Having pets at home is one of the most wholesome aspects of life. Although you never want to leave them because they are so adorable, having a puppy not potty trained can seriously disrupt your daily routine.
Puppy diapers can be a good idea for managing accidents during house training, incontinent dogs, or female dogs in heat. However, they should be used with proper care and hygiene, ensuring the diaper is changed regularly to avoid irritation or infections. It’s essential to also focus on proper training to eventually eliminate the need for diapers.
Even while pet owners adore many aspects of their pets, the early phases may be the most difficult when there is still much housebreaking or training left. Training your puppies can often be frustrating, while it may be enjoyable for some.
When it comes to puppy diapers and their usefulness, opinions are divided. Thus, we’ll examine the benefits and drawbacks of utilizing puppy diapers in this article to determine whether you ought to.
What Is The Use Of Puppy Diapers?
Puppy diapers are made to precisely fit a puppy’s waist. The main distinction is that there is a hole at the back of the diaper where the puppy’s tail with go through in comparison with a human diaper. Despite the name, you can still use puppy diapers for adult dogs if they fit the size.
Here are some uses of puppy diapers:
- For house training purposes
- For dogs who suffer from urinary incontinence
- For female dogs who are in heat
- For senior dogs who can’t walk around or get up as quickly anymore
Puppy diapers are designed to hold in a lot of fluids and prevent feces from spilling. But like any other diaper, you should change them every few hours since they can get heavy. Also, if a diaper is worn for too long, your dog may develop infections or urine burns.
When Should You Use Puppy Diapers?
There’s no wrong time when you should use diapers for your dog.
Generally, people use puppy diapers when the puppy is still very young because they are usually not yet trained on when and where they should go relieve themselves. This is when diapers come in handy because with them on, you don’t have to worry about them peeing or pooing anywhere inside the house.
Puppies about two months old and older can use diapers, depending on the breed and how big they get as they age.
In addition, you can use dog diapers for senior dogs who lack the strength to stand up or move to their regular toilet spot. Diapers are lifesavers, even for physically challenged dogs or with other physical limitations.
Are Puppy Diapers A Good Idea?
It is not necessary or mandatory that you get diapers for your puppy, but it can be of great help if you face any trouble with housetraining your furry friend.
Puppy diapers come in handy when you have to travel or if they have some biological issues that prevent them from having control over their instincts.
Other than that, if you can train your dog without using diapers, good for you because you don’t have to spend extra money purchasing them.
You also don’t have to spend time worrying about torn diapers in the living room because your dog hates wearing them.
Pros And Cons Of Puppy Diapers
Pros
- Potty Training:
The most common use of puppy diapers is for potty training. Housebreaking is essential when you first welcome a puppy into your home. But it’s expected that they make little messes here and there inside the house, so to prevent these during the training process, you can use puppy diapers.
- Prevent Urinary Tract Infections:
This might surprise many people, but UTIs in dogs develop because of bacteria and pathogens from external sources. The diaper acts as a barrier that prevents these infections from entering the urinary tract.
At the same time, if you don’t pay attention to the number of times you change your dog’s diapers when in use, you might cause UTIs to develop. So it’s both a pro and a con.
- Comfort:
Some dogs love the idea of wearing diapers. Undoubtedly, it’s difficult for pet owners to believe after going through the trying process of allowing their dog to get used to the diapers. Yet it’s true.
For instance, dogs with short coats enjoy the warmth that diapers provide. When dogs with specific needs or disabilities wear diapers, they may feel safer since they can “do their business” without moving around.
- Help With Urinary And Fecal Incontinence:
Dogs who suffer from incontinence issues can benefit a lot from using diapers. Urinary or fecal incontinence is when they cannot control how much and when they poop or pee.
While this is a serious issue, and you should certainly get medical attention for your dog, using diapers is a way to keep this issue in check.
- For Female Dogs In Heat:
Female dogs, much like humans, bleed for a week or so when in heat. They don’t bleed as much as humans, but it’s enough to stain your furniture or carpets. So you can use these puppy diapers to prevent that from happening.
They also tend to lick their discharge which might lead to further infections, so the diaper works as a period pad for dogs.
Cons
- Rashes:
Just like in humans, wearing diapers can also cause rashes in puppies. While the top part of their wait is covered with their fur so that area is free from rashes, the inner belly, free from hair, is prone to developing rashes. The friction and moisture from the diaper cause these skin rashes.
Dogs can still get skin diseases that result in rashes without diapers, so you should take them to the vet for medicine and treatment.
- Urinary Tract Infection:
As mentioned earlier, puppy diapers can give your dog Uti and prevent UTIs from developing. It all depends on how you care for your dog when they wear diapers. If you leave them on for too long, then the moisture in the diaper might cause infections.
In contrast, if you are about the duration and keep changing them regularly, you can prevent UTIs from developing since the genital area is always protected from pathogens in the external environment.
- Taking Time To Adjust:
Wearing diapers is not a normal part of a dog’s life. Thus it may be strange to them. This is why you should introduce your puppy to diapers gradually at first. They need time to become used to the diaper, and some may even experience discomfort.
Sadly some dogs never get used to the idea of wearing diapers, so you will just have to do without letting them wear diapers.
How To Prepare My Puppy For Diaper Use?
First of all, like any new thing you introduce to them, it will take some time for your puppy to get used to the process and feeling of wearing a diaper. You must gradually ease your puppy into wearing diapers in case they get frightened.
Follow these steps to prepare your puppy for wearing diapers:
- Make sure you allow them to get used to diapers as a good or positive thing. Let them sniff it or paw at it before you put it on them.
- When you finally get around to putting the diaper on your dog, ensure you only keep it on for a few minutes daily. Since the sensation of having something on their body is foreign to the puppy, they might get extremely uncomfortable and try to get it off them.
- Increase the duration of time that they wear the diaper every day until they get used to it.
- Once it’s easy to get the diapers on your dogs, assign a potty area where they will do their business.
- When they show signs of wanting to do their business, guide your dog to the assigned potty area. This way, you don’t have to worry about several “accidents” in random places around the house.
Remember that creating a routine for your dog for their nature call is essential if you want a properly potty-trained dog and a house free of random pee stains or dog poop. The good news is that dogs love having routines, so you can fit their “doing business” time into your schedule at a specific time every day.
For example, take them to the potty area every morning or after a meal. The critical thing to remember when training pets is to be consistent, so ensure you always follow the same routine so they get accustomed to it.
Conclusion
Whether or not your puppy needs to wear a diaper greatly depends on its health and living conditions. Whether you want to train your dog to wear diapers is entirely up to you.
If you plan on it, it’s best to start early and make them understand that diapers are a good thing by using positive reinforcement.
If your dog is completely against wearing a diaper, it is best not to force the idea on them. It just becomes a nuisance for both the parent and the dog.
Sources
- American Kennel Club (AKC) – “Diapers for Dogs: Understanding Dog Incontinence”: https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/dog-diapers/
- PetMD – “Dog Diapers: Finding the Right Diaper, Belly Band, or Wrap for Your Dog”: https://www.petmd.com/dog/care/dog-diapers-finding-right-diaper-belly-band-or-wrap-your-dog
- Rover – “Are Dog Diapers A Good Idea? A Guide to Canine Incontinence”: https://www.rover.com/blog/dog-diapers-canine-incontinence/
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