Post by Hollie on Jun 23, 2011 12:43:57 GMT
Having had one dog with dermatitis and one dog having his neuter operation in the past two months I have tried everything to stop the boys chewing at themselves. I thought I would share my review of two types of collars on the market that I have tried, to prevent licking/ chewing, and which one I found to be most effective and worth the extra money.
Review 1
Product Name: Comfy cone
What it is.
This is a cone shaped collar made by "James Marketing". It is made out of foam covered in waterproof material. It can be used to stop licking and biting of operation sites, wounds or hotspots and other skin conditions. It is soft and not ridgid, allowing the dog to lie down comfortably.
Photos of the product in action:
(from the website)
Feo Modelling the Comfy Cone
Where I bought it: from Amazon UK.
Price: Arround £13
Sizing Feo wore a small, because he has a long nose, crosses or chihuahuas with very long muzzles wil need a small. Standard Chihuahuas will only need an X-small because of their short muzzles.
What I liked:
•This soft E collar is much more comfortable and less stressfull to wear thanthe traditional hard plastic ones. Feodore can go about his daily life and almost not notice he is wearing it.
•As it is soft the dog doesn’t get a hard bump and scary noise if they bump their cone into things like they do with the hard plastic e-collars.
•They are easy to sleep in and just mould around the dog’s head.
•They are covered in a waterproof fabric which can be wiped clean with a damp cloth and a mild soap/ disinfectant if necessary.
•The material is more comfortable against the dogs skin than the plastic ones.
•It can be folded back to allow the dog to eat or drink
•Has 3 strips of Velcro so you can adjust the sizing. Has loops to thread your dogs collar through, but I didn’t need do this it stayed on fine and did not make my dog agitated so that they didn’t try to get it off.
What I didn’t like.
Does obstruct the dogs peripheral vision slightly, but this is unavoidable and does not cause many problems
Would you recommend it?
YES YES and YES! I would definitely recommend the few extra £s for one of these instead of the traditional plastic collar. In my experience it is the best post-op collar on the Market.
Rating out of 5
5 out of 5
Review 2-
Product Name: Comfy Collar. (also sold as Pro-collar)
What is it? This is an Alternative to the Elizabeethan collar/ buster collar/ cone, to be used to stop the dog being able to chew operation stictes or wounds. It is unlike the E-collar in that it is inflatable (to be blown up by mouth daily). It is donut shaped and sits on the neck, it aims to do the job of a cone without obstructing vision or covering the face, and so reducing stress. I bought two of these, one for Napoleon after his neuter op, and one for Feodore to stop him biting his fur off his legs with his dermatitis.
(from website) The Comfy Collar is made of an inflatable inner tube (high-frequency welded PVC, with a 7 mm inflation valve and integrated non-return valve), placed in a tough, washable protective cover, produced in PVC-coated jersey. This is fitted with a zip located on the outside. The Comfy Collar is designed to be re-used and it is completely washable and will last for years.
Photos
Promotional picture from website.
Napoleon wearing the Comfy Collar after his neuter.
Where you bought it: Amazon UK
Price: Around £10 inc delivery.
Sizing: The collars can be tightended using Velcro. I doubt that the smallest size (X-Small would fit standard Chihuahua puppies under 6 months.
Here is my estaimate of what size chihuahua’s will need.
Standard Chihuahua
Under six months- No size will be small enough
6 months upwards- Size Extra Small.
Chihuahua Cross/ bigger than standard Chihuahua/ Overwight Chihuahua.
Under 4 months- No size will likely fit.
5-7 months- Extra Small
7 months upwards- Small.
What I liked
Did seem to cause less stress for Napoleon after his neuter than the traditional hard E-collar did for Feodore.
What I didn’t like.
•Does not stay in place effectively, rather than being a complete circle it is a semi –circle, with a section of Velcro to make it adjustable which should sit at the back of the neck, this section can trun round meaning the dog is able to chew their stitches- this happened to Napoleon on the first night and he ripped one stich out at night.
•Needs topping up with air about 2x a day, if it is not topped up it gets looser and the dog will be able to get to their wound. So if you go out too long you could be in for trouble.
•Can be popped. The boys managed to pop Napoleon’s Comfy collar whilest playing, while I was out of the room for five minutes.
•If it is too tight, or when the dog is lying down on their belly, the collar can press on the trachea and make the dog snort and wheeze.
Would you recommend it?
I would not recommend this when you have more than one dog, and if used should only be used while you are supervising closely. I use it occasionally for Feodore’s skin problems when he is closely supervised, e.g. sat on my lap, but would never trust it for post- surgery again!
Rating out of 5
1 out of 5
Review 1
Product Name: Comfy cone
What it is.
This is a cone shaped collar made by "James Marketing". It is made out of foam covered in waterproof material. It can be used to stop licking and biting of operation sites, wounds or hotspots and other skin conditions. It is soft and not ridgid, allowing the dog to lie down comfortably.
Photos of the product in action:
(from the website)Feo Modelling the Comfy Cone
Where I bought it: from Amazon UK.
Price: Arround £13
Sizing Feo wore a small, because he has a long nose, crosses or chihuahuas with very long muzzles wil need a small. Standard Chihuahuas will only need an X-small because of their short muzzles.
What I liked:
•This soft E collar is much more comfortable and less stressfull to wear thanthe traditional hard plastic ones. Feodore can go about his daily life and almost not notice he is wearing it.
•As it is soft the dog doesn’t get a hard bump and scary noise if they bump their cone into things like they do with the hard plastic e-collars.
•They are easy to sleep in and just mould around the dog’s head.
•They are covered in a waterproof fabric which can be wiped clean with a damp cloth and a mild soap/ disinfectant if necessary.
•The material is more comfortable against the dogs skin than the plastic ones.
•It can be folded back to allow the dog to eat or drink
- Has a refelctor strip round the rim for safety if out walking inthe dark.
•Has 3 strips of Velcro so you can adjust the sizing. Has loops to thread your dogs collar through, but I didn’t need do this it stayed on fine and did not make my dog agitated so that they didn’t try to get it off.
What I didn’t like.
Does obstruct the dogs peripheral vision slightly, but this is unavoidable and does not cause many problems
Would you recommend it?
YES YES and YES! I would definitely recommend the few extra £s for one of these instead of the traditional plastic collar. In my experience it is the best post-op collar on the Market.
Rating out of 5
5 out of 5
Review 2-
Product Name: Comfy Collar. (also sold as Pro-collar)
What is it? This is an Alternative to the Elizabeethan collar/ buster collar/ cone, to be used to stop the dog being able to chew operation stictes or wounds. It is unlike the E-collar in that it is inflatable (to be blown up by mouth daily). It is donut shaped and sits on the neck, it aims to do the job of a cone without obstructing vision or covering the face, and so reducing stress. I bought two of these, one for Napoleon after his neuter op, and one for Feodore to stop him biting his fur off his legs with his dermatitis.
(from website) The Comfy Collar is made of an inflatable inner tube (high-frequency welded PVC, with a 7 mm inflation valve and integrated non-return valve), placed in a tough, washable protective cover, produced in PVC-coated jersey. This is fitted with a zip located on the outside. The Comfy Collar is designed to be re-used and it is completely washable and will last for years.
Photos
Promotional picture from website.
Napoleon wearing the Comfy Collar after his neuter.
Where you bought it: Amazon UK
Price: Around £10 inc delivery.
Sizing: The collars can be tightended using Velcro. I doubt that the smallest size (X-Small would fit standard Chihuahua puppies under 6 months.
Here is my estaimate of what size chihuahua’s will need.
Standard Chihuahua
Under six months- No size will be small enough
6 months upwards- Size Extra Small.
Chihuahua Cross/ bigger than standard Chihuahua/ Overwight Chihuahua.
Under 4 months- No size will likely fit.
5-7 months- Extra Small
7 months upwards- Small.
What I liked
Did seem to cause less stress for Napoleon after his neuter than the traditional hard E-collar did for Feodore.
What I didn’t like.
•Does not stay in place effectively, rather than being a complete circle it is a semi –circle, with a section of Velcro to make it adjustable which should sit at the back of the neck, this section can trun round meaning the dog is able to chew their stitches- this happened to Napoleon on the first night and he ripped one stich out at night.
•Needs topping up with air about 2x a day, if it is not topped up it gets looser and the dog will be able to get to their wound. So if you go out too long you could be in for trouble.
•Can be popped. The boys managed to pop Napoleon’s Comfy collar whilest playing, while I was out of the room for five minutes.
•If it is too tight, or when the dog is lying down on their belly, the collar can press on the trachea and make the dog snort and wheeze.
Would you recommend it?
I would not recommend this when you have more than one dog, and if used should only be used while you are supervising closely. I use it occasionally for Feodore’s skin problems when he is closely supervised, e.g. sat on my lap, but would never trust it for post- surgery again!
Rating out of 5
1 out of 5
Those donut things look like a farce anyway lol.
