Post op and the come of doom

[GreatBigBeautifulTommorow]

DDog had growth removed from lower leg yesterday.

we put her to bed in the cone of doom and her giant green leg bandage.
woke at 5am to her banging head into walls, panting and wild eyed because of the cone……and one intact giant green leg shaped bandage laid next to her intact as though it simply fell off 🙄

any tips for getting her to tolerate the cone of doom tonight?
she was so distressed by it.
normally sleeps in a crate.
I sleep like the dead so not sure I’d hear her chewing if I slept downstairs with her and no cone?

massive bandage no longer needed as per the vet but I’m going to dress it for bed

*CONE of doom 😂 sodding auto correct

I think you just have to leave them to get on with it, my boy had both his knees operated on and he was a terrible chewer so had the cone on 24/7, he got more upset if we kept trying to take it off and put it on, I put him in a puppy pen with plenty of room to turn in, he quite quickly accepted it and it was only for 10 days.

We muzzled our dog. He hated the cone with a passion and would run into door frames etc to try and pop it off (after he did this once by accident he kept trying to repeat the process). In desperation I bought a muzzle. May not work for you but he just had absolutely no issues with the muzzle so was a dream for us x

We got a thing like a round cushion with a hole in the middle for ddog when he had his op. It's quite soft and supposed to be more comfortable than the cone. Sorry this is not much use for you this time.

Mine didn’t need it after she was spayed. She left it alone, but she sleeps on my bed so I’d have heard any chewing .

What about a soft donut cone instead of one of the huge plastic ones?

vet said she can’t have the blow up cushion (which I think she’d tolerate) as would be able to reach wound.

during a day we are taking cone off and having someone with her.
”leave it” is the most spoken phrase at the moment!
@Moanycowbag 10 days?! We’re day 3 post op and I’m ready for a holiday 😂

@Stropalotopus83 can they not lick with the muzzle?

shes sussed out how to use her back paw to try and remove sock and goes behind the sofa to try……😂

it seems to be bothering her more this morning, trying to lick and lifting paw up?

wound looks great still, hoping it’s maybe itching as it heals?

You can get soft cones, rather than the hard plastic ones. Not the donut type, just a cone but a stiff fabric. I feel your pain, we are almost 6 weeks into one of mine having to wear hers! She tolerates it though and we call it her “sombrero” 🤣🤣🤣

@Buildingthefuture 6 weeks?!?! Why are they wearing it if you don’t mind me asking?
I did see the material ones but wondered whether she would be able to bend it to get to her to paw?
for context she is a staffie….determined and persistent 😂

vet said she can’t have the blow up cushion (which I think she’d tolerate) as would be able to reach wound.

I would at least be buying one to try if my dog was as distressed as yours seems to be - the vet can't really dictate what you use on your dog in your own home!

but if the dog licks her leg then the cone will be needed for much longer. The inflatable cones/soft fabric ones are pretty rubbish and dogs get round them all the time.

@coffeecupsandwaxmelts the vet advised a blow up cushion will be ineffective as she will be able to reach the wound.
we have one and can confirm the vet is correct.

@Waveymaevey yes that’s what I’m holding onto that without the cone if she licks and wound breaks down due to where it is not enough sling to reclose.
it’s horrible to see and hear her distressed but I know it’s for her well-being.

I’ve never seen a soft material cone….do you think not worth trying?

You can get surgery suits. Perhaps if you sew a sock onto the end then that would help too.

https://amzn.to/41RdVwb

@Waveymaevey @GreatBigBeautifulTommorow - yes I know that - I was trying to say that I would buy one anyway and use it under supervision - then if you notice, the dog can then reach her wound, you just remove it and go back fit he plastic cone with no harm done.

I thought it was obvious I wasn't suggesting putting a donut cone on her and then leaving her to it 🙈

@coffeecupsandwaxmelts see what you mean, my comprehension skills aren’t the best due to lack of sleep.

we manage without the cone on a day time, she has a sock on and watching her like a hawk.
it’s a night time that’s the issue, my days of managing to stay awake all night are long gone 😂

Haha it's no problem!

I see what you mean that she's fine during the day so she needs to be able to be left unsupervised at night - it's difficult especially when they're clearly distressed.