXCEPT for when I have a female in heat, during which time the boys are not given much free roam time inside. I actually might look into these, so poor Mousse doesn't have to be crated so much during the girls' heats.


Big dogs and little dogs are VERY different in respect to this, though. I have a friend that breeds both Aussies and Chihuahuas. She SWEARS that little dogs just don't CARE, even if they get it, when it comes to marking. She almost never has an issue training the Aussies not to mark inside. I don't know or understand why there is a difference but there definitely seems to be. I have tried leashing males to myself for weeks on end. All it does is make them sneakier.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

flippedstars said:


> Big dogs and little dogs are VERY different in respect to this, though. I have a friend that breeds both Aussies and Chihuahuas. She SWEARS that little dogs just don't CARE, even if they get it, when it comes to marking. She almost never has an issue training the Aussies not to mark inside. I don't know or understand why there is a difference but there definitely seems to be. I have tried leashing males to myself for weeks on end. All it does is make them sneakier.


I think most smaller dogs are more difficult to potty train than most big dogs.
Fully potty trained dogs will still mark if they feel so inclined to. Mousse would NEVER potty in the house and when Zailey went in heat, he market the coffers table right in front of me. Later that day he marked the aerobics step. So, I had to just cut down on his indoor not-crated time. I think he would look quite silly in a belly band, but might be worth a shot.


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## flippedstars (May 22, 2010)

PuppyPaws said:


> I think most smaller dogs are more difficult to potty train than most big dogs.
> Fully potty trained dogs will still mark if they feel so inclined to. Mousse would NEVER potty in the house and when Zailey went in heat, he market the coffers table right in front of me. Later that day he marked the aerobics step. So, I had to just cut down on his indoor not-crated time. I think he would look quite silly in a belly band, but might be worth a shot.


Too funny! Yeah, at least it's just a few drops when it's a small dog...the problem is you don't see it until there is so much in a spot it starts to smell - yuck!! I tried to avoid belly bands for the longest time, thinking I could get they boys out enough to keep them on empty, but nope  And yeah, they are 100 x worse when girls are in heat. So it is what it is - IDK anything about the bands for larger dogs but they are a lifesaver for little dogs for sure


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## BoxerParty (Nov 9, 2011)

I would never use these as a substitute for house training, but have considered getting one for Malcolm for when we have people over. He is an excited sprinkler, and it would be nice to keep the pee off of people's shoes/toes/legs and my carpet.  He would wear it during initial greetings, and it would be removed once he mellowed out again.


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## flippedstars (May 22, 2010)

All my chihuahuas are 'house trained', which is actually an impressive feat LOL...but males just don't see marking as pottying  It's an instinct, more than anything I think. 

They are good, too though, for like you mentioned - excited tinklers. Or older incontinent dogs. It just is incredibly important to remove the band while the dog is sleeping and to change it as needed through the day. 

I think it's ridiculous for someone to think of using a belly band in place of house training, too.


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## twoisplenty (Nov 12, 2008)

I also thought bellybands were to discourage peeing. Hmm you learn something new everyday, lol. I have 2 intact males in our house and neither of them mark, not even when the girls come into heat. Now they do call out like a bull moose though....perhaps I can find a mouth band


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