Male wrap with handles
I have seen many brands of male wraps for sale, and I have seen many brands of belly harnesses for sale, but I have never seen a male wrap that doubles as a belly harness. You can sew straps onto a male wrap to create a male wrap with handles that works like a belly harness.
click pictures to enlarge
For this project you will need the following supplies:
- male wrap
- nylon strapping
- scissors
- stove
- pins
- sewing machine
- D-rings (optional)
Nylon strapping is sold in fabric stores or the fabric department of craft stores. You will have to decide how many feet to buy based on the size of your dog's male wrap. I used a length of strapping roughly equal to the circumference of my dog's wrap.
In this picture the strapping on the male wrap shows the approximate size.
When you cut the strapping, it leaves raw ends that may fray and ravel if you don't finish them. An easy way to finish the ends is to melt the nylon with a heat source. You can use a match, a lighter, or a stove burner. The stove burner gives a nice even edge, but it leaves residue on the heating element and you'll have to air out the kitchen and try not to breathe it.
In this picture, the dotted line shows where to stitch, leaving part of the strapping free to use as handles. The two ends of the strapping meet somewhere in the middle of the wrap.
I had no trouble sewing through the strapping with a regular needle and a standard old Singer sewing machine.
After you sew on the handles, the male wrap is worn (and washed) as usual. This male wrap closes with velcro, and the handles leave plenty of room to adjust the male wrap larger or smaller if your dog's waist size changes a little.
In these pictures, you could see I slid a couple of D-rings onto the strapping before sewing it. I wanted a D-ring on each handle because at times I use an Engine hoist for a heavy dog to support my dog in a standing position. A male wrap with handles does not give proper support to lift a dog off the ground, but it is helpful if you'd simply like to keep your dog standing for a few minutes. You can fasten the hoist to his male wrap handles long enough to brush him or clean him.
Many older dogs are both incontinent and need help to get to their feet. This has really made caring for my senior dog much easier.