Dog freaked out by cone on head. Help!

is it a white plastic one? Some vets here have clear plastic ones, so at least the dog can see.  I don't think leaving him home all day alone without one on would be a good idea, if he is constantly chewing at it, it will only prolong the healing process and possibly cause infection.

I had a dog that used to freak out with the cone on, but if you help them to settle down, it makes it not too bad.

Some vets also have cream that tastes and smells horribly bad that can go onto the stitches for detering a dog from chewing.  We tried it once on one of our dogs, she got the gel off and went to town on her stitches.

There are several more comfortable alternatives to the standard Elizabethan-style collar:

• http://www.dog.com/item/bite-not-collar/ (Bite Not Collar)
• http://www.revivalanimal.com/store/p/949-EJay-Bite-Free-Collar.aspx (EJay Bite Free Collar)
• http://www.hagarcollars.com (Neck's Best Thing)
• http://www.bonafido.com/page6.html (Soft-E-Collar)

You can make your own version of a Bite Not Collar with a rolled up towel wrapped around the dog's neck and secured with duct tape.

ETA:  The idea is to keep the dog from turning his head.

Cool, Janet I will show these links to my husband as soon as he gets home.  Do you use anything to make the towel rigid or is the tape enough to keep him from reaching his leg?

It's a translucent collar it doesn't totally block his vision but it definitely impairs it.  I agree he shouldn't be left without something to keep him from chewing, I really don't think he'd get into too much trouble with the cone on since he won't even move.  I think he would have handled this better as a puppy than a Sr. he's gotten a lot more sensitive in his old age. 

agave

Do you use anything to make the towel rigid or is the tape enough to keep him from reaching his leg?

Look at the page for the Bite Not Collar and see how wide the collar needs to be to be effective.

Do not leave the dog alone until you are sure he can't get your "collar" off.

Frankly, I would have a Bite Not Collar shipped to me overnight.  It will stay on and, even with the high shipping, I bet it would cost less than another trip to the vet to replace the stitches.

the collar must stretch from behind the animal's ear to the top of its shoulder for maximum protection.

A note to all lurkers:

I consider a collar like the Bite Not Collar to be an important part of a doggie first aid kit.  When you need one, it is often a "I need it NOW" situation.

I suggest getting one when the dog reaches its full size (or at least you don't expect the distance between the ear and the shoulder to change).  Try it on and be sure you have the right size, so you can exchange it if necessary.

I would also order a smaller collar if there was a scheduled surgery (like a spay/neuter) before the dog was full grown.

The towel and duct tape trick seems to be working so far.  With my first version he got to his stitches within 5 minutes.  Version 2.0 seems to be working a lot better.  I wrapped a strip of cardboard in a towel and taped it up with a lot of bright orange duct tape.   He looks pretty silly but it seem to be doing the job without too much stress on any of us. 

Even with overnight shipping the collar still wouldn't be here 'till tomorrow afternoon.  So either my husband would miss work, he really needs to save all the vacation he can for when the baby gets here in 3 weeks or I miss 2 Dr appointments, this is not an option.

It's likely he'll end up at the vet Wednesday anyway.  He seems to have some fluid collecting at the bottom of the incision (not where he's picking at it).  I plan to stop by the vet tomorrow and talk to him and see if he thinks we should bring him in, I'll probably take a couple of pictures to show him. 

Thanks for your suggestions

agave

The towel and duct tape trick seems to be working so far.  ...  He looks pretty silly but it seem to be doing the job without too much stress on any of us. 

I am glad that your homemade collar is staying on and that Elvis is happier with the situation. 

We would love to see a picture of him with his bright orange collar!! 

I've actually bought the Bite Not and hated it -- the dog had it off within 5 minutes.  And the problem with the cardboard one is that he will figure out how to 'bend' it in a NY Minute once alone. That was my own experience -- I had a dog who was Mr. Expert at defeating ANY cone - and I'd gone thru 5 of them (he figured out how to lean into his crate or any corner to fold the collar so he could do whatever HE wanted).

Seriously -- if he can't get the cone 'off' leave it on.  BUT TRAIN HIM!!!

 Take him thru the house **on leash** and SHOW him how to navigate.  "Yep, pick it up a bit to go up the step ..."  You might give him a lick bottle so he can get to water.

 The "On Mom I'm SOOOOO MISERABLE" act will last only until he figures out how to work around it.  Seriously ... it about 12 hours if you *show* him how to put his nose down a bit so the cone *folds* when he goes between things he'll join the "BASH IT -- IT'LL MOVE!!!!!!" dog school of cone-wearing.  In a few days he'll be running full tilt at things. 

My sheltie mix absolutely was THE most poor-lil-miserabl-don't YOU-feel-SORRY-for-me?? thing ever ... and I was completely ripped up about it until I caught him navigating like a pro.  Literally once they figure out *how* to move they're fine and it is SO much better than leaving them to themselves.

 Incidentally it was surgery for a peri-anal hernia where Foxy got all of HIS experience in cone-wearing!!  HUGE stitches in his behind and the problem is, if you allow them to get those stitches out, the wound won't heal properly.

 Make sure he can't get to things with cords -- he will forget to make allowance for those -- so do restrict him. 

The rolled up towel works well but you have to make it VERY strong.  You roll the towel very tight, usually doubled over meeting the long ends.  It only needs to go around the neck *one* time and you can use vet wrap to secure it as a roll.  Just be careful when you put it around the neck that it's comfortable and breathing isn't restricted. 

Generally I put the vet e-collars on with a regular buckle collar threaded thru it -- you can use gauze but whatever enables you to tie it on so there are no dangling strings.

But most of it is in training -- and DON'T let yourselves sit there and go "aww pooor babyyyyyyy" -- it's the worst thing you can do.  Instead, lead the dog around, remind him of known obstacles and just say "there -- you'll be FINE!"

I do honestly recommend leaving the dog a lick bottle -- prime the end of it with just a bit of water or peanut butter and that reminds them fast that they can get water that way without having to bend down to a bowl.

Each dog is unique - my sheltie did best with the cone because I could tighten it enough to keep it on.  He too, didn't do well with the towel because his neck was so much the same size as his skull I couldn't get anything to stay one other than a cone without strangling him -- I had to use a martingale collar on him normally -- any other collar was off with a shake of his head.  *sigh*

calliecritturs

I've actually bought the Bite Not and hated it -- the dog had it off within 5 minutes. 

Callie, the current Bite Not Collars have a strap to keep them on, but the original version didn't.  Did your's have a strap?

Ok we had to upgrade to version 2.5, later yesterday afternoon while napping Elvis realized the collar would just slip right off his head (I knew this but he doesn't have the best problem solving skills) and began chewing again.  So he got the cone back.   This morning I taped my homemade collar onto his harness/seatbelt that we know he can't get out of.  He can eat and play in his new collar but still working on the pathetic look.  This morning he totally refused to even sit for me when I was putting it on, I had to physically make him lie down when I left, we do the exact same thing every time we leave, he's just being stubborn.  I'm tired of having to play the bad guy.  Tonight I was trying to give him some salmon and he pulled the same trick, he'd lie down for my husband but not me.  He wasn't going to get any till he listened to me.  He decided to cooperate after I let the other dog have his and he was still without. Well I'm done with my rant, here are some pictures.  Got one of Stampy just because he was being cute and not dodging the camera like Elvis.

Poor Elvis!!     He just doesn't realize how cute he looks in his collar.