# e-collar injury



## DaisyDaws (Feb 28, 2015)

Our 9 month old Brando was boarding at a trainers and he introduced him to an e-collar. He had him on a wide leather collar at first and spent the last couple days on the e-collar, it was an e collar technologies brand. He called us today and said Brando had an abrasion on his chest that needs to be looked at by a vet. We drove the hour to get him and have an appointment tomorrow, but I am curious if anyone has any experience with this. Our trainer is very experienced with GSD and other dogs and hasn't seen it. It looks like a 2 in wide by 4 inch abrasion, raw and a little oozing, right along where the collar would be in his neck. It doesn't seem to bother him, it has been cleaned and treated with antibiotic. We obviously won't be using that collar again, but just don't understand what happened. Thanks for any help!


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

Yup. As much as Ecollar folk say they can't do that, I have seen it no less than 15 times. It happens. Shave the area, treat with antibiotics and creams and should heal just fine. 

Lots of reasons why, collar too tight, collar not moved around at all to distribute, sensitive dog, got wet. Who knows. Poor pup!


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## DaisyDaws (Feb 28, 2015)

Thank you for the response! We are so upset he got hurt. At least he doesn't seem to be in any pain, and he can't bite at it. Now we are just so happy to have him home.


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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

I can't really see it but if it was the e collar it happens when they put the collar on too tight and then fail to take it off for a while or fail to rotate the collar around the neck. When a professional trainer does it to that extreme its basically negligent. The contact points rub and create a pressure sore. It has nothing to do with the stim from the collar itself. 

I'd be pissed. 

It's possible if your dog is loud and annoying in the crate it was caused by a bark collar that was at an inappropriate tightness.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Sorry about Brando, that shouldn't happen. If it was caused by the collar, somebody never bothered to check for fit, reposition occasionally or just plain left it on him. I'm fairly new to using them, we have an ecollar tech/educator and a Dogtra 2300ncp and haven't had a single problem with either.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

regardless of how or why he actually got it (it's very possible that this had been brewing unnoticed under the wide flat collar), it's basically a hotspot and the instructions mentioned above is pretty standard.... shave it, clean it daily (chlorahexidine) and personally I'd just let it dry out instead of creams. oral antibiotics will clear it up quicker.

I work at a kennel and we see these fairly regularly, caused by a variety of collars or other reasons but always due to moisture getting trapped near the skin and causing an infection.

that said, I'd be pretty pissed too.... even if the wide leather collar caused it... I'd think it would have been detected during the swap and fitting of the e collar. of course it's about the dogs health and well being overall but professional mindset should be different than pet parent mindset. I inspect dogs head to toe while in my care.

I will also echo Balliff.... this injury is not from the stim


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

sorry....I originally read it as the wide flat collar was his regular collar that he wore before going to the trainer. I understand now, 100% trainers fault. bummer. it's a very inconvenient spot - you may need to walk him in a nylon slip or head collar for awhile.


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## Apexk9 (Sep 13, 2015)

Could have been an accident with the collar getting caught on something.


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## newlie (Feb 12, 2013)

When Newlie got his ecollar, it always made me a little nervous to put it on as snugly as the trainer put it on. That, and his heavy fur, were probably the reason he had to have the long prongs to feel anything. The trainer did tell me the importance of rotating the collar from side to side which I did every morning as I took it off him every night. We did not run into any problems.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

I would be very upset at the trainer who should have known better. Honestly, if they did not know to rotate the collar, I would question their ability to use it. 

That is a good brand of ecollar and they all have this issue, though there is a surface contact grid option designed for 24 hour wear for the dogtras (though I don't know how well it works and imagine you would have to shave the contact area on a longer coated dog) . I was told to rotate every EIGHT hours and some recommend even more frequently. 

The snug fit is critical to consistent performance.


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## Mooch (May 23, 2012)

Could he be sensitive to the metals used in the contacts? Are they stainless steel?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I have heard of dogs having an allergy to metal and saw something (not quite as bad) on one dog from that.


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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

If it was that and the collar was rotated properly you would see it on several spots around the neck more than likely.


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## DaisyDaws (Feb 28, 2015)

Thank you all for the replies. It really is upsetting that this happened, one of the reasons we went with this trainer is his lengthy experience, and we wanted someone with extensive knowledge to train us with the collar. He seems very upset as well, and I know he didn't intend to hurt him. We take B to the vet today, I'm sure he will shave it and treat it and it will be fine. He doesn't seem to be in pain and it's so good to have him home with us! I will ask the trainer about how exactly the collar was used, how long it was on, whether it was rotated. He did tell us it was a new version that e collar technologies had given him to test, maybe that had something to do with it. I have also heard some dogs have a nickel allergy and that could have contributed. Funny if that's it, I have an allergy to nickel, too.


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## DutchKarin (Nov 23, 2013)

That injury is in a weird location. Doesn't seem like an ecollar that is probably fitted would sit in that position. Could it have been something else?


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## KPK (Jan 28, 2015)

I would also make sure that they are not using a leash connected to the E-collar. A leash should always be used on a second collar so that there is no pressure trying to rotate the E-collar. From where the sore is located it looks like it is a bit low around the neck also. High and right behind the ears is the smallest diameter and where the collar should be fitted if not you will have an inconsistent contact when the collar moves or falls higher on the neck.

Think of it as a tight and snug leather dress shoe. If it is sized the slightest bit to large you will prob get a blister on your ankle from the constant movement while walking.


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## Kyleigh (Oct 16, 2012)

Are you sure it's from the e-collar? I use an e-collar on Kyleigh and it's way up high on her neck. 

That is a very weird place to call it an "e-collar" injury, as I don't even think the collar would be able to be tight enough in that location to cause an injury.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

DutchKarin said:


> That injury is in a weird location. Doesn't seem like an ecollar that is probably fitted would sit in that position. Could it have been something else?


My thoughts exactly!


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## DaisyDaws (Feb 28, 2015)

We are home from the vet and it is most likely a hot spot, it may have been caused by water getting behind the wide collar the trainer had on him. It doesn't appear to be an e collar injury. I spoke with his trainer and he didn't have a bark collar on him and says he rotated the e collar 3 times a day, and moved it all around. Brando is a really messy drinker, maybe drool/water got in there. I think the problem was the collar was left on him all the time. Whatever the cause, he was given a sedative and shaved and the wound cleaned. It looks a lot worse now with all the hair gone, poor thing. He's home now on antibiotics and an ointment and hopefully will heal up quickly. It's frustrating that this happened, this was the first time I had been away from him since we took him home at 8 weeks. I know his trainer feels terrible, too. I wish he had caught it sooner. The vet did say he has seen hot spots blow up like this pretty quickly. This pup is going to be doted on by us for a while!


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Ouch! That looks very painful, poor guy  I'm glad he's getting help and I hope it heals up soon


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## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

Wow that looks nasty  I have seen "hot spots" caused by e-collars but they usually take more than just a few days to fester and they're focused around the contact points of the collar. So I agree it was probably not from the e-collar. 
Hope he feels better soon!


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## Suka (Apr 9, 2004)

Mystery solved in this thread, but I wanted to let people know that e-collar technologies sent me titanium points to replace the original ones that caused Frank to have an allergic reaction that formed little scabs on his neck. Haven't had a problem since we got the new metal contact points.


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## newlie (Feb 12, 2013)

Oh my goodness, poor baby! Hopefully, it looks worse than it feels and he gets better soon!


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## MythicMut (May 22, 2015)

Ouch. I am glad you solved the mystery. Hope he heals quickly. No pun intended.


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## marksteven (Aug 2, 2008)

DaisyDaws said:


> We are home from the vet and it is most likely a hot spot, it may have been caused by water getting behind the wide collar the trainer had on him. It doesn't appear to be an e collar injury. I spoke with his trainer and he didn't have a bark collar on him and says he rotated the e collar 3 times a day, and moved it all around. Brando is a really messy drinker, maybe drool/water got in there. I think the problem was the collar was left on him all the time. Whatever the cause, he was given a sedative and shaved and the wound cleaned. It looks a lot worse now with all the hair gone, poor thing. He's home now on antibiotics and an ointment and hopefully will heal up quickly. It's frustrating that this happened, this was the first time I had been away from him since we took him home at 8 weeks. I know his trainer feels terrible, too. I wish he had caught it sooner. The vet did say he has seen hot spots blow up like this pretty quickly. This pup is going to be doted on by us for a while!


This looks Horrible. Hope it fully heals. E-collar on 24 hours? Why? 
I have the Garmin E-collar and it works great however it is only worn on Walks where heavy pedestrian traffic maybe an issue. I would never leave an E-collar on all day.


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## DaisyDaws (Feb 28, 2015)

From what I understand he didn't have the e collar on the whole time, he had the wide one, I can't remember the name of the material. It looks like leather but is some synthetic material. The e collar was on for only a few days, to acclimate him to wearing it. The vet seemed pretty confident it didn't come from the e collar. He is healing nicely, he lets us put clean it and put the ointment on (as long as there are some treats involved!) and he doesn't seem bothered by it, doesn't even scratch it. I'm still pretty upset about it, but at least he is home and doing well. Mama isn't going to leave him again for a loooong time!


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## Athena'sMom (Jan 9, 2014)

Wow that looks very painful. My boy always wears a 2 inch leather collar and has never had that happen. Good lesson for all of us to take collars off after play in water and let the neck breath. Pretty scary! Speedy recovery beautiful boy!


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

I picture "wide" as being closer to 3" and leather would be a bit more absorbent that any polyurethane type material. also depends on the thickness of the dogs fur. the OP mentioned that he dog is a messy drinker... that combination likely did it.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

How is Brando doing?


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## DaisyDaws (Feb 28, 2015)

He is doing well, thank you for asking. I'm amazed at how fast it is healing up. We have been taking it easy on walks so as not to irritate it and he's very cooperative about treating it with the ointment. We went to a neighborhood park this morning and worked on some basic obedience and shared a sausage muffin and just watched the people, we are still struggling with reactivity.


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## LouCastle (Sep 25, 2006)

gsdsar said:


> Yup. * As much as Ecollar folk say they can't do that, * I have seen it no less than 15 times. It happens. Shave the area, treat with antibiotics and creams and should heal just fine.
> 
> Lots of reasons why, collar too tight, collar not moved around at all to distribute, sensitive dog, got wet. Who knows. Poor pup!


Can you name some of the _"Ecollar folks [who] say they can't do that"_ please? I've never spoken to anyone who uses an Ecollar who denies that they can cause injury. What is the case is that it's impossible for an Ecollar to cause burns, either electrical or thermal from the current they produce. That is a common complaint from the antis. But it's impossible they don't put out enough current.


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## dano1427 (Mar 19, 2013)

The OP's collar looks like Biothane. Biothane doesn't absorb moisture and when wet, can become "Tacky" to the touch. I'm guessing the collar got wet, and started rubbing against the dog's skin, causing the irritation.


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## SiegersMom (Apr 19, 2011)

Tried an ecollar on mine once he did not react well so I do not use one but I do remember where the trainer said it should sit on the neck and that sore is not in the right spot for an ecollar unless it was just hanging down too low...


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## cloudpump (Oct 20, 2015)

It's amazing how quickly skin can get irritated. I see it all the time at work with bed sores. Glad it was caught and taken care of.


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