Subject: Announcement: Belly Bands – Kennel Club Voices Welfare Concerns
BELLY BANDS – KENNEL CLUB VOICES WELFARE CONCERNS
The Kennel Club is aware that a training device called a ‘Belly Band’ is available in the UK. Belly bands are designed specifically to prevent male dogs doing ‘leg lifting exercises’ and urinating indoors.
However, the Kennel Club has been alerted to the fact that the product has the potential to be mis-used and that some owners are strapping Belly Bands to their dog unnecessarily tightly in order to prevent their dog from requiring to go to the toilet on long car journeys. The same principle is also being applied by owners of entire dogs to stop them from mating.
Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club spokesperson, said: “The Kennel Club is very concerned to hear of the existence of Belly Bands, and particularly that they are being used in this way. To prevent a dog from being able to urinate is completely inhumane and contravenes an owner’s duty of care under the Animal Welfare Act. The Kennel Club does not advocate the use of Belly Bands for toilet training purposes, especially as there are a variety of alternatives available which do not pose any welfare threat to the dog.”
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