Dog Diapers

For many of you this post is going to seem ridiculous, and for others, you're going to completely understand.  Our Wheaten Terrier is in heat at the moment, well the end of it, luckily.  We have full intentions of getting her spayed but here in The Netherlands they make you wait until the dog has gone through its first cycle to make sure it reached full hormonal development.  The States feel different, they encourage you to get your dog fixed before the first cycle in order to prevent certain diseases.  We aren't thrilled to have to deal with a doggy cycle.  Even though we also find it cruel to deprive her the chance of ever having puppies we know it's something we just couldn't deal with, we're barely getting through this.  I have a toddler, so obviously we survived all of her bodily functions, including diapers.  But dog diapers are completely different (I'm gagging right now).  It's a brilliant idea, as long as you're not the one dealing with it.  My husband took the easy road, because I'm a woman I supposedly have more understand around cycles and I have to deal with the diapers, thanks!  I had no idea what to expect, I checked online and apparently this can last 1-1.5 weeks, that's a lot more doggy diapers than I bought.  The dog absolutely hates the diapers, understandably.  The first day she stood for around 2 hours because she didn't want to sit or lie down wearing the diaper.  Over the past week she's grown more accustom to them, even though we haven't.  I'm not sure if I bought the wrong size or not, but these expensive diapers kept breaking and before I knew it I was almost through the pack.  Then it came to me, I had an unopened pack of diapers left over from my daughters potting training days.  I compared the sizes and it was a perfect match, all I needed to do was cut the hole out for the tail.  Last night we tried the Pampers on her, and she is much happier with them.  The Pampers are more flexible and give around the legs, they're obviously meant for active toddlers.  The dog has much more freedom now, it shows in how she lays and plays.  I wished we had used baby diapers from the beginning instead of torturing her through the stiff dog diapers.  I would say next round we'll use them again, but there will be no next round, we'll be making an appointment at the vet soon to get her fixed.  But I thought I'd at least pass the tip on to other dog owners suffering through heat. 
It wouldn't be a usual post if I didn't include pictures.  The first picture is when Maggie is bathed, brushed, and with long hair.  The other picture is when she is trimmed and stuck in a miserable dog diaper, poor dog!

If you're interested here are a couple other posts about our puppy, and there will definitely be more to come:

Dog Debate

Puppy Maggie
Puppy Class