Cone of Shame after being Neutered :0(

My Bailey boy was neutered yesterday and although he is doing really well he absolutely HATES the cone that we have to put on him!

He either cries and whines whilst staring at the floor (he did this for over an hour), or starts backing up to get away from it, smacking into anything and everything in his path :0( just going crazy.

Then when we went to bed he went potty trying to get the cone off his head then he somehow managed to scale the baby gate and climb out of the kitchen. The second time he did this he got his leg caught in the baby gate so my other half had to sleep downstairs with him.

He seems terrified of this cone and its so upsetting to see I obviously don't want him pulling out his stitches but this cone is really distressing him.....I hate seeing my poor baby boy so distressed it breaks my heart, I just don't know what to do

Also, we have been advised not to walk him longer than 5 mins for the first couple days then just 10-15 mins for the next few days - He is climbing the walls though and this is only day one after having his op :/

Any advice would be great.....

Sorry not been through this so not much help. Sure someone will be along shortly I hope he heals quickly   

hope you dont mind but i've moved your post so you should get more views here,it must be really distressing for him but they do get use to it,try some simulating games to tire him out.

Have you though of a different cone? Or perhaps putting a tshirt on him? Maybe a rolled towel round his neck will stop him getting to the stitches

When you are watching him you could remove the cone?

Personally I don't like these cones, they are very stressful for both dog and owner. Have you tried (I'm not sure what they are called) but they look like a blow up rubber ring that fit around the neck. Dogs don't seem to get stressed by these as they don't keep bumping into things. Also when you are with him you could take the cone off. He may not even go for his stitches, , Mia didn't even though she could of reached hers quite easily. Hope this helps   

As Hayley said, try a towel. I'm sure somebody on here said the towel trick was a lot easier for there dog than the cone.

You could try him without the cone at all for a bit. Marley didnt go near his stitches and I never put the cone on him once.

Bane has to wear a cone when we are not around as he scratches the crap out of his ears.
When we first got it, we let him have a sniff while supplying a constant stream of treats, and then put it on him continuing with the treats. He did squirm and back around and run into things at first, but we just kept distracting him with things: treats, toys, training and cuddles. We started by leaving it on for a few minutes, and gradually built up the time and gave him lots of praise while he was wearing it, then ignored him when we took it off.
He is used to it now and spends most of his time in it as he can't be trusted!
It will either take time to get him used to it, or you will have to watch and see if he bothers with the stitches or not Good luck!

Thanks for all your replies.
We have been distracting him with treats while he has it on and he seems to be accepting it a bit more.

For some reason he will not stay in the kitchen behind the baby gate with the cone on his head. He has slept in the kitchen with the baby gate shut since the day we bought him home at 8 weeks old, so I don't know what the association with the cone and being in the kitchen is?

If we take it off him, I'm worried we will have to go back to square one of getting him used to it again.

He does lick the stiches sometimes when he hasn't got it on but not a hell of a lot, so I am really tempted to just leave the cone off.

Will monitor him over today and keep you updated, thanks so much for all replies - really appreciate them :0) xx

It will probably just take him a little while to accept it. They can be stubborn! Not sure about the sleeping thing...was it a case of putting the cone on and leaving him to go to sleep? Or did he have it on during the day while you were there to get him used to it first?

Have you considered using one of the soft cone options or an inflatable ones:


http://www.vetuk.co.uk/veterinary-supplies-pet-medicals-c-141_438/buster-inflatable-elizabethan-collar-blue-p-7902

I didn't have to use one when Harry was done which was just as well
because I'm sure it would have stressed him out. The Vet actually
said she thought being a staff shape he wouldn't be able to 'get down
there'   

I took the cone off Bailey on Friday and he has been as good as gold since.

Apart from bouncing off the walls cos he wants to go out to the park and run around he is absolutely fine without the cone.

He is going back for his post op check at the vets tonight so praying they give me the go ahead to take him out for a run and get rid of some of his energy!

glad that baileys cone of shame is off and hopefully you can get him out again soon   

Yay! Bet he can't wait to get out and go for a walk I hope the post op check goes well!

Oh thanks guys I shall keep you updated!
x

I know you have had all the tips you probably need but here's another one!

We had both boys neutered at the same time and they were coned. They ripped the cones off during the first night and we just kept an eye on them after that. As soon as they turned to investigate their stitches we told them no and they stopped - all with praise once they left them alone. Even if they tried to lick each other we did the same thing and it really didn't take long. Try the praise with treats too - more 'good boy' than 'no' works really well with our two.

Hope he is on the mend soon. xx

Ah thanks JayneJ, yes treats work EVERY time with my Bailey, so that's what I did, although he didn't seem to be that bothered by the stitches he did lick them a couple of times but distractions from treats, cuddles or toys soon had him forgetting about them.

He such a soppy boy, I just hold my arms out to him and he gets all excited for a cuddle lol......big soppy, waggy bum!!   

Well Bailey had his post op check up yesterday and was fine. Although for the first time he was PETRIFIED at the vet and I had to carry him into the consultation room. He was scratching at the door to get out. He was also petrified of all the staff who he loves normally   

Cant blame him really when the last time he went there he had an op and came out with no balls  .