Nittany Greyhounds…a greyhound adoption group here in Centre County…has rehomed many greyhounds over the years. Since I’ve been involved with the group, one of the most useful things I’ve made for them is the Belly Band. It isn’t a fancy thing…made of sturdy denim and a piece of terrycloth, fastened with strong Velcro…but it can make the difference in a successful adoption. I’ve begun putting together a batch of belly bands and thought I’d repost the information from two years ago about WHY I make them. If you want to know the details of HOW to make a belly band, you can find the instructions at https://marykisner.com/belly-bands-for-greyhounds/ Feel free to share that tutorial with a greyhound adoption group near you.
From the original post:
What is a belly band? A new fashion statement for our beloved greyhounds? Haha…no! Picture this…you have just adopted a 2 yr. old male greyhound from your nearby adoption kennel. You are ready to make him comfortable in your home and take him off his leash. He wanders around the living room…the kitchen…your bedroom. You show him his kennel or cozy bed in the corner. You let him explore on his own while you take off your coat and put things away. Very quickly you realize that he is lifting his leg and marking the corners of the furniture and table legs. This is a natural response to a new environment, especially if you had other dogs in the house previously. AHHHH…now what?
Luckily, the adoption group predicted this might happen and had sent you home with a belly band, just in case. You had wondered what it was for. This simple denim band wraps around their abdominal region and gently keeps his private parts from being used until you can get him outside. Over the next few days as he gets more comfortable in your home you can train him that if he’s in the house he should not have to mark his territory. When you take him outside and remove the band THEN is the time to explore and mark his territory. The hope is that he won’t need the belly band for very long, but that depends on the dog.
This band can wrap quickly around the dog’s abdomen and is sturdy enough to stay put. (The one in this picture was 27” long…we ended up making all the belly bands 29”).
(Note: The belly band has also been used with the females after being spayed. It keeps them from bothering their incision and stitches.)
So, a greyhound belly band is not a fashion accessory but an important tool to make an adoption successful! I’ll be making 10-15 belly bands over the next few days. Not exciting but so important to new greyhound owners!