Spaying in a heatwave - cone/ doughnut instead of medishirt?

[ArtichokeAardvark]

Hello - my gorgeous lab is booked in for her spay next week. The vet has said she will be sent home with a medishirt to prevent her licking the incision site, but I'm conscious that it's meant to be hot next week! I'm worried about her overheating in a full bodysuit so want to have something ready as a back up if it looks like she's struggling...

Has anyone used an inflatable doughnut collar rather than a dreaded cone of shame? They are supposed to be much comfier for the dog and stops them ricocheting off walls and furniture, but do they actually prevent licking properly?

Obligatory photo of pooch included 😊

You can aways damp the top of the suit to keep her cool. My Lab could easily bypass the doughnut to lick so ended up in a cone.

It is something to think about. How hot is it forecast to be where you are next week? I would ask your vet. If it’s a straight forward oo then the incision should be small and heal well with rest. I would probably use the vest myself. They won’t be running around. But I would check with your vets as they’ll have come across this before.

I wouldn’t rely on the doughnut, I’ve had labs and they are tenacious by nature!

Love the photo. She’s gorgeous. All the best for next week.

Will you be around to supervise? My little pup hated the suit but didn't show much interest in the site anyway so we only put it on at night.

I'll be around to supervise during the day, but she sleeps downstairs at night so I won't know what she's getting up to.

You've confirmed my worry about the doughnut, she's very bendy so I suspect would manage to get past it 😕. Will purchase a cone of shame! I see you can get soft ones now rather than the standard hard plastic which I might try so that she can sleep...

The soft ones are useless. A Lab would work out how to fold it back. You can get plastic ones with a strip of padding sewn around the edge which protects the doorframe and furniture. Forty years of dogs and they all slept all right in the cone. My current Lab is very bendy too!

https://amzn.eu/d/06AqoNT1

I’ve got one like that, so it’s got the inflatable but, but also the plastic like a normal cone…my neurotic rescue wears it fairly happily, with just a normal plastic one we were having to hold up his food and water for him 😐 and he insisted he couldn’t lie down in it 😂