If a dog has a cone on post op - how do you manage?

[BurningBridges]

Apparently if my dog's operation goes ahead he will need a cone at night (vet said if we can stay with him all day and watch him no need for daytime cone) for 5-7 days - how will he manage to lay down with that on?! Will he be very distressed?

Tips and advice welcomed thank you in advance

They flatten down a bit, like this, so yes they can lie down. (even if they look miserable while doing it, lol) Mostly they just get a bit annoyed with them and bash into things a lot rather than being actually distressed.

There's also the option of inflatable collars, but that will depend on where the wound is whether it's any use. (that was on his stomach, so enough to stop him getting to it)

Ah thank you, good pictures. Still looks uncomfortable though doesn't it?! Wound will be on stomach.

The worst bit is them scraping the cone up your legs tbh. My puppy has just had one for 10 days after neutering, and that and the clattering drove me nuts! He slept fine in it though

Ask your vet if they have inflatable collars...mine pretty much used it as a pillow, lol. He was literally just home from intensive care, so he doesn't look comfy, but actually once he was a bit better, he didn't seem to mind it.

The cone...they manage fine, but no, they're not exactly nice.

Hah - scraping is nothing, try 40kg of dog running into your shin with a cone on rofl

I will definitely ask about the inflatable cone thanks.

When they get wedged in the doorway as they changed their minds about going through and try to turn Strikethrough: have a little laugh assist before they ruin the paintwork.

We had the cone off during the day with clse supervision and bought a Comfy Cone for night. The comfy cone was good but he chewed it on the 5th night, think we ordered the wrong size and it wasnt deep enough to stop him.

Be careful if you have a gravel drive. The cones act as a bulldozer, which is quite amusing the watch but leaves the poor dog very bemused.

One of our dogs hated it and laid on the floor whimpering for 5 hours.

The other acted as though it wasn't there and smashed his way into doors and walls. He went through at least one per day - it cost a fortune!

I'll definitely look into inflatable ones if he ever needs one again!

If the injury or area to be protected is on the torso, I recommend one of these www.dfordog.co.uk/medical-pet-shirts.html

They are great after a neutering op too.

Good luck.

Mine managed to destroy his and then chew it to a millions pieces whilst we were out at work. Luckily he left his stitches alone !

LimeJelly I LOVE the shirt idea, what a find! That would really reduce stress. Thanks everyone some good tips here.

My spaniel hated the cone. We put a small t-shirt on him and gathered it above his tail and tied it so he couldn't get to his wound. He was fine with that.
And ds sort of thought he had another brother as the dog was wearing clothes.

I am glad it helped :-)

Oh they are fab. They protect while allowing the wound to heal, they can help keep a dog warm post surgery (you know when they are all shivery after the anaesthetic) and also the wearing of a snug garment can help them feel less anxious. They are a winner all round. I wish more vets were aware of these items. So many still hand out recovery cones. I know it won't be long. Word travels fast in this modern age :-)

We've done this in the past:

As our dog found the cone very distressing as she was bumping into things with it all the time, and she's deaf so it was hard on her to restrict her field of vision.

It's good if the wound is on the torso, as it stops the dog bending down to it, similar to the inflatable neck collar posted above.

I wouldn't leave it overnight, but it's good for during the day if you can supervise.

We've used the medical pet shirts on our dog instead of the cone. So much better. The vet ordered one for us before our dog was neutered. Would definitely recommend them

Ours is now on day 11 of his cone after an operation on his paw. When his bandages came off we had to get a bigger one as he worked out how to wiggle his head right forward enough to bite at his wound. He's on restricted, lead only walks and if I try to do any clicker training he goes bonkers and gets angry at the cone so can't do that. I think he hates me! My legs are in bits and every time he wants a cuddle he nearly decapitates me but if I move my face out of the way he gets angry again because he can't see me. I feel so bad. It doesn't help that he is a cocker spaniel and so is a pro at super sad puppy dog faces which are getting thrown in my direction constantly.

You could get creative with the cone of shame

Day 11 of cone?!! Poor Raspberry dog!

Am ordering shirt today - my dog is at the dog parlour getting spruced up so he is relatively clean and tidy for op.

My springer had a pet shirt the other week after stitches in his side. He loved it! Would happily put his paws out to have it put on and looked really comfy in it. It's made me consider getting him a coat!

He's going bonkers! He's currently trying to get some cheese out of a kong. Hopefully stitches out on Saturday. Lovely big scab on the wound now which he managed to split last Thursday so I'm hoping on Saturday he'll be good to go. If he is there will be some mega walks over the weekend!

How is your dog Raspberry? Mine went in this morning, its now nearly 6pm and they rang to say operation was fine but they didn't think he could come home tonight, they are going to look at him again after 7pm - I just want my doggie back!! Did your dog come home same day?