Product Review: Hurtta Breezy Pants

Hurtta's Breezy Pants are basically hotpants for dogs. They're specifically intended for females in season, but can also be used for incontinence. They are made from stretchy synthetic material designed to move with the dog. The pants feature a waistband that adjusts with a plastic clip, and a generous gap for the tail. They are intended to be used with a disposable panty liner. They come in seven sizes to fit dogs with waists 11-32" around.

Photo by Erin Koski

Sisci Godzilla is in heat again, and it's about as awesome as living in a mental ward. Ru is absolutely beside himself with desire to make cattlehuahuas, despite being neutered at six months of age and also being about a foot too short to actually accomplish anything. She's currently in the "standing heat" phase where she's happily propositioning anything that moves. Ranger and Annie were here for the weekend, and Sisci spent the entire time mooning over poor uninterested Ranger while he tried unsuccessfully to nap.

In addition to being super-flirty, Sisci was also super drippy. We got away with no pants for her first heat, but this time around we definitely needed something to protect the couch, dog beds, people bed, and other upholstered surfaces. I was prepared though, I ordered her a set of Hurtta Breezy Pants during her last heat.

These seemed like a good idea at the time. They are sized by waist and Sisci's measurements fell into the overlap between the small and medium sizes. She seems really petite to me, so I ordered a small. I know that Brisbane and Ru have very long backs relative to their chest measurements, but I don't normally go around putting pants on dogs so I didn't realize that Sisci has enormous, beefy thighs. The small Breezy pants wouldn't even fit all the way up her legs. Meanwhile, the medium just barely gets small enough for her waist but is still tight around her thighs.

This brings me to another issue: these are step-in pants. I firmly believe that whoever invented step-in products never tried to get a dog or a toddler to step into something on purpose. Between Sisci's beefy thighs and tendency to splay out flat on her back whenever she saw them, the Breezy pants were pretty difficult to get on and off.

Pros: Machine washable. Come in lots of sizes. Form-fitting and comfortable. Unobtrusive, doesn't scream "DIAPER!!!" Black doesn't show...anything.

Cons: Leg openings are not adjustable. Step-in design is difficult to put on a dog that does anything but stand placidly, dogs don't understand the concept of pants.

Bottom Line: I was going to complain about the fitting issue, but after trying a couple more pairs of hotpants I'm pretty sure Sisci just has a super tiny waist and massive dog thighs. Seriously, they are So Big.