e-collars, elizabethian collars, home made

[Cheryl]

In remote Alaska, when a dog has an area it shouldn't lick or chew on, we never have the option of buying and immediately obtaining an e-collar or elizabethian collar. The few plastic buckets we are told to buy and cut to fit around the neck of a dog are not made of material that readily cuts nor will it be safe to put around a dog's neck as it is sharp like a knife or glass:(

In the second vet assist aka veterinarian science class we recently took how surprising to be told of a simple solution that I would never in a lifetime have thought to do:

Cardboard boxes, you simply cut to fit and tape...it is pliable, strong, has breathability and everyone in Alaska has cardboard boxes and duct tape! Viola! Wow! Something so simple...and handy!

[marjolein]

Hmm Cheryl, I don't think you know the difference between an e-collar and a elisabethan collar. The first one has an "e" which stands for electrical.......

Hope you enjoy your classes as much as I did. I'm a vet nurse now for almost 13 years and I still enjoy it as much as the first day I started.

[groovydreamyfab]

Oh, I thought the e in e-collar stood for elisabethan. Here in the U.S. when I go to the vet, they refer to e-collar and mean the elisabethan, but mostly we just call it a cone. I call the electrical collar a "shock" collar. Is that like coke being soda being pop?
Here's some stuff Groovy did in his e-collar...

[groovydreamyfab]

Geez, super sorry the pics came out so big, I'll try to go back to PhotoBucket and resize them, so maybe they'll get smaller...

[Cheryl]

No, please don't make them smaller! Great pics, nothing slowed him down! It must be a location thing, the names we assign to "stuff"

Marjolein, in the US we call the electric collars "shock collars" as Groovy's mom said - something I have never used but have thrown away when dogs come to me via rescue, wearing them instead of a "real collar" or wearing them "like a real collar?"

Our local vet hasn't thought of the cardboard box idea, either, for a "cone" (or eliz-collar) so I'll share it with him today. Going to get Ducky's stitches removed from his umbilical repair, he's too wiggly to do it myself~!

[Cheryl]

OOps! I am enjoying the classes:) Thanks!

[Leslie]

snowydiamonds said:

Marjolein, in the US we call the electric collars "shock collars"

I have certainly heard of them called shock collars, but most people familiar with them these days call them e-collars.

(my location says France, but I'm American.)

[Cheryl]

No matter what shape of cardboard I taped together to keep Ducky from chewing off his bandage and taking out his stitches, it didn't work:(

I decided last night since I had to leave him home while I was at work today (truck needs to go to the shop tomorrow, clutch and muffler went out same day...Friday nite) that I would make a muzzle out of duct tape. He still had it on at lunchtime. I took it off for an hour and put it back on until I get home from work. He got a raw meaty bone for a reward:) for lunch. (He had an umbilical hernia repair and front dewclaws removed)

[Wetdog]

Cardboard boxes are a great idea!!! I'll file that away--I'm sure that will be a useful bit of information someday. The muzzle is also and excellent idea--I don't think I would have thought of it!!!

Also--the last time I visited the vet that they sent one home with an E-collar(what I've always called them-as opposed to a "shock collar")--they charged me $17 for it(ouch--a LOT for a curled up piece of plastic I thought).

[groovydreamyfab]

I've found that not all e-collars (cones) are created equal. Some are made out of soft material and can easily be maneuvered/moved out of the way by any thinking weim, ones I've gotten from PetSmart have split on the first day of wearing. The only thing about the cardboard idea that I do not like is they cannot see thru it. Groovy, an e-collar veteran, is happier when he can see as much as possible. I've tried the cone made by "Buster" that I've gotten from the vet school, and also one called a "no-bite" collar - have needed both depending on which area of his body I was trying to keep him from licking. The buster collar is so tough that he can bend it to run in and out of the doggie door, and when it gets caught on furniture, instead of splitting, it just takes the furniture with it! It's tough on human legs, but you learn to stay out of the way.

[daniela]

I read somewhere that you can make an Elizabethan collar from a bucket. Probably involves quite a bit of work, taking out the base and then smoothing down the edges so it doesn't rub on the neck. However, I would imagine, making one from sturdier plastic, such as a bucket, would be longer lasting.

[Cheryl]

Daniela, we live in a colder area, we think 50-60 degrees is hot, and anything hotter is unbearable:) So the plastic buckets become brittle, sharp, inappropriate to use, at least the buckets we can get here in town.

Thanks for more ideas, grrdrrfabbb:) I just left Ducky with his bandages this afternoon, he learned to take the muzzle off, the cardboard off, and is a quick study after first laying so pitiful and then his mind kicks in - so far the bandages are staying on longer with constant voice reminders becuz he has figured out it keeps the strange appendages off the neck!

[tasha]

I cheat I use an old jumper

[weimaranermama]

I did the same, an old T shirt.
Gr. Ina

[sian]

We used an old T-shirt with Cassie too (swapping it for a slightly smarter one for walks ). She became quite the talk of the park, and her friends (3 German Shepherds) would borrow her "clothes" when they needed some!