# forgot the elizabethan collar!!



## sherry in Maine (Nov 22, 2007)

dog got neutered today; drove home, realized they forgot to give me a collar for him!!!!
How can I improvise?
I f I can find the muzzle, is it ok to put it on him at night?

Any ideas? (vet 45 minutes away, cant go back tonight, dont want to go back anyway)


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## eyore (Jan 7, 2011)

http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/health/elizabethan.htm

This site tells you how to make homemade Elizabethan collars.


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## sherry in Maine (Nov 22, 2007)

update--
found a plastic pot from a shrub I planted this summer.
Cut the bottom out, cut up the side, duck taped all cut edges-- then the fun really started.

Now I know why he didn't have a collar on. We cant get it on him.

Is muzzling him over night cruel?
It's either that or go back to vet and pay for stitches again tomorrow.


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## CheerfulMom4 (May 21, 2008)

I have never put them on my dogs after getting spayed or neutered. They always seemed more irritated with it on and harder to keep still.


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

At the vet clinic where I work we never send a dog home with a cone after a neuter. The very outer skin is glued so you shouldn't even really see any stitches. The stitches are absorbable.


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## sherry in Maine (Nov 22, 2007)

well, I mean, when I'm sleeping, I worry he'll be licking the spot open . . . .


I dont want a return visit to vet.


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## Ruby (May 10, 2002)

I don't know how they do it here now, but when we had Max neutered he had staples. He woke me up that night on the bed whining and pulling at the staples. I stayed up with him the rest of the night and as soon as the clinic opened I went and got him a collar. 

When Peanut and Honey were spayed the low cost spay and neuter clinic glued their incisions. They were so hyper I used an ace bandage and wrapped them with it. I was so afraid they would tear the incision.


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## JMx4 (Jul 9, 2009)

You can take a towel folded about 3" wide long ways, place around the dogs neck. Keep in place with duct tape. If it's a little dog, try a dish towel. Good luck.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

I've never used one and never had a problem


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## LoneStrChic23 (Jul 30, 2010)

I'm not sure how accurate this info is, but when we had hubby's Weim neutered about 9 years ago, he had stiches & the vet instructed us to spray antiperspirant around it as it's very bitter & deters licking...

They told us to to spray the entire area, but I felt bad about spraying the stitches, so I only sprayed around it.... Worked well..... though it is nine year old advice.


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

I don't remember any of our neutered dogs ever having one. They also didn't put one on either of our females we have now despite one having clotting issues and going through 2 surgeries to stop the bleeding so she had quite a line of staples and glue. The only time we've put a collar on a dog is when one had to have digestive tract surgery. After the first night I didn't bother to put it back on her.


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

LoneStrChic23 said:


> I'm not sure how accurate this info is, but when we had hubby's Weim neutered about 9 years ago, he had stiches & the vet instructed us to spray antiperspirant around it as it's very bitter & deters licking...


This made me laugh because Rocky is always trying to lick MY antiperspirant off :shrug: He seems to like it!


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## LoneStrChic23 (Jul 30, 2010)

Minelson said:


> This made me laugh because Rocky is always trying to lick MY antiperspirant off :shrug: He seems to like it!


LOL When the vet told me to spray him with deodorant I thought he was yanking my chain.....Then he went on & on pointing out it HAD to contain an antiperspirant in order to be effective (I guess you need to tell Rocky he's not suppossed to like it  )......It did actually work, had to reapply 3 times, but it still holds as some of the stranger advice I've ever had from a vet........ I've asked several dog folks, groomers & two other vets about this since then & none have ever heard of doing it......Though I also haven't had a neutered dog with stiches since then either.....All the rest have had glue....


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

The only time we've used one was for a spay that the dog wouldn't leave alone.

Never used one on any of our dogs for a neuter.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

We've never used one after a neuter or spay and never had a problem.


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## FoxyWench (Jan 22, 2010)

i dont use e-collars, ive found dogs seem to fret more and bother the insison more with an ecllar on...
if i get a particularly persistnet dog ill take a set of boys undies (snug but not tight) and use that as a cover when i cant watch.

most dogs will lick but typiclaly wont tear themselves back open so unless hes seriously bothering it, i probably wouldnt do anything.


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## sherry in Maine (Nov 22, 2007)

well end of 1st 24 hours, and the site is less bruised looking than yesterda y, so guessing he isn't licking alot.

I have another neutered male that I had to bring back to vet; he (and other dogs) licked a blood blister into his stitches! (his testicles hadn't descended, so the surgical site was in a different spot)


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

FoxyWench said:


> i dont use e-collars, ive found dogs seem to fret more and bother the insison more with an ecllar on...
> if i get a particularly persistnet dog ill take a set of boys undies (snug but not tight) and use that as a cover when i cant watch.
> 
> most dogs will lick but typiclaly wont tear themselves back open so unless hes seriously bothering it, i probably wouldnt do anything.


Great idea using the undies! If you are concerned and just need piece of mind so YOU can sleep this is a great option. I was trying to think up a way to use a t-shirt lol!!


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## FoxyWench (Jan 22, 2010)

ive used t-shirts with good sucess for spay and stomach surgical sites (and shoulders lol) but you have to figure out a way to keep it tight but not too tight around the waist so they cant just lift it up LOL.


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## redroving (Sep 28, 2005)

I have never had any of my animals have to use an e-collar. You could always use "Bitter Apple" spray, that works good.


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## sherry in Maine (Nov 22, 2007)

yes, thought of bitter apple, but didn't have any.

the area looks ok so far. I feel sorry for him; no activity, except on a leash . . .. he's a dog who loves to run & play outdoors. Has spent lots of time in his crate, or by my side or in the small dog enclosure (4 ft wide, 8 ft long). Only 5 more days till he can take a walk . . . and run & jump


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

I had to give up on rest and leash exercise for my akita when she got spayed. It was just not possible. So off she went in to the fields in spring with mud and horse manure. The vet then commented on how clean the area was and how fast she healed. I got told I did a great job taking care of her. I decided to bite my tongue. The dog was the one who licked everything just enough to keep it clean but not enough to do damage. Akitas are known to clean themselves like cats though and very rarely require a bath even after being out in the mud.


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## redroving (Sep 28, 2005)

I have never tried to restrain my animals. I have never had any ever hurt themselves or rip a stitch. My doberman fell in an irrigation inlet full of water one day after getting spayed while on a walk in along our irrigation canal and she never had any ill effects. The canal was empty but the inlet still had water and she didn't realize that it was not solid and went headfirst in and scraped her belly as she went down but it did no damage to the stitches or her.


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