We had Buddy castrated last week, principally because our dog walker said he was becoming more boisterous and humping other dogs... A tough call because he had not displayed behaviour like that when out with us. Anyway, decision made, the operation took place. However, 24 hours later he popped all his stitches and had to go back to the vets! This was not an easy task due to all the road closures for the Grand Depart- the Tour De France was passing very close to my house! When we finally arrived, the vet stapled the wound and Buddy didn't seem to mind this. However, he has taken a BIG dislike to the Buster Collar which he has to wear for another week. This is a photo of Day 1 collar.... I will post another one soon as 3 days later I've had to mend it countless times with staples and parcel tape https://www.dropbox.com/s/0dug2t2g0i5ge5r/2014-07-05 11.02.42.jpg Does anyone have any tips for making the next 7 days more bearable for Buddy?
Re: Buddy HATES his Buster Collar! I hope he is soon on the mend! Hopefully the time will fly by and you'll soon be back to normal. I really dislike those plastic things. My boy coped for a month in a comfy cone ( you can get them next day delivery...). My experience, and that of others, here: http://www.thelabradorforum.com/index.php?topic=4722.0
Re: Buddy HATES his Buster Collar! Buddy looks like one disgruntled puppy!! If you switch to a different kind of collar just make sure he can't reach his bottom end... The plastic collars are no fun but they do totally prevent access to wounds anywhere on the body. Not saying other collars won't, but just something to watch for
Re: Buddy HATES his Buster Collar! Poor Buddy. You are probably already doing this but I only put a buster collar on my dog if he was alone and at night. Walking and as long as I was there to keep an eye on him I didn't bother with the collar. A bit of a lick shouldn't do any harm as long as you are there to stop him. I hope he feels happier with it soon .
Re: Buddy HATES his Buster Collar! I am sorry, it must be difficult to wear a Buster Collar. When my Labs were castrated they didn't have any external stitches.
Re: Buddy HATES his Buster Collar! I'm sorry it's a struggle....I had a nightmare to be honest because ( I'm not contradicting Rachael Dexter is just a total exception :)the tail tip IS a part of the body that can be reached with the cone on..... It's trial and error I think just surviving this period....Dexter didn't really worry his wound sites a lot but he'd proudly demonstrate how flexible he was at least once a day : we had to make sure he didn't wag his tail as we were trying to get an amputation wound to heal so we just gave up and took the cone off and Dexter went on round the clock observation.....it was a tough month! Lisa will need a chair to sit down on to read this thread.....she had a challenging time with Simba and had to make the same repairs you've been doing..... Good luck x
Re: Buddy HATES his Buster Collar! Poor Buddy. When my last Lab had an operation I was able to leave the collar off for quite long periods to give him a break & just put it on at night or when I was out. But my Rolo was an old man so I guess less inclined to attack his stitches.
Re: Buddy HATES his Buster Collar! Haha, Dexter is a very flexible boy, reaching his tail with a cone on. Or maybe my dogs have always been given particularly large cones.... My first thought on reading this thread was also poor Lisa. I just read 'cone' and 'parcel tape' and the memories of that awful time with Simba came flooding back!
Re: Buddy HATES his Buster Collar! As Jen says, you could try him with the collar only at night if you can keep an eye on things during the day.
Re: Buddy HATES his Buster Collar! Thanks everyone....today was easier as I just put the collar on him when he wasn't supervised! However, he keeps racing around in circles....like he is very frustrated. I'm worried about letting him off the lead on walks, as I know he will start leaping over things, going under fences and head for the nearest water. I'm just thankful we have a fairly large garden for him to let off some steam!
Re: Buddy HATES his Buster Collar! Just keep him on lead till it's all sorted The enforced reduced activity is a pain, but if he keeps re-opening the wound it'll just take so much longer..... Hang in there
Re: Buddy HATES his Buster Collar! Poor Buddy. Tuppence (9 months) has just had to wear a buster collar for 3 weeks, as she cut her hind leg badly playing in the garden. As she could still bend enough to get the leg into the collar, she spent the last 2 weeks wearing two collars: the buster 'bucket' and a soft, inflatable one. It was easier to keep the collars on the whole time, as she then quickly got used to them. I also limited her walks to being just in the garden on her lead. The most difficult thing was trying to keep her calm and not allowing her to play with our other lab! She adapted very well, though, encouraged by plenty of treats!
Re: Buddy HATES his Buster Collar! Murphy wa recently castrated and although he didn't seem to mind his buster collar (used it to barge things and people out of the way!) I felt mean leaving it on him all the time so I put boxers on him and safety pinned them so they wouldn't fall off. There is a pic in another thread but can't remember which. It worked really well. If you go for this method though make sure you take them off when he goes outside, as my sister didn't and murphy went to the loo in the boxers!!
Re: Buddy HATES his Buster Collar! I am having a giggle about picturing Buddy in a pair of Calvin Kleins! Sounds like a good idea......I may have a look in my husbands underwear drawer!!
