14 days for cone?!

[Kris and Sawyer]

Sawyer was neutered yesterday. Thankfully all went well. Our vet said to keep the cone on for 14 days! Does that seem excessive? He has no external stitches. The nurse said he did not have to come back in but when the vet talked to me he said he'd like to take a peek at the incision at 10-14 days (no charge) just to make sure. I'm glad he's conservative, but poor Sawyer. He said when we are watching him he can have it off but sleeping and all other times it must be on. So far, it has been difficult to have it off at all... :-(

[Susan and Bentley]

it depends on the dog.  Bentley was always going after the incision, also no external stitches.  Not only could we not take the cone off, we had to put a longer one on bc he was reaching the incision.  But some people say their dogs are fine and don't need the cone.  I can't even imagine that after what we went through.  Poor Sawyer and poor you, it's so sad for them.

[Diane, Baker & Oskar]

Kong makes an inflatable collar that isn't as confining as the cone.
Oskar wore it only a very few days & only when we weren't watching him…you can play it by ear…also, some people use boy's underwear, putting the tail out the fly to protect the area. It is certainly a hassle :P

[Missy]

oh I feel for you!!  we did it with no cone but I devoted ALL my attention to him for 3 days! when he slept, I kept an eye on him and made sure he did not lick. (I am a light sleeper at night)  I also introduced many new chew treats to take his mind off of incision. it seemed he healed quickly and after 5 days I wasn't so concerned, but I checked the incision site daily!.

I hope you can find a solution that works for you!!

[KLN]

We had to keep the cone on that long (maybe even longer)...it sucked...it was the worst part of the surgery. It's just awful...I tried all different ones and at the end of the day, you just have to live with it (sigh, do sorry!). Finley would not leave his incision area alone so this didn't work for us until closer to the end of the 14 days but I took little boys underwear and put his tail through the peepee hole. You have to take them off when they go outside to potty (obviously) but it was a much better improvement over the cone and it kept him (at the end) away from the incision. If he's not really trying to get at his incision this might work! For sure way better than the cone do I'm crossing my fingers for ya! Good luck and I'm so glad all went well in surgery!

[Rebecca bratter]

I would highly recommend the inflatable tube noted below.  We used that for madiba and it was just fine.  She was only about 20 lbs when she had her surgery so she wasn't big enough to reach beyond the tube to lick her incision.  We took it off when we were with her and only put it on her when we couldn't watch her and when she went to sleep at night.  Even though it wasn't a cone, which to me is just pure cruelty and misery for the dog, much worse than the operation, she was absolutely miserable at being confined in any way and by having this tube around her neck.  She hated it beyond belief.  She had external stitches and a larger incision than most because she also had a minor hernia repaired.  Even with being reasonably active, which we couldn't help, and the tube on only when we couldn't watch her, she healed very fast and by day 8 we were almost tube free.  By day 10 her stitches were out and she was back to normal.  Go by your own judgement and watch the incision but get the tube and let your dog have some relief from it when you can be with him.  It goes by fast and then hopefully you never have to go through it again.  I suffered through all of it with Madiba, I was in pain with her.

[Dynamite & Doodle]

I agree with "It depends on the dog"

Darwin was so SO sad in the cone. We made him wear it jsut for the first night but I also let him sleep in the bed with me that night. He did not sleep well. Neither did I, he was tossing and turning all night because of the cone.

During the day we just kept an eye on him. Maybe twice a day for the first three days we had to remind him to "leave it." The second and third nights I put some of my son's underwear on him backwards, with his tail through the opening. He didn't bother with them at all, they were dry in the morning so I knew he hadn't been licking anything. After that he was au naturel, and happy. We just watched him. The vet didn't say anything about a cone, just that he wasn't to lick it for two week.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Agreed...all depends on the dog. Enzo was spayed about 2 weeks ago. She pretty much left her stitches alone, but we still coned her at night. The inflatable rings or cones are so much better and comfortable for the dog. Enzo didn't love it, but she tolerated it and was able to sleep fine. We have the soft cone and it doubled as a pillow for her.
Good luck...keeping her calm was the absolute worst for us. :(

[DJ & Chance]

I never used the cone with Chance. When he tried to lick the site I distracted him and after a day or two he stopped trying.

[Michelle L]

I put a onesie on Butters. I just went to Target and got the cheapest one. She loved it. Walked around in it with no problems. It prevented her from licking her stitches. For boys, I thought the healing would quicker than 14 days. I think Butters wore the onesie for 4 days.

[Tammy and Violet]

Butters is adorable !! How in the heck could you keep that bow in her hair ? Violet does not like anything on her ..I am going to try to put some bling on her ears for thanksgiving though !

[Michelle L]

Thanks!! Long enough for me to take the picture ;-). I am going to get her some antlers for Xmas.

[Briggs]

thanks for posting about this, as briggs is getting neutered right before xmas (the 23rd) and i was wondering how long the cone would need to stay on. ugh! poor pups!