Brooks is rockin’ his stylish Elizabethan collar. If you’ve seen the movie “UP” you are sure to know the adorable dog Dug (I still want to spell it Doug, but apparently it is correctly spelled Dug) and his Cone of Shame. Do you see a resemblance here?
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—–Dug Brooks—-
The veterinarian issued the standard cone. Only this one is a lot better than the older models. It is lighter weight, and padded on the edges. I did a lot of research and discovered several alternatives, all with pluses and minues:
The Comfy Cone— soft sided cone.
Pro: it’s soft and not so bulky. Looks more comfortable.
Con: The dog can’t see through it. It can bend back and some dogs are able to get to their stitches. Some dogs can get it off.
The Cuddle Cone— soft sided cone.
Pro: it’s soft. Comes in pretty patterns. Looks cute!
Con: pretty much the same as the Comfy Cone
The Boobooloon-– inflatable collar.
Pro: lightweight. Less likely to bump into furniture. Doesn’t stick out in front of them or block their vision.
Con: Some dogs can get around it and get to the stitches anyway. Some dogs can get it off. It might pop.
The Pro Collar and the Kong Cloud– inflatable collars
Pros: lightweight. Less likely to bump into furniture. Easier to eat, drink, play with it on. Sturdy covering so they don’t pop easily
Con: Some dogs can get to the stitches anyway. Some dogs can get it off.
Bite Not— looks like a neck brace. Prevents dogs from bending their neck enough to get at the stitches. Pros: No bulkiness, no bumping into furniture. Cons: It wouldn’t work for front legs, and some other areas might be accessible. Some dogs object to the feel of it.
After researching all these options I decided:
1. Every dog responds differently to different collars. Sorry. But it’s true. Some object to anything buckled around their neck. Some are adamant at trying to get to the one place they aren’t allowed to touch. Some seem gloomy and depressed when wearing the cone. Some are Houdinis and can wriggle out of anything. So it is really hard to tell you which one would be best.
2. The best collar for us is the regular old cone. Brooks doesn’t object to wearing it. he doesn’t try to get it off. And it doesn’t seem to bother him too much. The main difficulty he has is when he bumps into furniture, he just stands there. He doesn’t know how to get himself out of it. Here he is bumping into my desk chair. I had to show him how to get out.
The good news is, so far he isn’t really too interested in his sutures. I work from home, so I can keep an eye on him most of the time. He wears the collar all night, and any time he’s alone. I’m encouraging him to get around furniture and things so that he can see he can do it. He even is able to drink from his water bowl with it on…although it does look a bit funny. Usually I take the cone off when he eats, drinks and goes outside.
He also is still able to play with his beloved tennis ball.
Brooks only has to wear his cone for another week and a half or so. There may be times when his stitches bother him more, and I have to keep it on him more often. But for now, it is working out pretty well. What has your experiences with cones been? What’s worked for your dog?
