Secondly yesterday we tried an experiement with Nigel. Well no. I tried an experiment with Nigel since John was gone. I put a good belly band on Nigel and fastened it with straps to a harness on the sides so he could not pull it off and I let him loose in the house.
Now I have a fabulous diaper thing that Val Brewer made for him and it fits but when I put it on him he freezes. My dogs, un-used to clothing of any kind, find this idea terrifying. He is getting better about it, but he still needs a pad in there to catch the dribbling urine.
So I put this on him and of course, he slept all day. I did all the dog laundry and I steam-cleaned the rugs. And my house smelled GORGEOUS. CLEAN. And so I took the belly band off to change the pad and OH MY GOODNESS!!!! A wall of ammonia and a doggie crotch the color of our local fire chief's SUV. Little bumplettes everywhere that the pad, soaking and dripping with urine, had been.
Oops.
And Nigel....well poor Nigel did not smell gorgeous or clean.
So I got out the doggie dry shampoo (I just ordered a gallon) and the Gold Bond powder and I went to work while he whimpered and squirmed. I think I got all the urine off. Then I dried him, kind of gently I hope, and then I poured on the Gold Bond (those people must make a fortune just from Drool members) and left him to air out. The pad went in the outside garbage and the belly band into the washing machine.
Clearly I need to acclimate him to this slowly. And to change the pads every hour or so which may make it more trouble than steam cleaning the rugs.
He seemed very relieved (no pun intended) to have his naked self back.
And after all that housework I went to my WWatchers meeting and had gained a pound.
Having had a dog who had to wear a diaper permanently, but for a different reson, I can definitely say, change early and change often, because the dreaded diaper rash can and will rear its ugly head. Bag Balm worked wonders on her when I got lax, after a thorough cleaning, of course. And a different powder to try, Monkey Butt Powder, available at Wal-Mart and Walgreens. Works well, smells really purty, and is just a tad cheaper than Gold Bond.
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