Comfy Cone vs Plastic Vet Cone

[Carol and Banjo]

Hoping someone out there can give me some feedback.  Banjo was neutered today and I'm not sure who's more distressed....DH, myself or Banjo.    Poor little guy is "under the influence" and is not happy about the cone he'll be confined to for the next ten days.  I'm thinking once the drugs wear off he'll be even more unhappy.   I've looked online to find an alternative and the "Comfy Cone" seems like it may be better than the plastic cone the vet sent him home with.    Also, we're allowing him to walk about at will in the main area of the house....no stairs or climbing on furniture (he hasn't even tried) but should we be keeping him more confined...as in the bathroom?    Hope someone can help!   Thanks!!!!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

That's great....Murphy got pretty used to it. The worst part was that is got really dirty and smelly. He's kind of a slob when he eats and drinks, and the soggy food was getting down in the cone. I didn't take it off to clean it very often, because it was too difficult to get it back on him. He was a very stinky Dood for a few days.

[Carol and Banjo]

I'm taking it off for him to eat but he does "dribble" water in it. We also took out his regular crate and put a larger crate in it's place....he just took a nice long nap in it....and we took a nice nap as well!!!! Catching up on lost zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's. Tonite should be much better!! : )

[Carol and Banjo]

In a matter of a couple of days Banjo has gone from a plastic cone to a comfy cone to his Mom's shirt! We think he prefers the shirt....even if it's a bit "girlie"....

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

OMG, he looks so cute in your shirt! I'm just surprised he'll keep it on. Glad he's doing better.

[Melissa]

Let me tell you we had QUITE the time with Buddy and his neutering. We picked Buddy up from the vet and of course are supposed to keep him calm but he acted like it was just another day for him. So we were sent home WITHOUT a cone as the vet told us that 90% of dogs don't need them or bother the stitches but Buddy fell into the 10% (and actually another vet told us the numbers are more like 98%!). ANyway, he did ok as far as the way he was acting but we noticed the next morning that the wound was opening up. So Tuesday (surgery on Monday) we took him back. We got a cone and antibiotics to make sure it did not get infected. Wednesday morning we looked again and sure enough it had opened more. We were perplexed as he had the cone on the entire time. So back to the vet for post-op visit #2. The vet put GLUture on it to re-seal the wound. Back home and about an hour later I inspected and it was opened AGAIN! So back to the vet for post-op visit #3 and this time they had to sedate him and put regular stitches in. Shortly after we got him back home we noticed that he was indeed able to maneuver the cone to be able to reach the stiches. The collar the vet had given us was 8-inches from the neck out. We went to Petsmart and got the larges one we could find. 12 inches, of course the neck hole was too big (it was on the one the vet gave us as well - it actually came off in the car right after we left their office) So I strung the gauze around it and through his collar and it stayed on. Of course now he was no longer able to eat or drink with it on. So I started hand feeding him and holding the water bowl so he oculd get to it. But we were going out of town and I was starting to panic because what boarder would take the time to do all of this. So I looked on here and read that some people used boys briefs. I went to Walmart and got a pack and they worked great! I was able to snap the collar off his head so he could eat and drink, he still wanted to lick the area, but at least now it was covered. We kept the cone on when he slept and when were were not in eye shot of him. We were able to go out of town for the night (found a vet who also boarded) and he did well there. THen a few days later we dropped him off at my parents to go out of town again (he loves being with them). My mom took him to a local vet to get the stitches out and of course when we brought him back home I noticed that one of the stitches was still there! Most of it was buried but I took him to another vet and they were able to cut off the part that was out and said the rest should absorb over time.

Long story I know, but just keep an eye on things and make sure that even though it says it is the right size for the dog, they might still be able to get at the wound if they want to. The briefs are what saved us! I also felt that it helped keep the area cleaner and easier to heal. Good luck!

[Carol and Banjo]

Oh my gosh....you certainly had your hands full!!! This is day 4 for Banjo and he's doing much better than we expected. My shirt "invention" didn't work out too well as he managed to still get at the area. I keep the 10" Comfy Cone on him when I can't be supervising him and when he's crated at nite. He really has taken it all in stride and we're looking forward to no more cone in a few more days.