Just got our new puppy neutered...

[defacto7]

I've had a lot of dogs but the older I get the less ability I have to ignore the necessary aches and pains... my dogs go through when there are procedures done.

Casper is our new family member. He's a Pointer/Lab, very playful and social... overwhelmingly social . He walks/runs about two miles a day and plays hard. But now he's going through the "cone head" period and isn't supposed to do too much.

Anyone have any suggestions for getting him through this? He's going nuts with his cone and he's got 8 more days to go. Never had a dog quite so exasperated. I know he'll be fine but maybe there are tricks I don’t know.

Arf.. arf..

[lunamagica]

1. K&R for visibility. I have no answers. Maybe extra love and hugs?

[defacto7]

6. We really do our best...

but trying to hug, pet, scatch behind his ears... it's almost impossible to get inside that cone. He's 8 months old and 70lbs of solidness. He wants you to touch him then he slams that thing around... it's a little funny actually, but he must be miserable.

[LisaM]

2. They have soft cones.

I had one for my little girl. It's cloth and fastens with Velcro. She tolerated it much better than the hard one. The brand name is Comfy Cone.

[defacto7]

7. Oh.. I'll look into that. Sounds nice...

[shenmue]

3. Pikshers plz k thx

[TexasTowelie]

4. I suspect that the little guy isn't "up" for pictures

if you get my drift.

[shenmue]

5. Okay

[defacto7]

8. Well... not anymore....

[defacto7]

9. I'll see what I can upload.

[defacto7]

14. See if this works... Casper at 3 months old

[link:[IMG][/IMG]|]

[shenmue]

15. Squeeeeeeeee

[irisblue]

16. What a cutie!

When I had Alex. & Duke neutered, the cone only lasted a few days. What did your vet give you forr pain control? How long ago was the snip?

[defacto7]

20. Vet said 10 days and really drilled it in.

He's taking Rimadyl for 5 days. Vet said removing it even at 8 days could mean starting over. After 10 he's supposed to lick the stiches out himself. At 8 days he could tear it. And the snip was the day before yesterday. It does seem like a long time but who am I to argue.

[RandomAccess]

19. OMG what a beautiful dog

But then, show me a black lab or lab mix and ... it's over. I'm all in.

[Cracklin Charlie]

21. You better take that puppy back...

He is not nearly cute enough!



Sorry, no help with the "cone of shame".

But, he'll be all better in no time a'tall.

[defacto7]

23. Thank you.

And we're happy to take care of such an untidy looking thing.

[lunamagica]

27. awwwww

[Rhiannon12866]

32. Awwwww! What an adorable and photogenic puppy!

Looks like he's actually posing - my dog always looks the other way, LOL! Thanks for posting!

[radical noodle]

36. Beautiful little guy!

[Rhiannon12866]

10. When we first brought my pup home after being neutered he also had a tough time with the cone.

Initially, it helped to crate him so he wasn't running into things - but we moved the crate so he was right next to us. He stopped bothering his stitches before very long, so he didn't have the cone on for too long. But Jack is a small dog so he wasn't ever going to run two miles, LOL. Good luck with this, he sounds like a sweetie and he's got to be frustrated...

[defacto7]

11. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Casper is a solid block of muscle but is a mix of dopey and jumping joy. His favorite friend is our house rabbit. He's so gentle with it, it's hard to believe he plays and rolls so hard with other dogs then lays down with the bunny between his front legs and nuzzles it carefully. He even sort of scoops the bunny up with his cone now then lays down and lets it run in and out. Nice diversion.

[Rhiannon12866]

13. Awww! How nice that he has a friend to distract him...

That really does sound adorable. Maybe the bunny can be his diversion. Jack had a rough time with the cone, too, kept running into things and getting stuck, so as soon as he wasn't bothering his stitches anymore, we stopped using it. But, like I said, Jack's a small dog and it was easier to keep him kinda quiet.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

12. Get a cat next time?

They don't have to do the cone thing when they're neutered.

Otherwise, and here I'm actually trying to be helpful, not snarky, next time adopt an older pet, one already neutered. Let someone else go through it.

Anyway, good luck to you on this. It is entirely miserable for the pup to have to go through this.

[defacto7]

17. We didnt get it.

Thanks for helping though. All our dogs have been adoptions. This one was a gift after we lost our 17 year old beauty. They didn't buy it either... long story.

Cat? Are they bunny friendly?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

18. I get the impression that a cat raised

from kittenhood with bunnies will get along with them.

And probably an older cat, a much older cat who has never had the opportunity to hunt would do just fine. Or if your bunnies never ever leave their cage.

Other than that, as fond as I am of cats I would not trust one with a bunny. Unless it's a vampire bunny. In that case, the cat is on her own.

[defacto7]

22. Oh no, I'm not worried about the bunny...

If the cat weren't friendly to the bunny, bunny would make kitty very sad I'm afraid. People don't realize how capable bunnies are at defense. When we have introduced a new dog in the past we have to see if the dog will play nice otherwise the doggie could be hurt pretty badly. What is dangerous for rabits are hawks, or packs of animals.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

25. That's good to know.

About twenty years ago I had a cat that spent a moderate amount of time outdoors, and she would hunt the wild baby rabbits that came into the yard. A couple of times she caught one but never completed the kill. I never did see her try to go after the adult ones. Guess she knew better.

[defacto7]

28. Yeah the young ones are always vulnerable. They're basically food for other

animals. But once they reach age look out. They're sweet, cuddly, and run scared first... but if they are cornered, the screech they make is terrible enough but the flying ball of hair, teeth and claws going so fast you cannot see it is like putting something down a disposal. You do not want to be in that.
Rabbits are all different though. They're usually quite smart and some are more dangerous than others.

[stopwastingmymoney]

24. Casper is gorgeous and his little face looks like he's a smart guy

And, I love your signature line very much

[defacto7]

26. Casper thanks you.

He is pretty smart... and sneaky and a little willful. But he's all happy, happy, joy, joy... except with this cone thing.

My daughter is a Harry Potter fan and I've come to find some pretty timely philosophy in it. That Dumbledore line just cut right through.

[pansypoo53219]

29. last time i had kittens declawed. got meds & try to keep them to much. they refused meds & were

jumping. the boy did not seem to miss his balls. no cone.

[irisblue]

30. Can you turn the cone bachwards? Reverse it

So it is over the shoulders? Then watch to see if that handsome pup cannot wiggle around to reach the stitches? I did that with Princess Peanut.

[defacto7]

31. What an idea! I'll check.

Last edited Mon Oct 16, 2017, 07:00 PM - Edit history (1)

Edit: I just tried it but when his front legs go up it gets him in the neck. Not sure this will work. Nice idea though.

[Phentex]

33. We coned at night and corrected during the day...

the cone was the clear flimsy plastic kind that stays on with velcro. At night, he wore it into the crate. During the day, we watched as much as we could. He didn't seem to feel pain after the second day and was running and jumping with his sister in a way that made me crazy thinking what might be happening to the stitches. But it was way less than ten days of careful watching and he was fine. You can't keep a good dog down!

Make sure the cone isn't too tight or uncomfortable.

Good luck!

[defacto7]

34. Thank you.... I'm not sure we'll make it a week

but I don’t want to second guess the doc. If we get to a week I think we'll just keep a close eye during the day like you did and put it on at night. Night is when he's more likely to try something.
How big was your dog? Casper is 70lbs. of muscle and he just broke his cone playing with my daughter. It's one of the heavy harder plastic ones. That thing gets sharp when it busts so it's not good for people or beasts. Which is worse, stitches getting loose or lacerations on my face? Maybe I should put pants on him and get rid of that thing.

[Phentex]

35. We opted to wait until he was about a year old

so he was about 80 pounds at the time.


Yes, I agree the cones are worse for the humans! When those big paws land on your feet - ouch!

[marzipanni]

37. My family had a large female standard poodle

Once we took her on a short car trip for a day when she was in heat. We put an old pair of my brother's tighty-whities on her with her tail sticking out of the fly. Maybe the pants idea would work!

[defacto7]

38. That's interesting. I was wondering if they made

underwear out of chain male. That could work.
We started taking his cone off today under supervision and he's actually doing pretty well for an hour at a time. I'm beginning to think we're on the home stretch going into the 7th day.

[irisblue]

39. How is Casper (& you all) doing? nt

[defacto7]

40. We're all doing very well thank you.

We've been taking the cone off for periods of time and watching him closely. He is eventually drawn to the spot in question but getting his attention away doesn't seem difficult. He's been out on the trail a couple of times for a run but he scares the heck out of his friends with that thing. They're all running away and he thinks it's a game and keeps going after them. It's quite hilarious actually but none seem to mind.. much. Sunday's the day.