Wendy Kruger.

Belly banding spotted at Wood Green centre in Godmanchester

A practice which prevents dogs from scent-marking has shown its first signs of having arrived in the UK from the United States.

Staff at animal charity Wood Green reported a 'bizarre' case of so-called 'belly banding' at their centre in Godmanchester a few days ago, when a young dog was admitted as a stray.

The dog arrived with a fabric band tied around its middle, with a sanitary towel placed inside it, pushing against the dogs penis and stomach.  The technique, which stops the dog wanting to urinate, is now widely available for pet owners to learn about online.

Whilst the practice is not regarded as an act of cruelty -  and may be made with good intentions - it can hide medical issues such as bladder stones, diabetes and urinary tract infections.  Furthermore, if the area is not cleaned regularly the dog can develop issues like skin rashes and urinary tract infections.

Dog training and welfare consultant, Wendy Kruger, said: "In the case that we saw, certainly the owners who came to claim the dog were very much loving dog owners, but they had found out about the process and just had no idea that this could ultimately be harmful, or that it was really just masking a relatively easy behavioural issue to solve."

Whilst scent-marking is not uncommon in dogs, it could be happening for a number of reasons, such as lack of confidence having not been taught how to use appropriate locations to urinate.

“This just isn’t a practice we’re comfortable to hear about or see,” said Wendy. “Scent marking can be easily solved by things like taking the dog out and rewarding him for toileting in appropriate places, and always ensuring the dog is in the same room as you."

Wood Green encourages owners to consider neutering as scent-marking can partly be driven by hormones.

Wendy added: “It concerns me that the idea is something so easily available online for people to copy and that owners may think it’s a quick fix. Instead of going this route I would urge them to call us and let members of our behavioural service discuss how to better overcome issues of scent-marking for the long-term.”

Image (C) Wood Green