what Bentley's wearing

For those that asked in the last post about what Bentley is wearing in the picture, it's a belly band.

A belly band is just a strip of fabric with a fastener, in this case it's velcro, to wrap around a male dog's belly.  Having several males over the years that were show dogs for a few years before being neutered, I've had boys "marking" (lifting their legs) in the house.  Some breeds are worse than others.  You can tuck some protection, usually a sanitary pad or an incontinence pad, in the belly band and it protects the house from spritzes.  It's a terrific little fashion accessory!

Although shelties are very good about not lifting their legs in the house, the bichons and the dachshund - not so much.  In fact the dachshund is hard to catch in the act because of those little short legs and furry underside making it pretty tough to know when a leg is being lifted at all.  So it's belly band to the rescue!  B wears his in the house all the time and my carpet and furniture are grateful.  When we stayed in hotels with the dogs, I always mentioned that the dogs wore them in the hotel room and they were very appreciative when I explained what they were.  I can remember one desk manager who was thrilled and stated that they should keep a supply to hand out to dog owners.

The downside is standing in the checkout line at the store with the jumbo box of Poise pads.  I'm sure people look at me and wonder why someone as "young" as myself needs them.  Of course, checking out with sanitary pads probably also has people wondering why an "old" lady such as myself needs those too!