E-Collars

[Guest MorganKonaAlex]

Cobb tangled with a raccoon last night. He had a bite through his cheek and into his gum. He came home from the e-vet with a e-collar. I know it takes a while before they accept it. How long does it take? For 1.5 hours last night he went through cycles of standing panting, lay down with his head up and panting, etc... He was clearly stressed with his tongue large. At 1am I took the collar off of him so we could get some rest. I need to get him use to the collar since he'll have to be left unattended at times. Those of you with nervous greyhounds, how'd you manage?

[Guest KennelMom]

Why would he need to wear one for a face injury? I'd probably just leave it off.

[Guest MorganKonaAlex]

Why would he need to wear one for a face injury? I'd probably just leave it off.

To keep him from scratching it with a foot.

[Guest KennelMom]

It's probably pretty sore, I doubt he's going to want to scratch it and if he does, he'll stop pretty quickly...they tend to scratch once the scab is healing and ready to come off. I've never used a cone for a face injury. Come to think of it, we pretty much never use them. The dogs hate them and it tends to stress them out.

 

To answer the original question of how long it takes for them to get used to it - it'll depend on the dog. Some will accept it right away, others will keep fighting it to exhaustion. Most will be somewhere in the middle.

[kudzu]

As said adjustment to the cone depends on the dog. Personally I would ditch it this type of injury. If he starts scratching with his feet you can try things like wrapping vet wrap around is ankle area to cover his dew claws and put baby socks on his feet. Though if he starts rubbing his face on objects he may just find his face back in the cone. "Shame!"

Edited March 3, 2011 by kudzu

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Our boy just had some mouth surgery and needed an e-collar to keep from scratching his stitches out. We left the collar off when we were home to monitor him but put it on at bedtime and when we left the house. We would wait until he had settled down on his bed or couch and then put the collar on. Hours later, we would find him where we left him. We also took it off if he had to go up or down stairs. He did the same freak-out thing at night when we first brought him home.

 

It may be that your boy is painful OR restless as a side effect of his pain meds.

 

Hope he gets better soon.

[Houndtime]

Of the 5 greys that we have had, only Paul freaked out. He just went crazy when I put the collar one him. Fuzzy, John E and Idol have worn collars for long stretches and were fine. Maybe when the pain of Cobb's injury wears down a bit, he will be better.

 

John E needed to wear the collar after he had surgery to remove a tumor from his eyelid, so some facial surgery does need to be protected.

[Guest greybookends]

I also would not use an E-collar on this type of injury. Maybe put a sock on his foot to keep him from messing with it to much. Besides if you put a sock on his foot he is more likely to spend most of his time trying to get the sock off of his foot and leave his face alone.

[RobinM]

I did not read through all the posts but I wouldn't have them wear it. Greyhounds are known not to do well with them.

[4My2Greys]

I wonder if a collar like this would be less stressful for him.

http://www.jefferspet.com/procollar-/p/0030286/cn/10015021

 

I've been thinking of Cobb lately and wondering how things are going with him. Is he still considered a foster or have you adopted him?

[Batmom]

Unlike everybody else , I can see why you'd want one if the cuts are pretty bad and he's unattended. I've had a dog make matters worse by scratching/rubbing. Helps a lot if the e-collar is clear rather than frosted. They usually have the clear ones at Petsmart/Petco if your vet doesn't.

[Guest MorganKonaAlex]

I've been thinking of Cobb lately and wondering how things are going with him. Is he still considered a foster or have you adopted him?

After 6 months of fostering and no one interested in him, we adopted him last summer. He's been here just over a year now.

 

After that first night, DH worked from home the next day. We put the e-collar on him after breakfast and he was calmer. We had him wear it the first day just to make sure he got use to it. We had plans Saturday so he had to wear it while were were gone. It's off when we're home and he doesn't seem to be messing with it too much. I think we're going to leave him without the e-collar this week.

[4My2Greys]

I've been thinking of Cobb lately and wondering how things are going with him. Is he still considered a foster or have you adopted him?

After 6 months of fostering and no one interested in him, we adopted him last summer. He's been here just over a year now.

 

After that first night, DH worked from home the next day. We put the e-collar on him after breakfast and he was calmer. We had him wear it the first day just to make sure he got use to it. We had plans Saturday so he had to wear it while were were gone. It's off when we're home and he doesn't seem to be messing with it too much. I think we're going to leave him without the e-collar this week.

I'm so glad to hear you adopted him and that he is finally home for good. If I remember correctly it was his prey drive that was causing him to be passed over, have you been able to work with him on that?

[Guest MorganKonaAlex]

I've been thinking of Cobb lately and wondering how things are going with him. Is he still considered a foster or have you adopted him?

After 6 months of fostering and no one interested in him, we adopted him last summer. He's been here just over a year now.

 

After that first night, DH worked from home the next day. We put the e-collar on him after breakfast and he was calmer. We had him wear it the first day just to make sure he got use to it. We had plans Saturday so he had to wear it while were were gone. It's off when we're home and he doesn't seem to be messing with it too much. I think we're going to leave him without the e-collar this week.

I'm so glad to hear you adopted him and that he is finally home for good. If I remember correctly it was his prey drive that was causing him to be passed over, have you been able to work with him on that?

High prey drive isn't usually an issue at our house since we don't have cats or kids. That's why we offered to take him. The raccoon was inside our fenced in yard and I didn't know it was there when I let them out.

[sobesmom]

I personally detest E-collars. Experience from a couple dogs with BAD exteriences. The loss of sight range, plus the muffling of sounds fruited mine out BAD. One time turned a perfectly normal dog into a terrified - snarling snapping crazy! Take the collar off - she was fine.

 

For a face injury, I'd monitor, and if scratching seems to be an issue, tape socks on the feet (that will be hated too) but not as traumatic as the collar.

 

I KNOW they work fine for lots of people and dogs - but I've never had a good experience with them, and have found them to cause more harm than good - just in my experience.