Diapers?

    • Gold Top Dog

    Diapers?

    How do you guys feel about giving up on housebreaking and diapering a dog? A coworker's son and his girlfriend have done that with their Yorkie, and I think it's kind of weird. They think it's too "cruel" to crate her and put her in the kitchen with a pee-pad when they are gone. When they are home they put a diaper on her because she will pee all over their apartment. They say they take her out all the time, but she will wait to pee unil she gets inside. And they have no interest in litter training her.

    And as far as my co-worker knows, they've never had her checked out by a vet to see if there is anything physically wrong. Apparently, she doesn't mind the diapers. When they sit on the floor with the diaper she runs right over and lays on her back while they put it on. So I guess as long as it works for them... but I don't know if I could bring myself to diaper a dog for the next 10-15 years. The two and half years my kids were each in diapers was enough!

    Has anyone else had to diaper a dog? Was it temporary or a permanent replacement for housebreaking?
    • Gold Top Dog
    Seems like it's just an easy fix for a dog that just needs a little training.  What I would worrie about is the urin or fecal matter burning the skin if not cleaned off right away, in other words diper rash.  I could understand using a diper as a temporary solution for something like the dog being in heat and can't control the amount of spotting it has but with something as simple as training the dog where to go I don't think a diper is a good life-long solution.
     
    Then the idea of taking the dog out in public...seems rathar odd, and the questions you would get:
    -"why to do you diper your dog?" "Is she in heat" "whats wrong with her?"
    -"She's not potty trained"[8|]
    • Gold Top Dog
    It does seem kind of weird, doesn't it? It even sounds weird to me and I've used diapers on dogs. I always do when my girls are in heat. (I used desitin on them just as I would a kid.) I'm not sure I'd want to have to do that for a dog's whole life.
     
    I had Austin wear a diaper (under a cute onesie) when I took him to New England with me. Nobody seemed to bat an eye either on the plane or in the airport but then again, he's a 5 pounder and people expect to see us tiny dog owners treating out dogs like little people. Austin was great about it. You can see him here: [linkhttp://poodlejunction.com/traveling-austin.htm]http://poodlejunction.com/traveling-austin.htm[/link]
    • Gold Top Dog
    I think not a good idea, they have lots of fur, heat and wet breed bacteria, and will cause infection, why doesn't she just take  the time to train the dog, however, if it means she either does this or puts the dog in a shelter... sigh
    • Gold Top Dog
    I have a friend that potty trained her pit bull puppy with diapers.  They put the diaper on while in the house & removed it during walks outside.  The pup never once had an accident & at 4 months of age was fully house trained.  The dog stays at my house on occasion & has not had an accident in my house.  It may not work for all dogs but it does work for some.  I would only use diapers as a training tool not a long term solution.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Yuck.

    The gals at the manicure shop down the street do this with their yorkie, and the dog smells really bad. How do you avoid the dog sitting in his pee or poo, getting it all in their fur and skin? Surrounded by a hot diaper? I can't think of anything grosser, really.