# Dog pants **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 24, 2018, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pants/809493 "2018-02-24T20:49:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pants/809493/1 "2018-02-24T20:49:47Z")
> **[Lots of People Are Wrong About Dog Pants](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/12/on-the-topic-of-dog-pants/422193/)** > > Words mean things. Surely a lot of y’all have seen this - if you were to put pants on a dog would they cover two legs or four? Please review the link for an illustration. ---
**Author:** ![Buttercup\_Smith](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buttercup_smith/32/473_2.png) [@Buttercup\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buttercup_Smith)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pants/809493/2 "2018-02-24T21:22:01Z")
Dogs front legs are actually called arms on some anatomy charts I have seen. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pants/809493/3 "2018-02-24T21:27:59Z")
I agree with the illustration on the right. Humans wear pants to cover up their groinal area and the pants go around the waist. If we wore pants like on the left, they would go over our arms and cover the chest. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pants/809493/4 "2018-02-24T21:30:12Z")
How do the pants in the 4-legged setup even stay up? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pants/809493/5 "2018-02-24T21:47:07Z")
This is like “where does the necktie go on a giraffe?” 2.0 ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pants/809493/6 "2018-02-24T22:28:59Z")
We primarily wear pants to cover our butts and junk so #2. ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pants/809493/7 "2018-02-24T22:34:04Z")
You wear pants to keep your legs warm, so they should be 4-legged. However, the 4-legged kind are not going to stay up, so they’d have to be 2-legged after all. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pants/809493/8 "2018-02-24T22:34:34Z")
2 legged. I’ve never heard or seen a 4-legged garment for dogs, or any other animal resembling the illustration in the OP. It makes no sense, it’s like a jump suit with the back cut out below the butt and all the way up and through the shoulders. Everyone knows that pants for animals with tails have a hole in the back for the tail to stick through. The link in the OP is not a serious debate about the form of dog pants at all! ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pants/809493/9 "2018-02-24T22:56:43Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > How do the pants in the 4-legged setup even stay up? This. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pants/809493/10 "2018-02-24T22:58:34Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > This is like “where does the necktie go on a giraffe?” 2.0 Depends. Bowtie, or cravat? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pants/809493/11 "2018-02-25T02:11:45Z")
> [@Weedy](#): > > You wear pants to keep your legs warm, so they should be 4-legged. I disagree. Everything from hot pants to snow pants have one shared attribute: they go up around your hips and cover your bits with fabric over the crotch, front to back. The “four legged” ones don’t cover the dog’s butt so they fail the one basic test of pantsdom. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pants/809493/12 "2018-02-25T02:15:32Z")
I picked 2 legs. Conventionally, that’s how it’s been done. We also have a garment that goes over the head and covers the front two limbs of a dog is called a sweater, [like so](https://www.amazon.com/Tangpan-Turtleneck-Classic-Straw-Rope-Sweater/dp/B00JW91Q2G/ref=sr_1_10?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1519524651&sr=1-10&keywords=sweater+for+dogs). This implies arms in the common usage for the front limbs. > [@TriPolar](#): > > 2 legged. I’ve never heard or seen a 4-legged garment for dogs, or any other animal resembling the illustration in the OP. It makes no sense, it’s like a jump suit with the back cut out below the butt and all the way up and through the shoulders. Everyone knows that pants for animals with tails have a hole in the back for the tail to stick through. The link in the OP is not a serious debate about the form of dog pants at all! I agree the illustration makes no sense, but I have seen this [4-legged, jumpsuit lately](https://www.amazon.com/Four-legged-Hooded-Jacket-Jumpsuit-Slicker/dp/B015VQAEUS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519524536&sr=8-1&keywords=rain+suit+for+dogs). This is about as close as you could get, without suspenders crossed over or something similar. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2018, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pants/809493/13 "2018-02-25T04:22:19Z")
> [@Weedy](#): > > You wear pants to keep your legs warm, so they should be 4-legged. Speak for yourself. I live in Arizona, and if I’m going out in the summer when it’s 115° outside, I’m wearing shorts, not long pants. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2018, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-pants/809493/14 "2018-02-25T04:52:37Z")
Two legged. Those pictured look like jeans to me. Dogs don’t wear jeans.