Dog Diapers & Potty Training Tips

Both new puppies and some older dogs need potty training to learn how to properly eliminate outside of your home. While training your dog to go to the bathroom outdoors, your dog may still have occasional accidents inside your home. To prevent these accidents from causing damage to carpeting and furniture, use specially made dog diapers as a training aid for your dog.

  1. Puppy Training

    • Train your puppy to only eliminate outside of the home. Puppies younger than 12 weeks old have not developed proper bowel and bladder control, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. These young dogs may have frequent accidents during training, and dog diapers will help contain these accidents. Do not use diapers as a substitute for proper training or for taking out your dog during the day to eliminate. Your puppy can only hold its waste for as many hours as its age in months. You need to walk you puppy during the day every two to three hours or arrange to have someone walk your puppy for you to encourage proper elimination.

    Dog Diapers

    • Similar to human baby diapers, dog diapers come in both disposable and cloth varieties. Male dog diapers are called belly bands. While disposable diapers each cost less than cloth diapers, you can reuse the cloth diapers after washing. Some cloth diapers have a pocket to insert a disposable pad so you do not need to wash them after an accident, just change out the pad. To select the correct size of diaper for your dog, measure it around the widest part of the waist. While measuring, insert two fingers between the measuring tape and your dog to add extra space to the measurement for comfort. Use the dog diaper to prevent accidents while training, taking it off when you walk your dog outside to eliminate.

    House Training Your Dog

    • While young puppies require house training, some older dogs may also require training if coming from a situation where they never received proper training. If dogs suddenly improperly eliminate in the home, take your dog to a veterinarian to rule out a medical issue such as a urinary tract infection. Changes in diet may also cause diarrhea and improper elimination. Establish a routine for your dog's feeding and elimination times, walking your dog first thing in the morning, one to two times during the day and once before bedtime. Take away water 2 1/2 hours before bedtime so your dog will not need to urinate during the night. Hire a dog walker or drop your dog off at a dog daycare facility during the day if you are not at home to supervise your dog.

    Accidents

    • If your dog has an accident while training, never punish, yell at your dog or rub its nose in the defecation or urine. Clean up the location of the accident with an enzymatic cleaner that will eliminate any residual odor or use it to wash the dog diaper. If odor of the accident remains, it will encourage your dog to soil the area again. Give your dog a small indoor elimination area such as a child's pool with sod inside or a dog litter product like a fake patch of grass for your dog to eliminate on. Your dog can use this dog litter box when alone for more than several hours at a time to prevent accidents. Once trained to properly eliminate outside or in a litter area, do not use dog diapers or belly bands on your dog. The diapers are only a temporary training aid unless your dog is elderly and has permanent incontinence problems.