You'd think some genius would have figured out a humane way to keep dogs away from sutures comfortably, without needing the cone of shame!

Seriously, if not for the cone, this ACL recovery would be easy. The cone definitely bothers Ricky-Rafa more than his leg.

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My dog didn't go home with a cone when he had his TPLO. He did fine, didn't touch his sutures once. It might be worth taking the cone off while you can watch him and see how he reacts. Maybe just put one of those blow up collars or soft collars on him when you cant watch him?

My vet doesn't give collars for spay/neuter because they say most dogs are more bothered by the cone than the surgery.  Some dogs bother stitches, others don't.  I agree with Melissa that it's worth trying him briefly without it while you can watch him.   Can you somehow attach a baby t-shirt over his legs so he can't reach it?   We tried that with Maddie and gave up because it kept coming undone....

I always took Seanna's off during the day when we could watch her.  But, I'd put it back on if there wasn't going to be anyone eyeballing her, or at night.  I know she hated it, but it was for her own good.

We used this version when Alex tore off a toenail.It is soft so doesn't bother them so much and can lie down and use it for a pillow.

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I have heard some good things about this collar: http://www.bitenot.com/. It's comfy for the dog, doesn't get in their way of doing, well, anything (especially as a corgi), and it even looks snazzy! Sorry to hear about the surgery, I hope Ricky recovers quickly!!

Oh, and, when Ace got neutered we put the cone on for a grand total of a half a day before I got fed up with it. You're right, it totally bums the dog out waaaay more than the actual stitches.

YES. +1 for BiteNot collar.  Shippo still has his from his neuter almost 6 years ago, and it's proven useful for other times he's been injured.

Thanks for all the advice! I will check into the BiteNot collar. It does look much less uncomfortable, but I just wonder if it would work with ACL incision. We have both the hard, traditional e-collar and also bought the Comfy Cone. We try to keep the cone off whenever we can fully supervise him and always while eating and walking on the lead. The fabric one is actually much more comfortable for resting in his x-pen or crate.

Yes, Sparty was much more comfortable in the comfy cone. Hope Ricky makes a quick recovery!

Thanks for all the advice. So far so good. We never needed a cone for Lucy or R/R after neutering. They never licked the stitches. However, my cousin's min-pin wound up wearing a collar for 3 extra weeks after neutering because she got into the stitches.

We have been at home this whole weekend to watch R/R so mostly he has been w/o the cone, either on the lead w/ us, or in his x-pen. He is now sleeping in his crate w/ the collar. He whined and fussed for about 2 hours but I'm in the room next door and he is finally quiet. Last night we gave in to his fussing and let him sleep on our bed between Jack and me, as usual, but i kept his lead wrapped around my hand so that he couldn't lick his bandage or jump off the bed. In the light of day, I thought this was perhaps dangerous to him. Hence, tough love. I'm sitting and typing on my laptop in the den, until he falls soundly and safely asleep with his cone in his crate. I don't even trust the x-pen for sleeping. It is a bit flimsy. It's not nearly as stable as I expected.

OK. We've lived through day 2. I understand that day 4 and 5 start getting bad as the stitches heal and the need to scratch more...and maybe need the cone full-time. However, I've learned not to worry about what may come because why worry if it doesn't happen. We're just taking it day by day and R/R seems to be recovering well.

I've never used a cone on any of my animals. I attempted to once when I got my cat spayed and it was causing more problems then helping. Animals heal pretty fast, so I always just keep him/her within site and stop any licking.

You've been lucky. I have usually been too. But, some animals lick incisions. My cousin's dog had to wear an e-cone for 3 wks because she got to her neutering stitches and caused an infection.

Tomorrow Ricky-Rafa's bandage gets removed. Hope he won't need to wear that dreaded collar. He hates it, and so far hasn't needed it. But, if he needs it, he will wear it.

Ricky-Rafa had his PPA surgery to repair a torn ACL on Friday. So today is day 4. We took him for a follow-up with the surgeon and he removed the bandage completely! R-R is already walking better, putting weight on all 4 legs. He is ready to rock 'n roll, run & jump, so the hardest part is keeping him confined and hearing him whimper and whine. Maybe the trip to the vet knocked him out because he's actually lying and maybe even napping in his x-pen w. his e-collar on. The surgeon is adamant that he wear the cone 24/7 and remove it only to eat or drink. The good news is that I saw a dog similar in size with a smaller version of R/R's collar and asked if it would work for R/R and it does. So they switched out the collar and he seems much more comfortable. It's called the comfy cone soft e-collar. The surgeon said the the inflatable tube type collars are not sufficient to be used alone. http://www.petco.com/product/110060/All-Four-Paws-Tan-Comfy-Cone.aspx

When he awakens, I'll measure the length of the collar. Ricky is a good-sized Corgi, 30-32 lbs.

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