Conehead dog is miserable
September 30, 2015 3:14 PM Subscribe
My dog has developed an infection in her tail. The doctor bandaged it up and she got coneheaded to protect her from biting off the bandages. She finally stopped fighting the cone - that took about an hour and a half - but now she Will Not Stop crying. What can I do to make this better? Or how much longer is she likely to cry before collapsing into miserable acceptance?
The vet said we could take the cone off for walks and mealtimes, but I am worried that freedom followed by re-coning will just make it worse? She is not very active by nature, and doesn't really like toys so much as petting, so playing isn't really an issue, so much as general unhappiness.
Additional difficulty: Dog has significant congenital blindness, so this may be a bigger problem for her than we even realize. Any tips? Help? In case it's relevant, this is her in happier, cone-free times.
The vet said we could take the cone off for walks and mealtimes, but I am worried that freedom followed by re-coning will just make it worse? She is not very active by nature, and doesn't really like toys so much as petting, so playing isn't really an issue, so much as general unhappiness.
Additional difficulty: Dog has significant congenital blindness, so this may be a bigger problem for her than we even realize. Any tips? Help? In case it's relevant, this is her in happier, cone-free times.
My dogs are significantly happier in a Comfy Cone than a regular plastic e-collar.
posted by melissasaurus at 3:23 PM on September 30, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by melissasaurus at 3:23 PM on September 30, 2015 [10 favorites]
One easy thing is to see if your dog is actually going to chew the bandage. You can wrap the tail with a piece of plastic using these instructions and see if that's enough to inhibit chewing. When my dog had happy tail, she put up with the bandage pretty well, I just changed it every couple of days.
posted by zug at 3:26 PM on September 30, 2015
posted by zug at 3:26 PM on September 30, 2015
An inflatable e-collar should be a big improvement. My dogs were much happier in them and their vision was less obstructed.
posted by Requiax at 3:35 PM on September 30, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by Requiax at 3:35 PM on September 30, 2015 [7 favorites]
I came in to suggest the Comfy Cone as well. Not only did my dog like it better, it was way easier to take on and off at times we were allowed to do so. There are also inflatable donut type ones that some dogs apparently like even better than comfy cones. On preview, the ones Requiax mentions. I'm not sure how well those would deter from tail biting, though?
posted by freezer cake at 3:37 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by freezer cake at 3:37 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
The inflatable collar didn't work for my pup when he had a tail chewing issue - his rear end and tail were still within his reach even with the collar on. I think that the inflatable collars are better suited for belly area issues. I'd try a see-through collar or the soft one.
posted by quince at 3:43 PM on September 30, 2015
posted by quince at 3:43 PM on September 30, 2015
I came to suggest a blow-up collar instead of a Comfy Cone. The inflatable one will not restrict your dogs peripheral vision and are way less stressful.
posted by DarlingBri at 3:55 PM on September 30, 2015
posted by DarlingBri at 3:55 PM on September 30, 2015
The inflatable collar was about 95% effective with my mom's dog's tail problem, and she was comfortable enough in it that she wore it nearly full time for her last year of life (since one day without it turned her tail into a bloody mess even once it was completely healed.) And she was a fearful dog who totally hated the cone. It's worth a shot.
posted by tchemgrrl at 4:07 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by tchemgrrl at 4:07 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
For my dog, nothing has soothed the indignity of a the cone quite like being hand fed bits of shredded cheddar.
posted by phunniemee at 4:29 PM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 4:29 PM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
The vet said we could take the cone off for walks and mealtimes, but I am worried that freedom followed by re-coning will just make it worse?
the purpose of the cone, obviously, is to keep her from chewing. your complaint that she won't stop crying implies that you are with her while she has the cone on? if you are present and can personally be attentive enough to stop her from chewing, you can take the cone off. There is no medical reason to keep it on if you can personally perform the function it's there for.
dogs usually aren't made that miserable by a cone. but they can be unwieldy and it's humane to remove them at least for walks and meals without upsetting the dog when it goes back on.
posted by jayder at 4:40 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
the purpose of the cone, obviously, is to keep her from chewing. your complaint that she won't stop crying implies that you are with her while she has the cone on? if you are present and can personally be attentive enough to stop her from chewing, you can take the cone off. There is no medical reason to keep it on if you can personally perform the function it's there for.
dogs usually aren't made that miserable by a cone. but they can be unwieldy and it's humane to remove them at least for walks and meals without upsetting the dog when it goes back on.
posted by jayder at 4:40 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Mine refused to move when we had the cone on her, but the comfy cone helped a lot. I'd give it a try, then try the inflatable collar.
posted by patheral at 5:13 PM on September 30, 2015
posted by patheral at 5:13 PM on September 30, 2015
Also recommending the comfy cone. The hard ones just seem so incredibly uncomfortable in any circumstances.
posted by oneirodynia at 6:28 PM on September 30, 2015
posted by oneirodynia at 6:28 PM on September 30, 2015
When we had to keep our dog from biting at stitches in her foreleg, we fashioned our own version of a BiteNot collar (because it wasn't available here, and we couldn't wait for delivery). The actual BiteNot seems to work really great for some dogs, not so good for others, if you look at the reviews there. Our homemade version worked great and we were able to size it just right (it took us one test try, though we expected it to take more fiddling) so that it was pretty much the exact minimal amount of interference to keep her from being able to reach the spot. We didn't include the strap that's shown with BiteNot, and I'm not even sure how that bit works.
We made a cardboard inner core, and wrapped with hand towels, and fastened it with duct tape. It was soft with no hard edges, and didn't obstruct her peripheral vision or make it difficult to rest, sleep, eat, or drink. I'll note that our dog didn't scratch at the collar much; if she had been mad to try to get it off, I'm not sure how well it would have held up, though it was really secure. We showed our Vet, who approved our method!
posted by taz at 12:31 AM on October 1, 2015
We made a cardboard inner core, and wrapped with hand towels, and fastened it with duct tape. It was soft with no hard edges, and didn't obstruct her peripheral vision or make it difficult to rest, sleep, eat, or drink. I'll note that our dog didn't scratch at the collar much; if she had been mad to try to get it off, I'm not sure how well it would have held up, though it was really secure. We showed our Vet, who approved our method!
posted by taz at 12:31 AM on October 1, 2015
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posted by poffin boffin at 3:20 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]