Should I use diaper cream
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Rescuemamadogs
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Should I use diaper cream
Should I use diaper cream after every poop to protect skin?
Re: Should I use diaper cream
The short answer is, not usually. It seems like such a simple question, but here is the long answer.
Diaper cream is usually used with dogs that are diapered to protect the skin from urine. I do not know anyone who uses it on the perianal area to protect from poop, but I can think of a situation where you might temporarily. If your dog is having diarrhea for some reason, in that case it might make sense to use diaper cream till the diarrhea is gone (but I haven't heard of anyone doing this).
If your dog is female and wears a diaper, then you shouldn't need diaper cream. A female dog should have a diaper with a large enough tail hole for stools to fall out. You do not want feces collecting inside a diaper of a female dog where the germs can contaminate the urogenital area and cause a urinary tract infection.
One member here had a special situation with a female Maltese with a urethrostomy tube and she used a double diaper with her dog. The outer diaper (they were called pouch panties) had extra space in the bottom to collect waste. So for this dog, the inner diaper caught the urine and protected the tube, and it had an ample tail hole for stools to exit. The outer "pouch panties" diaper collected the solid waste. Therefore the waste was not touching the skin. If you really feel you must diaper a female dog for both urine and feces, I would try the double diaper method, and it shouldn't require diaper cream on the anus if the outer diaper is generous enough.
I have a female dog who is dual incontinent, and she normally wears a diaper with a large tail hole. She does have one diaper of a different style with a smaller tail hole which I use when she is going to the vet or getting her nails trimmed. In this case, she is only wearing it for an hour or so. We have not had a problem with urinary infection when only wearing it for a short time like this. I do not put diaper cream on her bottom when doing this.
The reason most people want to put a diaper on their dog to contain solid waste/feces is that the waste is messy. You don't want soft poo around your house or in your dog's bed. Rather than diapering (male or female) for feces, another way to handle this is to improve the stool quality. What you feed the dog makes a differnce in what comes out. You can feed a diet that produces firm, well formed, low odor, non-sticky stools. If they fall on the carpet you will not need carpet cleaner. If they fall in your dog's bed and roll under his or her hip, they will not gum up the fur and you won't need to bathe your dog. The goal is outstanding poop texture. I have had excellent luck with feeding Science Diet w/d dry kibble for my incontinent dogs. I never have to use carpet foam. I never have to bathe because of messy poo. Other people have had success with other brands of food. You just want something that works with your dogs digestive system. I've used w/d dry kibble with 4 incontinent dogs. The Science Diet sensitive stomach kibble (not prescription) worked for my mini dachshund years ago, I haven't tried it recently.
Here is a video of one of my incontinent dogs. It shows a fresh stool dropping onto a clean white underpad. The stool is not messy, and when I roll it around on the pad, you can see it leaves no trace. Imagine if this was your carpet.
The other trick is to express the bowel. Most incontinent dogs can be stimulated to empty their bowel at a time and place of your choosing. If you stimulate them to have a BM, it will greatly reduce the amount of random stools that are dropped during the day. Here is a link explaining methods to stimulate your dog to eliminate.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=18586
Another option to collect feces in a female dog who wears a diaper would be a drag bag (some people call them a mermaid sack). Waste falls out of the tail hole and collects inside the drag bag, keeping your carpet or furnishings clean.
If you are going to use diaper cream for urine (or feces) you want to check the label. The white creams contain zinc oxide, and zinc can be toxic for dogs if they lick enough of it. I used original Desitin diaper cream with my dog who wore a male belly band 24/7 for years. It was not a problem because he did not try to lick the cream under his belly band, and he always had his belly band on. My vet said it was fine, and they would have to lick a lot of it to cause a problem. (Cats are more sensitive to zinc).
However, many people like to have their dog wear a diaper during the day, and sleep au naturel without a diaper at night. In that case, you would have to be sure all the diaper cream is removed at bedtime, because the dog will be able to lick himself during the night. Part of the reason diaper cream with zinc oxide works is that it stays on so well and you do not have to keep reapplying it with every diaper change. This also makes it a bit more effort to remove at bedtime if your dog sleeps without a diaper. I feel sleeping without a diaper is a good idea. It is more comfortable, and it is healthy to let air get to the skin.
Hope this helps!
Diaper cream is usually used with dogs that are diapered to protect the skin from urine. I do not know anyone who uses it on the perianal area to protect from poop, but I can think of a situation where you might temporarily. If your dog is having diarrhea for some reason, in that case it might make sense to use diaper cream till the diarrhea is gone (but I haven't heard of anyone doing this).
If your dog is female and wears a diaper, then you shouldn't need diaper cream. A female dog should have a diaper with a large enough tail hole for stools to fall out. You do not want feces collecting inside a diaper of a female dog where the germs can contaminate the urogenital area and cause a urinary tract infection.
One member here had a special situation with a female Maltese with a urethrostomy tube and she used a double diaper with her dog. The outer diaper (they were called pouch panties) had extra space in the bottom to collect waste. So for this dog, the inner diaper caught the urine and protected the tube, and it had an ample tail hole for stools to exit. The outer "pouch panties" diaper collected the solid waste. Therefore the waste was not touching the skin. If you really feel you must diaper a female dog for both urine and feces, I would try the double diaper method, and it shouldn't require diaper cream on the anus if the outer diaper is generous enough.
I have a female dog who is dual incontinent, and she normally wears a diaper with a large tail hole. She does have one diaper of a different style with a smaller tail hole which I use when she is going to the vet or getting her nails trimmed. In this case, she is only wearing it for an hour or so. We have not had a problem with urinary infection when only wearing it for a short time like this. I do not put diaper cream on her bottom when doing this.
The reason most people want to put a diaper on their dog to contain solid waste/feces is that the waste is messy. You don't want soft poo around your house or in your dog's bed. Rather than diapering (male or female) for feces, another way to handle this is to improve the stool quality. What you feed the dog makes a differnce in what comes out. You can feed a diet that produces firm, well formed, low odor, non-sticky stools. If they fall on the carpet you will not need carpet cleaner. If they fall in your dog's bed and roll under his or her hip, they will not gum up the fur and you won't need to bathe your dog. The goal is outstanding poop texture. I have had excellent luck with feeding Science Diet w/d dry kibble for my incontinent dogs. I never have to use carpet foam. I never have to bathe because of messy poo. Other people have had success with other brands of food. You just want something that works with your dogs digestive system. I've used w/d dry kibble with 4 incontinent dogs. The Science Diet sensitive stomach kibble (not prescription) worked for my mini dachshund years ago, I haven't tried it recently.
Here is a video of one of my incontinent dogs. It shows a fresh stool dropping onto a clean white underpad. The stool is not messy, and when I roll it around on the pad, you can see it leaves no trace. Imagine if this was your carpet.
The other trick is to express the bowel. Most incontinent dogs can be stimulated to empty their bowel at a time and place of your choosing. If you stimulate them to have a BM, it will greatly reduce the amount of random stools that are dropped during the day. Here is a link explaining methods to stimulate your dog to eliminate.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=18586
Another option to collect feces in a female dog who wears a diaper would be a drag bag (some people call them a mermaid sack). Waste falls out of the tail hole and collects inside the drag bag, keeping your carpet or furnishings clean.
If you are going to use diaper cream for urine (or feces) you want to check the label. The white creams contain zinc oxide, and zinc can be toxic for dogs if they lick enough of it. I used original Desitin diaper cream with my dog who wore a male belly band 24/7 for years. It was not a problem because he did not try to lick the cream under his belly band, and he always had his belly band on. My vet said it was fine, and they would have to lick a lot of it to cause a problem. (Cats are more sensitive to zinc).
However, many people like to have their dog wear a diaper during the day, and sleep au naturel without a diaper at night. In that case, you would have to be sure all the diaper cream is removed at bedtime, because the dog will be able to lick himself during the night. Part of the reason diaper cream with zinc oxide works is that it stays on so well and you do not have to keep reapplying it with every diaper change. This also makes it a bit more effort to remove at bedtime if your dog sleeps without a diaper. I feel sleeping without a diaper is a good idea. It is more comfortable, and it is healthy to let air get to the skin.
Hope this helps!
Re: Should I use diaper cream
I can't add anything to Carol's wise words.