what am I doing wrong with belly bands?

[celticgreek]

My dog started marking a year or so ago and since we decided not to neuter him when he was a puppy the vet says that all we can do now is try to control the problem. He suggested belly bands. I went to petco and bought a small one and it was too small and then bought a medium and it was too big. I went online and found instructions to make my own. They said to measure fabric and attatch velcro and there you go. So this is what I did and they work for a day or so but then they bunch up in the male part area so that it just pokes up over the top of the fabric or underneath of it. I have tried flannel, fleece, nylon, the stuff prom dresses are made of, stiff curtain material, and even thought of trying ace bandage material. I have measured him correctly and they are plenty snugg enough so that is not the issue. I have made them wider and not only do they still bunch but then they tend to slide down to his butt and make it difficult for him to walk. When they work I have no pee to clean up but I am tired of making these every other day. The petstores around here only offer the ones I bought and didn't fit. I have dicided that maybe I should buy one from one of the sites that make them but I am afraid of having this same issue with those. I would appreciate any advice as to what I should purchase and what I could be doing wrong with the ones I am making. I am desperate.

btw... I do not need a lecture on how I did not train my dog properly. He was trained just fine and has only recently developed this problem. His vet has assured me that one has nothing to do with the other. And that there is little to nothing we can do about it now even if we decided to neuter him because the behavior has already started. I am not trying to be rude but everyone I talk to seems to just assume that I am lazy and do not want to take my dog outside to go potty.

Thaks and sorry this is so long

 

[bubbatd]

I'm wondering if anything can be attached to a halter ......

 

[elegy]

how heavy are they? when i had harv in bellybands (he was incontinent), the ones that were a double layer of fairly heavy fabric worked the best. the lighter weight ones would bunch.

 

[lizzybeth727]

I think the ones at the petstore are denim, have you tried using denim? It's pretty stiff.

 

[Dekka]

MafiaPrincess (in Dekka's account)

Smudge is belly banded. I show him, he has to be intact. I actually think there may be a female in heat in the neighbourhood causing the current issue.

I made 2 belly bands out of fleece. 2 Layers together with heavy duty velcro. Never had a bunching issue.

Smudge's it's perfectly flat.. I just wrap it around very snuggly. It bunches slightly, but I've never had an issue. As a trial I had an unsewn single thickness piece first, and it would bunch..

 

[Gypsydals]

"Smudge is belly banded. I show him, he has to be intact. I actually think there may be a female in heat in the neighbourhood causing the current issue."
Mafia, you just made a light bulb go on in my head. I wonder if that might not just be Ivans issue with marking in the house. It only happens every so often(like every 4 to 5 months). Usually in the spring and fall. Kind of makes me go HMMMMMMMM.
As far as the belly bands go, Ivans has elastic on both edges and I just make a bit of a pouch for the tip and he cant get it to slide.
Celtic have you tried putting a wider velcro band and/or farther back on the one thats slightly to large? That way you can adjust it down to make it fit.

 

[puppydog]

Fluffyzoocrew puts a maxi pad in her foster boys one, that should make it very difficult for it to bunch.

As for the neutering not stopping marking. It did with Ben. He stopped marking about 2 months after his neuter.