Tinkle Trousers Review, by Amy Cook
This is a great product I found that can be used for dogs AND cats! We have a Boston Terrier with kidney disease and now, a kidney stone. Naturally he is being vetted but still he often urinates uncontrollably.
After researching and trying different things, the easiest thing I found for him was baby diapers. However, fitting baby diapers for a male dog is not an easy task. It often leaks through since they pee in the front of the diaper, and so often in the mornings he would have a wet diaper, wet skin, and a wet kennel floor and/or blankie.
I happened upon a product called Tinkle Trousers. Hmmm, looked interesting, but pricey! I looked and looked at their page trying to determine whether to spend the money. I decided I’ve tried most everything else so I decided to go ahead and give them a whirl. The company lets you exchange the size within 14 days if needed. Well, our Boston is naturally not any 1 size. After measuring and measuring and measuring (it’s a simple arm pit to rectum measurement) I found the tape measure was telling the truth – per my luck he really did fall in between 2 sizes! There are lots of areas where it can be adjusted but I was still unsure of which size to order. I consulted the company via email and they always kindly returned my email with tips and advice. I placed my order and within a couple of days I had it.
They send along one pad/diaper (depending on which size you order) so you can use it right away. Unfortunately, this particular pad did not hold all his urine. We tried other brands and different pads but nothing worked really well. I emailed the company to see if they knew of anything else and they recommended Tena male ‘guards.’ They’re triangular shaped so that helps to catch more of the flow. In our small town I had a hard time finding the Tena male guard but the company had suggested Walgreens, and BINGO! They had them. If nothing else, I can order them online. Since we’ve bought the Tena male guards, there has hardly been any leakage at all. What there has been, I believe, comes from him shifting around in the mornings after waking him up. The only thing is, some of the sticky part of the pad comes off on the trousers, but it can be taken off easily with some dish soap or Goop.
The device is washable, but must only be hanged to dry. My only other issue with the product is the buckles. If you have arthritis or are in a hurry to get the device off the dog, it can be a bit difficult. According to the company they used to make the buckles larger but they were too heavy for small dogs. They are looking into utilizing Velcro, but it hasn’t been put into production yet. I would be more than willing to purchase another Tinkle Trouser if they come out with the Velcro!
Many people say their pets can sleep in the bed with them again. We have only been using this a short time and have not tried to have him back in the bed just yet.
Tinkle Trousers come in many, many sizes and colors, and the people there have been very good to us so far. If you can swing it, I would certainly purchase one. www.tinkletrousers.com
I purchased tinkle trousers for my female bichon who is a puppy mill survivor. She was locked in a cage for 9 years so she has never been properly potty trained, and there is no hope in training her. I would use multiple wee wee pads on my kitchen floor but for some reason she would always manage to pee between the pads. Needless to say I always came home to pee all over the floor, until I found tinkle trousers!!! They are a godsend! I can’t use regular dog diapers because the poop is too messy, it’s much easier to clean on the wee wee pad, and doesn’t damage the floors like pee. I searched and searched for a diapering system that did not cover her butt and that is where tinkle trousers came in!!! Thank you for an amazing product!
I’m glad to hear that someone has had a good experience with this product. As circumstances differ among pet owners, it may be best suited to certain, specific situations. I hope the customer service issues with this company in the past few years have been remedied so more people and pets can benefit as you have! Thanks for letting us know how it has worked out for you!
We have had four Boston terriers through the years that have used Tinkle Trousers. It is an excellent product BUT your dog never, ever will stop peeing in it. If your dog is incontinent and you are hoping to prevent accidents, this product will only encourage the dog to pee in the diaper. Don’t ever use it to housebreak a dog; you will be buying these trousers forever. The person or people who run this company are rude and inconsiderate. They charge $9 for shoving the product in a Priority Mail box, and it takes up to 10 days to receive the box, as “UPS and FedEx are not available up here.” I recently sent an e-mail that the Tinkle Trousers I recently purchased (the fifth Trouser in a few years) was losing the black adhesive on the inside (peeling off on the Depends), and I was told to return the product, and when they received it, they would issue a refund. (A few years ago they used to charge a restocking fee, even on a damaged item.) That means I would have invested $51 for one garment, paid to return it, and had nothing until they refunded my money. The customer service “person” said they would not send me a replacement because I am the only one in their history who ever has had such a problem! These people need to learn about customer service and how to treat their clients, especially one who has been purchasing the product for years. I would like to meet this person to see who could be so nasty and inconsiderate to a loyal customer. And, yes, the snaps where the Trouser is adjusted are impossible to move without a tool.
Maybe this company needs some competition to help them learn about customer service! If anyone knows of another product that performs well, I’d love to tell the world about it. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I was not successful using tinkle trousers with a male cat. The garment doesn’t cover the urethra opening because it is so close to the rectum, so the cat is still able to urinate outside of the trousers. I thought this might be a problem, but I gave the tinkle trousers a try anyway. Bummer.
Sorry those didn’t work out for you. If you read Amy’s comments, she had a similar problem with her male Boston.
If anyone comes up with a good alternative, please post here and let us know.
Thanks for commenting.
Hi, great post! i was just looking into these for my senior male boston. he cannot hold pee or poop =(.
wondering:
1) did you go with the larger or smaller TinkleTrousers size? they advised XSPlus or Small based on my measurements.
2) can you use both a tena or a diaper in the trousers successfully? thinking diaper while i’m at work but tena is ok when i’m at home and can monitor any #2 accidents, or use after his walks etc.