Dog terrified of e-collar.

Susannahmia

Brought the dog to the vet today because she has a bald sore spot on her leg that she has licked red raw. He said it was unusual and could have been caused by a bite or some kind of allergy or could be just a habit she has developed. Anyways he gave her antibiotics and prednisolone for it along with an e collar which he said it was vital she wore to stop the licking until it healed.

When we got home we put on the collar and the dog was extremely distressed. Started shaking all over with fright and was rooted to the spot with fear.

As we knew the collar was so important we left it on for almost an hour to see if she would get used to it. She was in an awful state the whole time just frozen and trembling with anxiety and couldn't be comforted or distracted at all.

In the end we had to take it off and she instantly relaxed and perked up but an hour later still does look a little traumatized from the whole experience.

I've had dogs and cats with e collars before and they didn't like it obviously but this dogs reaction to it was something else altogether.

Is there any alternative I could use?

kylith

Why would the vet give you an electric collar for a bald spot?

Susannahmia

kylith wrote: »

Why would the vet give you an electric collar for a bald spot?

An Elizabethan collar... ya know the cone/lampshade thingy! Not electric lol.

An e-collar is a veterinary medical device which has a number of uses in the treatment of animals, particularly after surgery. It consists of a cone of stiff material which is worn around the neck, preventing an animal from biting or licking at the rest of its body.

Whispered

could you bandage the leg?

kylith

Ah, my mistake. I thought it was a bit odd the other way. I've heard you can get ones that are more like normal collars but inflatable, so they don't have the cone over their head, but still can't turn enough to chew stitches.

Susannahmia

Whispered wrote: »

could you bandage the leg?

Hmm don't think a bandage would stay on but I could give it a try if all else fails. Thank you.

kylith wrote: »

Ah, my mistake. I thought it was a bit odd the other way. I've heard you can get ones that are more like normal collars but inflatable, so they don't have the cone over their head, but still can't turn enough to chew stitches.

Lol no problem you'd think it was an electric collar the way she was reacting to it! . Those inflatable ones sound very interesting thanks for that!

Has anyone on here used them? Were they less "traumatic" for the dog? Anyone else have a dog that reacts this way to an e collar?

Zapperzy

If you do put a bandage on be careful not to get it wet and only put it on at night if you can watch her during the day, the wound needs air to heal, if allowed to become moist all the time it will take longer to heal. No harm just giving the vet a call to mention that she is reacting badly to the collar, they might have another suggestion or will probably give you some bandage to put on her.

theghost

My youngest dog reacted in exactly that way when she had to wear a cone - shaking, glued to the spot. I ended up having to take the cone off and the vet put a bandage on her leg instead. One thing I found worked when she tried to bite the bandage off was to smear some mustard on it. This might work for your dog if you decide to bandage the leg.

tk123

Susannahmia wrote: »

Those inflatable ones sound very interesting thanks for that!

Has anyone on here used them? Were they less "traumatic" for the dog? Anyone else have a dog that reacts this way to an e collar?

Yep we have one of the inflatable ones from zooplus - much better than the e-collar!!! Our guy had the same reaction to the e-collar as your poor dog - he was afriad of his life. I knew his op was on the cards so I got one of the inflatable ones from zooplus to have if and when we needed it. He had his stitches out on his leg last week so we put it on him to be safe and he was fine. He didn't need it tbh- he knows his leave it command and knows not to go near his scar etc - but we left the collar on him because he was using it like a neck pillow and looked so comfy. We start week 4 of crate rest tomorrow so if he's comfy and quiet and happy then we're happy :pac:

Graces7

Our two reacted the same when they came home from being spayed. Utter terror and stumbling round as if blind. So we took them off and kept a good eye on them. Neither tried to attack their stitches thankfully

luvdogs

A great way i`ve found to stop them at bandages etc is a good sprinkling of black pepper all over it....tried so many things and this is fab...they dont even want to look at it;)