E-collar (aka "elizabethan collar")

[JBCB]

One of our girls, Hannah, had a small (and happily, benign) growth removed from her belly 13 days ago. It was in an awkward location -- in the crease formed by her right leg and belly and thus subject to a lot of movement. Her stiches stayed in for 10 days and we kept her as quiet as possible, as well as limiting her licking of the incision as much as possible.

Last Monday her stiches were removed and all looked good. Tuesday we had the first good play in almost 2 weeks and afterwards we noticed that her incision had started to open again. We took her into the vet where they inserted a couple of staples, and gave us an E-collar so she couldn't lick at the incision.

This brings me to why I posted. First of all she looks soooo sad with it on :( . Second, it's big enough that she can't drink out of her bowl (I have since put a smaller bowl that will fit into the e-collar so she should be able to drink) so she was really thirsty when we got home from work yesterday. Finally, if she's got an "ear itch" how does she scratch it? So, is there a better alternative? We take it off when we're home and can stop the licking, but if there were something else that did the job we'd love to try it! Thanks.

[Solomon]

When we first got Solly he had just been neutered, and a terrible job was done. I swear, they used dental floss as sutures. And then he had to have his hernia repaired. The ecollar we got from the vet made him just miserable. I found the "bite-no" collar to be a much better alternative. Dog has full range of vision, can scratch ears, has no problem eating/drinking, while preventing access to the abdominal region. I bought Solly's at:

http://www.omahavaccine.com/store/health_equipment.html

I really recommend it.

[Sharon Marples]

If you are unable to find a "No-Bite" collar, then simply take your scissors or a carpet knife and cut her present e-collar down a couple of inches. Make it so she can reach her water, but not yet get to the incision. I've done this with several of them and they continue to work just fine.

Sharon Marples

[JBCB]

Thanks guys! I'll do some looking around here for the "bite not" collar. Was this a purchase from your vet, just from the website, or was it carried by the bigger petstore chains? (our local one is called Pets Unlimited).

By the looks of it it prevents the dog from turning enough to get to the spot. Correct?

[Solomon]

I ended up having it overnighted from the website. I think it was about $30 for the collar and shipping. Yes, it prevents them from turning their heads far enough to get to the incision. Kept Solly off his neuter and his umbilical incisions.

[HerdmyRott]

You can also take a large towel and some duct tape and make your own no-bite collar. Just make sure the towel is folded enough to be stiff and tape it securely around your dog's neck....not too tightly though! ;-)

[Jack's Mom]

Jack had ACL surgery about 2 years ago and had to wear one of those dreadful plastic cones on his head. I saw this soft e-collar in my Dog Fancy magazine recently and wished I had known about this when he had his surgery. That No-Bite collar sounds pretty cool, too. Here's the Web site I found on the soft e-collar.

http://www.bonafido.com/page6.html