E-collar after spay

[Frank and Pippa]

Pippa got spayed on Monday and they had me get the cone of shame for her. They said for her to keep it on for 10 days. The problem is that she is super depressed, won't eat and drink very well, and most of all can't turn around in her crate without struggle. What do I do? I have heard that the collar can be taken off after 48 hours if they are not licking obsessively at it. For those who have experience.. what do you think?

[Carrie]

Hi! We had issues with our doodle when she was spayed too. She escaped the hard e collars and the inflatable collars were ineffective (she could still scratch and then she learned to deflate it). We ended up using cheap, plain white onesies in a toddler size 3T (found at Walmart). I would cut a hole in each one in the butt section of the onesie and then put it in her and snap it. As long as it stayed snapped she was able to go pottie with it on through the section I had cut out without making a mess (or you could just unsnap it and bunch it up on her chest when she goes out. She wasn't able to lick, chew or scratch with the onesie on and didn't seem to mind it. Worked perfect for us. I'll post a pick in the photos area.

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

If you are around, I would take it off. I actually put a pair of stretch shorts on Yogi to help detour him. I've seen some also use boys underwear.
As a side, is it time to get a bigger crate ?

[Donna K & Quincy]

Put an old t-shirt on with her back legs through the armholes and her tail through the neck and tie it around her waist. This is usually enough and they are much happier.
Something like this. I wouldn't put pins in it but you can find some way to make it work. 

[Donna K & Quincy]

I don't know how big your dog is but some people have used onesies. Here is link from a previous discussion with a couple of photos.

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/need-photo-of-tshirt-for-post

[Sheree Small]

The t-shirt on backwards as in the photo. This is exactly what we did! It worked great. I cut the collar of the t-shirt and made a tie to my dogs collar. I used a chip clip to keep it closed at first, then actually sewed a new seam to fit. Good luck.

[RBG]

I put Twyla in this and it was AMAZING. It's a half shirt that covers her belly and ties over her back , and it can be kept on for potty. I would take her back legs out Anyway just in case, but they can definitely poop in it! She was super comfy, unable to mess with her wound, and it actually kept her relaxed. I highly recommend this one!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00Z4A3080/ref=sxts1?ie=UTF8&qid...

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

That is really a great idea. I wish I had known about this when Fudge got spayed. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We watched our dogs - if they didn't bother the incision site, they had no cone.  Most definitely I would take it off while my eyes were specifically on her and could stop any chewing.

[Kaitee and Orwell]

If it helps...

Orwell had an obstruction when he was younger that involved surgical intervention. He had a much larger incision than what a spay involves. I only put the cone on him at night when I couldn't supervise him. I doubt he would have done anything anyway, because he never touched it. When he was neutered, the vet techs assumed he was female, so they shaved a lot of his stomach. He also didn't touch the incision site, but he could not stop itching the edges of where he was shaved.... just some things to keep in mind if you haven't already observed itchy behavior. I put lotion I got from the vet on Orwell away from the incision when he was neutered and had an obstruction.