waterproof beds

[ssg]

Hello everyone!

Six and a half years ago, the wonderful people from this board helped me through a very difficult time with my Klaus as he battled temporarily paralysis. Since that time he's lived a wonderfully healthy and happy doggy life with our family.

We believe that Klaus is now between 13 and 14 years of age. The greatest problems that he's now experiencing are advanced arthritis and unsteady gait, which causes him to fall and be in need of picking back up. It takes him a bit to regain his footing once he's been helped back up, but then he's able to get himself going again.

We've been dealing with both bowel and urinary incontinence. The bowel part isn't a problem for us, but lately the urinary incontinence is becoming a battle for us to keep up with. We have his beds wrapped with water resistant medical wraps, but these get easily rearranged whenever he does his circles on top of his bed before he settles himself down for his nap.

I'm looking for a water resistant doggy bed that is fairly easy for Klaus to climb in and out of. Does anyone have some recommendations for me?

Thanks so much for your help!

[CarolC]

Hi! It is so cool that you are back after all this time, and same dog! Please give him a special pat for me!

My answer would be a whole different approach...? They make a product called Palace Bedding that is good for incontinent dogs.

http://scoutshouse.com/store/index.php? ... cts_id=330

They also make the Sleepee Time bed for incontinent dogs.

http://www.handicappedpets.com/index.ph ... -pets.html

But I did not use either one with my incontinent senior golden retriever. I used malewraps.

They are a velcro belt that goes around the waist and you put a heavy duty absorbent pad in them to catch the urine. That way you are not constantly washing laundry and you do not risk the dog lying in urine. Malewraps can be worn 24/7 if you do it right, my dog was in his 24/7 for about 3 years. You have to do several things right in order to do this. You must buy pads that are truly absorbent, with gel inside, so urine is locked in the gel and does not stay next to the skin. The surface of a soaked pad will be fairly dry to the touch if you have the right kind. Then you need to keep some kind of moisture barrier on the skin where it is under the pad. There are many you can use. The best I found was original Desitin diaper cream, the kind with zinc oxide. Zinc oxide is toxic to dogs if they ingest enough of it but my vet said they use Desitin in his practice and it is OK if the dog does not lick it. I had no issues with my dog licking the ointment. It was much better than anything else we used, it did not have to be reapplied very often because it stuck to the skin so well. The other thing you need is a belly band that will stay in place and be comfortable. There is some disagreement on what kind is best and I do not think all male dogs are built exactly the same so you just have to find some that work for your pet. You will need at least 2, one to wash and 1 to wear, but having 3 is better. You can see my dog in his wrap here:


http://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawik ... male_wraps

and here

http://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawik ... th_handles

Hope this helps!

[ssg]

Thanks Carol. You, Toni, Christine and Beth were my mentors who helped me through that horrible ordeal way back when all the vets had insisted that I euthanize Klaus for quality of life concerns. And look at him now, 6.5 years later!

I've referred quite a few people to this board over the years. It's amazing how far we've come with all the wonderful products out there to help us support our special needs pets.

I LOVE the Palace Bedding idea along with using the male wrap. Yay!!! I'm excited to get both ordered.
Sandy

[Bobbie]

I like Palace fleece bedding, too, put it over a pee pad and it will stay put very well. It's thick and washes up well, though it does matt.

Another option I found somewhere was these great beds with waterproof covers but I don't know the link anymore, and they were expensive. The nice thing about the Palace bedding is that you can order it cut to fit a bed (or cut it to fit; hint, it may be cheaper to buy a larger piece and cut it) and it lets urine wick through to the pee pad below.

[ssg]

I just received my male wrap for Klaus. The fit is correct, but it's causing him some difficulties with walking. It's not that it's restricting his legs in any way, but rather that I think it's somehow confusing him. He already has to concentrate on walking as it is. Guess it'll take him some time to figure it out.

Looking forward to not having to wash his beds ALL THE TIME!
Sandy

[CarolC]

Malewraps are wonderful. Yes, it took my dog about 3 days to stop kind of looking around at it and moving awkwardly. I ought to mention, even when you have really absorbent pads that protect the skin, the amount of urine from a full void will actually makes the pad surprisingly heavy, which I imagine can't be comfortable to wear. I think that would make it more noticeable to the dog. You may have noticed the weight already.