Effective Canine Diaper Replacements

Your dog may be cute and cuddly, but if they urinate and defecate all over your floor-- or even worse, your furniture-- being cute may not cut it! It isn’t just bad toilet habits though, dogs in heat will also leave a crimson trail around your house.

This is when some may say, “Bring out the doggie diapers.” But for a lot of people, diapers are for your kids only and seeing your dog in one looks humorous at best and peculiar at worst. Fortunately, if you’re looking for a range of safe alternatives to doggie diapers, you’ve come to the right place. The following three solutions are affordable, effective alternatives that will all keep your floors and furniture looking clean and smelling fresh!

1) Doggie Pads

You probably don’t remember those days, but learning how to use a toilet isn’t always as straightforward as you might think. Fortunately, there is a safe, canine-friendly alternative to diapers that is pretty darn effective. 

Doggie pads are a bit like large diapers, except you lay them in a specific place and the appealing scent they carry will entice your dog over. Your dog will then go to the toilet on the disposable pads and all you have to do is remember to throw away the pads promptly. It’s easy, it’s quick and it’s relatively cheap. The pads create a fun, but more importantly, safe and friendly place for your dog to go about their business.

2) Housebreaking

Admittedly, diapers are a straightforward solution to toilet concerns. But nothing replaces the ease of training your dog to utilize your yard or take bathroom breaks while on a walk. Understandably, some owners may think their dog is old and past the days where they could change their habits in such a big way, but actually, dogs of all ages can be trained to make nature their en-suite bathroom. 

As Micheal Fox highlighted in his book ‘Understanding Your Dog’, training your dog to use nature as a toilet will save you years of hassle and your floors and furniture hours of cleaning. In addition, housebreaking can take as little as a few days, but even if it does take several weeks, it’s a price worth paying!

3) Spaying

When your dog is in heat, you’re looking at weeks of slow trails of blood appearing around your house. While diapers may offer a short-term fix, spaying offers a 100% effective, long-term solution. Spaying involves removing a female dog’s ovaries and uterus so they are unable to have puppies. But if you never want your dog to have a litter of puppies anyway, then spaying will save any concerns about them getting pregnant, plus it will save your floors from scarlet streaks. 

On top of that, as asserted in an article for the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association in 1994, spaying could help balance hormones and control a range of behavioral issues. So if your dog is female and you’re looking for a long-term alternative to diapers during heat, then spaying is definitely an option worth exploring.

Key Points

While doggie diapers offer a quick fix to toileting concerns, there are other safe and effective alternatives. Disposable doggie pads offer your dog a safe place for them to go about their business. But nothing replaces housebreaking your dog, so they use nature as their large, open bathroom. Finally, spaying your female dog will prevent the need for diapers when she is in season, but it is worth bearing in mind, this is a costly solution and will not break indoor toilet habits. 

Keep in mind that if your dog’s indoor accidents are something new, they may be related to a medical condition that needs attention, or a behavioral issue that could be addressed with training. For specific advice about your dog’s case, schedule a visit with your trusted vet.