Dog cut the pad of her paw - e-collar alternatives? See Post #16

[LadyBug]

My dogs go along with me while I do barn work, and as I was cleaning stalls I noticed blood in the barn aisle. I checked the dogs over, and it turns out my female cut the pad of one of her hind paws pretty badly.

A vet visit, stitches, antibiotics, splint, wrap, and a surprisingly large amount of money later - I now have a gimpy, whining dog on the floor of my office :no:

Keeping her wrapped, dry, and her quiet for the next 2 to 3 weeks is going to be fun! She’s already using her leg when she walks, which she is NOT supposed to be doing…

She leaves her wrap alone under supervision, but I know when she’s home alone she’s going to have to wear the Cone of Shame. Her crate is pretty roomy, but is it safe to crate her with it on? If not, my next best option is to close her in the mudroom. However, that means she’ll be jumping around when she hears us come home, and she’s supposed to be kept calm.

So, can we please have some jingles that we all stay sane and she stays infection-free until she’s all healed up? She’s going to be miserable about staying home when I take my other dog out to the barn. Yes, I’m being dramatic right now. This is just terribly inconvenient! (pets have a way of doing that, right??)

[Polydor]

Jingles for the poor thing.

P.

[ManyDogs]

Jingles!
Reminds me of when we had our JRT spayed years ago. “don’t let her jump” were the vet’s instructions.
Sure. No problem. JRT-- no jumping. Mmmhmm.

[Beethoven]

Cone in a crate is fine as long as she can turn around with the cone on.

[Bicoastal]

Yes it is safe to crate her with the cone on. She’ll become very adept at maneuvering and herding humans with that weapon. If her energy level and antics interrupt healing, ask the vet for a sedative.

[JanM]

With a cone they quickly discover that humans jump really high when the cone is applied to the back of your leg. They also eat, drink, and get treats off the floor. You’ll be happy to have the cone gone too.

[TheHotSensitiveType]

Sorry you are having to deal with this. This happened a few years ago to one of our dogs, he sliced the pad on his back foot in half! I still have no idea how it happened as we went out for a jog, came back, everything was fine while I cleaned the yard, go to go in the house and on the porch there blood was everywhere. No blood in front of the house, through the gate, in the yard…

He is too smart for his own good so while making sure we felt soooo very sorry for the poor guy in the cone of shame that we were willing to take it off while we were home, he snuck off and chewed the stitches out. So back to the vet, cone of shame for 2+ months because of the damage he caused… his foot is completely healed.

Did I mention that he damaged a lot of the corners in the house (knocked off paint and dry wall) in a further attempt to get us to take off the cone? He knew what he was doing…

[LadyBug]

Your replies are certainly making me feel better! I’m really hoping that she only needs to wear her cone when we aren’t home. I brought her into the office with me today. Here’s a picture of her feeling sorry for herself:

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f206/ColeyC12/2015-01-13101534_zps608e9ab3.jpg

The good news is that I’m accomplishing much more with the door to my office closed :lol:

THST - she almost sliced hers in half as well… Yuck!

[JumpQH]

I went through this recently. My pup got stepped on by a horse and her paw was (as the vet said) filleted and they thought she’d lose part of it. It was wrapped for 4 weeks with a cone and weekly vet visits. She was on antibiotics. No exercise at all. It was 4 long, miserable weeks, BUT she’s perfectly fine now. Healed up beautifully and back to doing everything. You can and will get through this! My pup is living proof!

[LadyBug]

Does anyone have tips on how to get a dog to keep a cone on when unsupervised? I did a trial run with her in her crate while I went to the barn after work. When I came home an hour later the cone was off, and she had pulled and twisted her wrap! The cone has gauze run through it, which I tied and even tightened a bit before I left…

[Beethoven]

You can put a buckle collar through it which may better anchor it.

[JumpQH]

[QUOTE=ColeyC;7956726]
Does anyone have tips on how to get a dog to keep a cone on when unsupervised? I did a trial run with her in her crate while I went to the barn after work. When I came home an hour later the cone was off, and she had pulled and twisted her wrap! The cone has gauze run through it, which I tied and even tightened a bit before I left…[/QUOTE]

Shoot. Mine left hers on for the entire 4 weeks. I kept it tied real tight with gauze. : (

[VFT]

You can try to attach the cone to a harness instead of a collar so she can’t get it off.

[LadyBug]

[QUOTE=VFT;7957140]
You can try to attach the cone to a harness instead of a collar so she can’t get it off.[/QUOTE]

Oh, good idea! I’ll try the harness next, if my husband’s duct taped rigging of her cone doesn’t work. We stuck it on her last night (with a collar through it) and she was unable to get it off, but I brought her to work with me again this morning. I’ll give the cone another go this afternoon… wish us luck!

[JumpQH]

When my puppy was spayed, we did put the cone through her collar and she never got it off. I forgot about that - good ideas above!

Based on experience, she NEEDS to have that cone on! It’s imperative!

[LadyBug]

Oh man, guys… this dog! I put her cone on about 20min before I left the house at lunch, stuck her in her crate, and had my mom check on her about 1/2 hour after I left. The collar was definitely snug, and if I had tightened it an extra hole I would have been concerned about her choking. Guess what? Cone and collar off. Wrap shredded. Thank goodness her stitches are still in tact!

Sooo - how do I attach a cone to a harness?? Otherwise I’m going to have an office mate for the next 2-3 weeks. Not to mention, an office mate who is nervous around strangers so this is far less than ideal.

Or a sedative? Will a sedative make her sleepy enough that she lacks the energy to fight off her cone?

Do I have any alternatives to a traditional cone where she won’t be able to reach a hind leg? I have a blow-up cone, but that doesn’t restrict her enough.

[JumpQH]

I don’t know how to attach to a harness, but I do know that when I did it, I tightened it SO TIGHT that you’d think my puppy would have choked to death. She didn’t. Maybe try tying the gauze super-duper, EXTRA super tight?

The blow up cone won’t last a second, I would think.

[caffeinated]

We have to combine the cone of shame with a neck immobilizer thing. (this one: http://www.bitenot.com/index.htm )

It’s pathetic but it seems to work well for doberdog, though I can’t imagine it’s comfortable.

[hasahorse]

I have used the bitenot collar and it is not quite as barbaric as it looks. The dog I used it on somehow was able to get out of it. I am still not sure how, but he is a bit of a Houdini anyway. You do have to watch the collar because some dogs can be prone to yeast infections under them. Mine never kept it on long enough for that to happen.

[VFT]

Attach the cone to the harness with your gauze or some thin rope. I saw a pic in an article about a dog hit by a car and the dog had the cone attached directly to a high necked harness, but I’m sure you can make whatever harness you have work using something to tie it on. Or cone to collar, then tie collar to harness? Of course I saw this after I spent 24/7 for 2 weeks watching my dog to make sure he didn’t get his cone off after surgery, and I thought what a great idea a day to late. Hope it works for you.