How Do You Keep An E-Collar On?

[YvetteVal]

Poor Gracie got nipped by a neighbor dog on her tail. We are going to the vet after work but in the meantime, how do I keep her from licking it? I can't get an e collar to stay on. Right now it's wrapped up with vet wrap with a sock over it but I'm not confident that will stay on. Any ideas would be appreciated!

[CaliforniaGreys]

Maybe try the Bite Not collar vs the E collar

[Guest KennelMom]

Unless she's obsessing on it and making it worse, I'd just let her tend to her wound.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Assuming that any licking is too much licking...

 

Muzzle? And if she's licking through the holes in the muzzle, then a poop guard. And if you don't have a guard, try duct tape over the holes toward the front of the muzzle (the "lick" holes), leaving some strategically placed holes uncovered so that water can get into the muzzle if she wants a drink.

[YvetteVal]

She's making it worse. She is a muzzle remover too, even if I clip it thru her collar.

[Guest KennelMom]

You can tie it to a collar, which should keep it from falling off over the head.

 

eta: we have the soft e-collars, which have holes built in for the string that tightens it around the dog's neck. It's been a while since I've seen one of the hard plastic cones, but if there's not holes along the base of it (the small part that goes around the neck), you may need to fashion a hole yourself to have a way to tie it to the collar.

Edited September 1, 2010 by KennelMom

[Guest DoofBert]

Our vet tech looped the e collar through Tania's tag collar... which kept it in place..... However, we did purchase a bite not collar.....worked well for Tania. Although your girl might be able to reach the tail wound while wearing a bite not collar.

 

Good luck.....

 

PS-- Muzzle with stool guard is also an option, but didn't work for us as Tania rubbed the muzzle on the stitched spot which caused irritation.

 

 

[Guest LindsaySF]

Muzzle with stool guard. Do you have a muzzle keeper strap for the muzzle? If not you can purchase a small tag collar (like Yorkie size), place that directly behind her ears, and loop the muzzle strap through that. I had to do this for a foster that had a wound on her leg. You might also need to punch more holes in the muzzle strap to make it tighter, depending on how short her nose is. Good luck!

 

P.S. - I used the muzzle with stool guard in addition to wrapping her leg with a tube sock. She rubbed the wound with the muzzle when I left it open, but vet wrap didn't let it air out and scab over enough IMO. The tube sock was a good middle ground there.

[packmom]

E-collar attached to regular collar never worked for me. I tied it to a harness.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Another thing in a pinch is a towel and duct tape. Roll the towel into a tube, then wrap the tube around the hounds neck, and duct tape together so it stays on. The hound will have a heck of a time getting around the towel. I would do the muzzle with duct tape first personally.

[YvetteVal]

We are going with the muzzle. The vet shaved and cleaned the area and all I have to do is keep her from licking! We have pain meds and antibiotics. Wish me luck...

[KF_in_Georgia]

I tried a compromise with Oreo when she was hurt: If she'd lie beside me on the sofa and leave her injury alone (it was her front leg), she could be muzzleless. But if I had to leave the sofa--or if she decided to get up and leave--then the muzzle went on. She was content to spend a lot of time with her head in my lap.

 

But the muzzle went on at night. One night, when I was feeling sorry for her, I left her muzzleless when we went to bed. (She slept with me.) I woke in the middle of the night to an empty bed: she had slipped down the hall to lick in private.

 

Muzzle went on every night after that.

 

Good luck.

[juliemac]

If the muzzle route doesn't work, the soft collar (aka towel & duct tape previously mentioned) works wonders. In terms of keeping bandages on the tail, I found some strong tape that was similar to what the vet used ... pm me if you want me to dig it out of my supplies. It will stick to the fur though, so if you're going to need to let air circulate around the wound, you'll want to use a tube over the tail (paper towel roll) to support that.

 

Heal quickly!

[KF_in_Georgia]

In terms of keeping bandages on the tail, I found some strong tape that was similar to what the vet used ... It will stick to the fur though, so if you're going to need to let air circulate around the wound, you'll want to use a tube over the tail (paper towel roll) to support that.

 

There's a trick to using the tape: pull some off the roll, stick it to your shirt for a moment--so that fuzz on your shirt sticks to the tape and just slightly lessens the super-stick attribute--then put just the edge of the tape on the dog. It'll stick to the fur without fusing forever with the fur.

[SarahsBlackPack]

My guy Fast figured out how to chew on his tail even with a cone on his head. So my dad went to our vet and they gave him one that was longer than the first one. And 3 days later he figured out how to chew on his tail even with the longer cone around his neck. So we had to resort to his muzzle with a stool guard in it. And that is the only way we came get him to leave his tail alone. Some times we take it off his if he is just laying on his bed and someone is there to watch him. But if no one is there to watch him the muzzle goes back one.

[YvetteVal]

Another sleepless night, he hates the muzzle. I had to cover her tail with a sock because it is so raw. It does look a little better this morning. She is home with the muzzle and sock while I am at work. I hope everything stays in place! Thanks for the suggestions.