Dog Devices to Prevent Self Injury

After any pet's operation, or even to prevent it from chewing orscratching at an area of skin infection, it may be necessary to apply oneof several devices designed to permit healing without interference.

Gloves. After a surgical procedure of the head or neck, a dogmay scratch the area with the nails of a rear foot. This scratching iscommon during the healing period when there is an itching sensation.At that time many dogs will tear open a surgical site. A simple precau-tion is to pad the foot with cotton and cover the area with adhesivetape, which must extend well above the padding to the hair of the footto anchor it. The end result is a bandage that looks like a boxing gloveand will prevent damage from scratching. For face wounds, the dew-claw on a foreleg may require a strip of one-inch tape applied aroundthe foot. Pad the dewclaw with cotton to prevent chafing before apply-ing the tape.

A spray can of automotive starting fluid is handy to remove tapefrom hair without discomfort to the dog. These sprays are availablefrom automobile accessory departments and service stations. Wipe thedissolved adhesive tape from the hair before the solution dries.

Tying the Legs. When a dog refuses to let its face alone and insistson scratching with its front paws, and if only a day or two of preventionis required, the front legs may be crossed and taped together at thewrists. The tape is, of course, removed while the owner takes the dogon a leash for its outdoor duties.

Elizabethan Collars. There are several kinds of Elizabethan collars.They may be purchased as inflatable rubber collars to be slipped overthe neck and then blown up. They may also be made, easily enough, byusing two pieces of thin plywood, heavy stiff cardboard or plastic,which are put together and held with shoelace or cord ties.

Devices to prevent self-injury. (a) An Elizabethan collar, improvised from thisplywood or extra strong cardboard, is helpful in preventing an dog fromchewing cuts or sores or removing bandages. A, b, and c show how collar is madeand put together. (a) Ilead funnel of plastic or heavy cardboard prevents andog from scratching sores or irritations on its head and ears.

Head Funnels. Also called a cone collar, a head funnel is made bycutting a piece of flat, flexible plastic to make a partial cone. The edgesare punched and the device is brought together around the head. Thesmall end of the cone may either be fastened to the collar or left free;the larger end of the cone (the base) should be a little beyond the dog'snose. Cone collars can be obtained as well fromvets, dog hospitals, and pet stores, in various sizes.

In the same spirit as a cone collar, if the correct size plastic bucket ortrash container is handy, cut a hole in the buttons just large enough toslide over your dog's head. After punching holes around the opening,slip it over the head and thread twine through the holes and around thecollar. A dog with its head in such a bucket cannot reach back to abuseitself.

The average breeder proclaims improvement of the breed as perhapsthe most important part of a breeding program and yet we see a contin-ued perpetuation, if not an increase, of recognized defects. The prob-lem is at least twofold. First, most genetic problems are not observeduntil after the puppies are sold. Some are not obvious until the dogs areadults. The second problem is the difficulty of a program to eliminatedefects once they are discovered.