I have used reusable dog diapers for quite some time with my small pomeranians as their tiny bladders always seem to leak when they get a little excited. The extra small diapers I bought online fit snug around their hips and never seemed to be an issue. It wasn’t until I adopted an 11 year old incontinent beagle that I started having troubles with keeping the diaper secure.

Like most beagles, my girl Ali has a disproportionate body compared to other breeds. Her chest is quite barrel-chested, her stomach wide, but then leads up to a super tiny waist. This causes the diaper to constantly slide down towards her tail no matter how much I attempt to tighten it – then she sort of jiggles her butt to make it completely fall off.

I figured the easiest solution for holding up a diaper on my dog would be to make her a set of suspenders, and apparently I wasn’t the first person to think of this. I found a ton of “Dog Diaper Suspenders” online to purchase, but I figured to save a few bucks, I’d just make my own. It took me less than 5 minutes and less than five bucks to make!


An additional benefit of making the suspenders yourself is that you can better fit it to your dog’s unique body shape.

What you will need:

First thing to do is to measure the amount of nylon webbing you will need.

While your dog is wearing his/her diaper:

  1. Take the cloth ruler and start at the bottom left hip where the diaper ends.
  2. Unroll the measuring tape up towards the top right shoulder.
  3. Wrap the tape across the chest from right to left.
  4. Go over the left shoulder and down to the bottom right hip to the edge of the diaper, crisscrossing at the center of the dog’s back.
  5. Whatever the length is, add an extra 10 inches (5 inches for nylon that will be folded over and 5 inches for adjustability).

(The total length of my beagle’s body (who is 18 lbs) came out to be 44 inches.)

Attach Suspender Clip #1:

  1. Take your newly cut nylon and place through the loop of one of the suspender clips.
  2. Pull 2.5 inches out of the other end.
  3. Fold the 2.5-inch piece under and around.
  4. Sew into place.

Attach Suspender Clip #2 & Metal Slide:

  1. Grab the other end of the nylon strap and place through the metal slide, making sure it goes over the middle metal bar. Push the slide 12 inches up from the end.
  2. Place loose end of nylon through the loop of suspender clip and push the clip up next to slide.
  3. Take the loose end of the nylon and wrap under and around towards the slide to form a loop.
  4. Push loose end of nylon through first opening of slide, slip behind the middle bar, then pull 2.5 inches out of the other opening.
  5. Sew the 2.5-inch piece to the bottom nylon strap.

That’s it! Suspenders are done!

Attach Suspenders to Diaper

Wrap your suspenders around your dog’s body just like you did with the measuring tape.

  1. Affix one of the suspender clips to the left side of your dog’s diaper.

  2. Pull the strap up towards the top right shoulder.
  3. Wrap the strap across the chest from right to left.

  4. Go over the left shoulder and down to the bottom right hip and affix the other clip to the right side of the diaper, crisscrossing at the center of the dog’s back.
  5. Use the metal slide to tighten if needed; Make it snug enough to stay secure on your pup, but loose enough to keep your dog comfortable.

This was so easy that I plan on making a few more for different occasions. Perhaps some nylon with little pumpkins printed on it for Halloween?

Make Suspenders for Your Dog’s Diaper in Less Than 5 Minutes