I have yet to meet a pug owner who only moderately loves their pug. It seems like everyone who has a pug is just crazy about their dog, and often in love with the breed itself, too. For some this means spoiling their pug with toys and attention.

For others, it means they want to dress their pug up! I think for all of us, it means we want to give our pugs a good life where they’re well cared for.

The first clothing-like items I Got for my pugs were some Halloween costumes. They fit pretty poorly. Over time, I came to learn that poor-fitting dog clothing is common with pugs. Most commonly, adult pugs are somewhere in the 18-25lb range.

When you think about other dogs of that weight, breeds like cavalier king Charles spaniel, Boston terriers, jack russel terriers, french bulldogs, cocker spaniels, corgis, daschunds, cockapoos, and shibas are others around that size.

Yet the only breed listed there that has a similar body type or body proportions to a pug is the french bulldog.

Pugs tend to have broad shoulders, thick necks, and narrow hips. Despite being small dogs, they often need a medium to large collar or harness. So, finding them dog clothing is tough. Shirts big enough to fit their shoulders and neck tend to be way too long.

Their odd size may be part of why some people opt to put baby onesies on pugs. Plus, they’re cheap!

What size baby onesie will fit a pug?

Most pugs will fit a size 18-month baby onesie well. 

My dog is 13″ from collar to tail, has a 22 inch chest measurement and 15 inch neck measurement. Carter’s 18 month onesies fit her.

I had never particularly cared to dress up my pugs. However, I had recalled reading that others would put baby onesies on their pugs years ago when reading some pug forums. Recently when my 16-year-old pug became incontinent, I was looking for a diaper solution for her. On my other blog I have a post How To Get A Diaper To Stay On A Pug and that method has continued to work really well for us in terms of keeping the diaper on.

However, Beans has a chronic cough caused by a collapsing trachea. If we put any pressure on her chest or neck, it makes her cough a lot more. The method we have for keeping her diaper on involves her wearing a harness, which puts some pressure on her chest. So, I was curious to see if a baby onesie would put less pressure on her chest than a harness, due to being softer and stretchier.

I bought her a pack of 18 month Carters onesies, and cut a hole near where hear tail needs to come out. I put her diaper on, and then put the onesie over it. If you want to just dress your dog up for a bit, probably most any onesie would be fine. However, if you plan to have your dog wear onesies longterm, I’d recommend onesies without the Y-shaped foldes at the shoulders like most onesies have.

The best way to find onesies that don’t have folds is to buy sleeveless tank onesies like this six pack sleeveless bodysuit set available on Amazon. The reason I recommend those, is beans’ wide neck and shoulders would cause the “y” shaped shoulders on regular onesies to unroll. This makes the neck area wider, so it slides down from her neck into her armpit area. The unrolling of those ‘y’ areas also causes the material in that area rather firm and almost rolled-up.

That material being rolled up and caught in her armpits rubbed her fur off a bit, and caused a scab from friction in her armpit area while she walked. I didn’t realize it until a few days later, when she was walking a little funny and I looked over her arms and saw the sore that had been made. I felt bad!

Can dogs wear baby onesies to keep dog diapers on?

If you put a baby onesie on your dog over their diaper, it will help hold it on somewhat. The diaper will likely still slide down some, but it will help significantly. 

That was the conclusion of our baby onesie experiment. It did help Beans’ diaper stay up better, thanks to the snaps in the crotch area providing some support. However, it’s not as secure as the harness method that I shared in my how to keep a dog diaper on post.

A few times a day, I’d see something like you see below, and would have to hike the diaper back up on her hips. Of course, if the diaper slips down and the dog pees before you fix it, then you have a mess on your hands. So, it’s far from a perfect system.

I did feel like the onesie was more comfortable her than wearing a harness 24/7 is, until it caught in her armpits and caused the sore. So if you’re looking to keep your dog comfortable, I’d try the sleeveless bodysuits. However, we went back to the harness diaper system and it didn’ increase her coughing so we’ve gone back to that for now.

Emily

Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.

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