The Cone of Shame
Sometimes our beloved pets need surgery, or they have wounds or skin conditions that need them to wear an Elizabethan collar, also known as the cone of shame.
Our lovely girl was spayed, and our veterinarian advised that she wear one to keep her from licking or ripping out her stitches. Regretfully, she was so sick after the surgery that she didn’t even lift her head, much less try to lick the stitches, for almost two days.
Once she started moving about, we followed the vets’ advice and adorned her with the pet medical collar, as we were instructed to do.
She was beyond miserable. The way she stared at us, you would have assumed that we had attached a medieval torture device. Quite frankly, it was more than I could stand. Thus the pool noodle collar was born!.
The Pool Noodle Collar
Fortunately, I had a cheap pool noodle from the dollar store in the garage. A few days ago, I was complaining to my spouse about how small noodles had gotten, about half their previous size, and how one now needed to use two or three in the pool to achieve the same buoyancy.
But for slicing it into little pieces and making a noodle collar for our darling Luna, it was the most ideal thickness. Using kitchen shears, I cut several noodle pieces that were 2-3 inches long.
Attach them to a broad ribbon or your dog’s collar. To stop the noodles from sliding around, it helps to loop the ribbon back through them if you’re using it.
The size and breed of your dog will determine how many pieces you’ll need. Larger dogs can use the larger pieces, and smaller dogs should obviously use the thinner pool noodle pieces.
Select a pool noodle that is thick enough around to keep your dog from getting to the area you’re trying to protect in order to restrict movement, licking, or chewing. Luna was more than reminded not to lick or chew her stitches with this thinner noodle, allowing the area to heal.
After threading the noodle pieces onto the collar, fasten it firmly on your pet. They can move around much more comfortably because of this, but it also stops them from biting or licking wounds.
Unlike other alternatives, there isn’t any fabric to cause excessive heat or itching to occur either. It also doesn’t interfere with their ability to eat, drink, or sniff around.
The DIY Pool Noodle Dog Cone
Making a dog cone from pool noodles is really easy.
I’ll explain, then walk you through it in a video so you can see how I did it.
(The video is below, but it could be a good idea to read the instructions first.)
First, find a pool noodle that coordinates with your dog’s outfit or collar. Or one that matches his eyes…
Not really, any pool noodle will work as long as it is the right size for your dog and has a sizable hole in the middle.
Since my dog is quite small, I used a small noodle for him. (He weighs 12 lbs. ).
And I also used a pool noodle that matched his John Deere dog collar.
I used a serrated bread knife, a miter box, and a cross-cut to cut the noodles.
See the post about Cutting Pool Noodles for additional cutting information.
Next, slice the noodle into pieces that are 1 inch for small dogs, and 1 5 -2-inch pieces for a larger dog. For small collars, about 8 pieces are needed, and for larger collars or dogs, 10–12 pieces.
Simply add a few more if, after trying it on, you find that you need more.
Next, make sure the collar is larger than usual because you don’t want to choke the poor dog.
(If you’re forcing him to wear a collar, he already has enough issues!)
It must be bigger to accommodate both the neck and the noodles.
Next, string the noodle pieces onto the the collar.
Add noodle pieces until it fits YOUR dog just right.
Finally, put your pool noodle dog cone on your dog.
Make sure your dog fits properly in the pool noodle cone of shame collar.
Keep an eye out for any indications that it’s bothering him: if it’s not too tight, itchy, or if he’s not chewing on it, etc.
Keep a close eye on your dog. Since this collar was needed in the first place, you’re probably doing this anyhow.
Make sure it fits properly, is safe, and is comfortable, as with anything similar.
