Hello, My puppy will be getting spayed this week and I am already dreading the cone that she will have to wear. This is my first puppy and I have no experience dealing with it. Can you all share your experiences with how your darlings dealt with the cone? Are there any softer or better alternatives to the hard plastic cone? Many thanks!
I used an inflatable buster collar for Willow. She only wore it at night and if I had to leave her (like when I walked my other dog). She also wore a string vest for a while, but that was annoying (to me more than her, I think!) so didn't last long. You can get surgical shirts, too, which the dog wears like a babygrow. I would do anything to avoid a regular cone where possible, especially if you've not done any desensitisation training to it. I would recommend whatever solution you choose, getting it as soon as possible so you can start associating it with good things, rather than just expecting her to put up with it after the upset of her surgery, too.
The vet did not give Maisy a cone as she had 'internal stitches' - sort of turned in - so she could not get to them. Maybe you won't have to have one.
I got a Medi Vest for Nelly , she is so small that even the smallest inflatable collar slipped on her neck . She didn't seem to mind the vest at all , its made of breathable material and protected her wound from the mud she seems to attract ! She only wore it when out on walks and at night .
Thank you all for the suggestions! I found an inflatable Kong cone on Amazon that I am going to try I am nervous about the recovery after the spaying...keeping my fingers crossed.
Non of my dogs ever wore a cone after spaying, the last bitch to be spayed only had a wound of about 1" long. It is important that you keep your dog quiet after the op, the first evening she will be feeling pretty groggy but by the next day she should be so much better. I found mine were quickly back to normal and it was a problem keeping them quiet!
My experience with my four previous bitches being spayed was much the same as Stacia has said with the main problem being keeping them quiet. I still worried every time though of course! Hope all goes well. Joy is due to be spayed towards the end of February.
My puppy Pearl has recently been spayed about three weeks ago, and didn't end up wearing a cone, she has internal stitches...although at times I thought she was going to need one...
My girl wore a t shirt thingy after her spay. They put it on her after the op and I had to undo the poppers (which popped together under her butt) if she went in the garden for a wee/poo. She showed so little interest in her tiny incisions (she had a laparoscopic spay so only two tiny incisions) that I kept it rolled up after a couple of days. I was much happier with this than the cone and she was not remotely bothered by it, in fact I think she quite liked it!
She MAY be fine without anything if you're lucky - our Belle didn't bother her stitches at all on a fairly big scar, no cone/collar/vest required.
Cooper had a big incision, but did not need a cone. We had an inflatable collar ready, but did not need to use it. She was very good about leaving her stitches alone.
My almost 11 month old Pittbull pup just was spayed yesterday, and she doesn't seem to be bothered by the internal stiches at all....... she hates the cone! I am hoping she will just leave them alone and I won't have to make her wear it.
