# E-collar suggestions?



## SarahandSteve (Jun 2, 2013)

My German Shepherd puppy has just had his rear dewclaws removed 5 days ago. We were told not to take the bandages off for 3 days, but when we took them off, we discovered he had developed an infection. It is really important he does not chew his bandages, but somehow, even with the extra large sized elizabethan collar, he can still reach his back legs to chew the bandages! I got the largest one they had at the store and it is 13 inches deep. If it was deeper, or if I could find a way to make it stay towards the top of his neck, it would work. We have him on sedatives to keep him from chewing them, but I still worry if we leave him alone, I will come home to a big chewed up mess. Any suggestions??

I was wondering if you could use maybe the bite-not collar (to keep him from bending around) in conjunction with the e-collar? Has anybody done this?

Any suggestions is appreciated! Thank you!


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## skier16 (Feb 21, 2013)

I use a dogtra 1900 but i dont know how thats going to help when your not home, the main time for licking wounds. out of curiosity why remove dewclaws?


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## Trotter (Jan 16, 2013)

An e-collar to keep him from licking a wound? Beyond insane and uninformed. Get a cheap muzzle that fits so as to let him pant and drink water.


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## Trotter (Jan 16, 2013)

skier16 said:


> I use a dogtra 1900 but i dont know how thats going to help when your not home, the main time for licking wounds. out of curiosity why remove dewclaws?


Can't speak to OP's motivation, but working dogs sometimes tear them off while running/jumping, so lots of owners/breeders have them surgically removed while they're puppies to prevent later injury.


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## skier16 (Feb 21, 2013)

thats interesting I didnt know that. isnt the procedure normally done when the dog is just a few days old?


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Trotter said:


> An e-collar to keep him from licking a wound? Beyond insane and uninformed. Get a cheap muzzle that fits so as to let him pant and drink water.


OP is not talking about an e, as in electric, collar. 

He is talking about this kind of e-collar!

Petco Dog E-Collar at PETCO


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

SarahandSteve said:


> I was wondering if you could use maybe the bite-not collar (to keep him from bending around) in conjunction with the e-collar? Has anybody done this?
> 
> Any suggestions is appreciated! Thank you!



Have you tried an inflatable one?


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## skier16 (Feb 21, 2013)

Sunflowers said:


> OP is not talking about an e, as in electric, collar.
> 
> He is talking about this kind of e-collar!
> 
> Petco Dog E-Collar at PETCO


thats what I thought originally too but he specifically mentions the elizabethan collar in his post.


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## Trotter (Jan 16, 2013)

skier16 said:


> thats interesting I didnt know that. isnt the procedure normally done when the dog is just a few days old?


Correct.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

skier16 said:


> thats what I thought originally too but he specifically mentions the elizabethan collar in his post.


Elizabethan *is* the plastic cone! The collars are named from the ruffs worn in Elizabethan times.








Elizabethan collar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Amazon.com: Top Performance Plastic Elizabethan Pet Collar, Medium, 11-1/2-Inch: Pet Supplies


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## skier16 (Feb 21, 2013)

Sunflowers said:


> Elizabethan *is* the plastic cone!
> 
> Amazon.com: Top Performance Plastic Elizabethan Pet Collar, Medium, 11-1/2-Inch: Pet Supplies


i Know! He said the 14 ecollar inch collar didnt work, then went on to mention e-collar. IDK seems to me like he was talking about a shock collar. Maybe your right i dont know im confused now.


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## Trotter (Jan 16, 2013)

Sunflowers said:


> OP is not talking about an e, as in electric, collar.
> 
> He is talking about this kind of e-collar!


Then I'm sorry for overreacting, but I can sit back and watch only so many "future rescue dogs in training" before trying to stem the tide.

Sorry, OP. "E-collar" usually and on this forum typically means "electronic collar." Elizabethan collar is also known as the collar of shame. I like the inflatable idea, and I still like a well-fitted muzzle.


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## SarahandSteve (Jun 2, 2013)

When I say e-collar I mean elizabethan collar. I am definitely not shocking my dog to keep him from chewing his bandages...

They normally are removed at a few days old, but our puppy (he is 7 months old now) still had his, for whatever reason. We did not get him from a breeder, but from a woman getting rid of him at 4 months old, so was not able to ask the breeder why. They were big and floppy and he had 2 on one leg that we were sure would catch on things. So, we had them removed to prevent later injury.

Sunflowers, I thought about using the inflatable one but I feel like if he can get to his back paws even with an extra large e-collar I think he could surely still get to them with the inflatable one. His body is long and so are his legs. It's worth a try but I'm wondering if it doesn't work, maybe he could wear both together?


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Can't hurt to try both together. 

Hopefully he heals quickly, poor guy.


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## SarahandSteve (Jun 2, 2013)

And sorry for the confusion...in my Google searches for "e-collar alternatives" I have come to find out that e-collar can mean elizabethan or electronic. I thought the context of the post would make it clear which one I meant


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## SarahandSteve (Jun 2, 2013)

Here is a picture taken yesterday after coming home from the vet...he has some serious bandages on to keep him from messing with!

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Possibly putting long socks over the bandages to help discourage him from chewing might help? You can spray something like bitter apple or cayenne pepper lightly on the outside of the sock as an extra deterrent


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## DaniFani (Jan 24, 2013)

Trotter said:


> Then I'm sorry for overreacting, *but I can sit back and watch only so many "future rescue dogs in training" before trying to stem the tide.*
> 
> Sorry, OP. "E-collar" usually and on this forum typically means "electronic collar." Elizabethan collar is also known as the collar of shame. I like the inflatable idea, and I still like a well-fitted muzzle.


Oh, get off your high horse! I guess this is one way to apologize for going after the OP before getting clarity.....


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## SarahandSteve (Jun 2, 2013)

Well I ended up taping a folded up hand towel around his neck to keep the Elizabethan collar from slipping down (see picture). I'm hoping this will keep it high enough that he can no longer each his feet! I'll give it a try and see how it works! 

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## SarahandSteve (Jun 2, 2013)

Sorry, here is the picture!

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## TrickyShepherd (Aug 15, 2011)

Seems you got that figured out. Hopefully he heals up soon.

For future reference....

The inflatable tube one doesn't work too well. It was nice and easy, but Storm got it off easily AND she figured out a way to get to all her paws with ease. I guess it works better with chest/stomach/back wounds.... legs, not so much. Don't waste your money.

The No-Bite collar works great from what I've seen. I have a friend who's pup broke her back leg earlier this year, this is the collar she used during the healing period. She said it never was taken off, and she could not get to any important part of the leg. When she tried her hardest, all she could touch was her nails (this was a puppy with VERY long legs... typical awkward stage). Anyway, these I would recommend over the inflatable any day. It looked more comfortable too because the dog's sight wasn't blocked and they could still eat and drink as normal.

Good luck with your pup.


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