She came home from the vet in a hard plastic Elizabethan Collar, otherwise known as an E-Collar. It was pokey and very uncomfortable. I looked online and found lots of variations of softer collars, ranging from $10 to over $30.
This one is under $20
This one is under $20
I'm going to show you how I made a nice e-collar for her from a $1 dish mat. It shouldn't take more than 30 minutes start to finish.
When i picked her up from the vet, she was wearing a hard, uncomfortable plastic collar.
It was very stiff and sharp around her neck.
Poor thing
Then I remembered the dish mat I picked up in the dollar store! It was soft and flexible, but sturdy enough to make a great, comfortable e-collar.
She is much more comfortable, even used it for a pillow while she slept.
It's pretty much a 17" diameter half circle with a 6 1/2" diameter half circle cut out of it. I made it a little larger than the original cone. The collar the vet sent home was about 10" neck. I used it for a pattern, since I had it, but I cut it a bit larger.
This shows the piece already cut out of the mat. This site has a great tutorial on how to measure for an e-collar
I marked the circle on the fabric, then I zig-zagged over the line BEFORE I cut it out. Then after I cut it out, I did another row or two of zig-zag over the edges.
I overlapped the edges a little and sewed it together. I didn't sew all the way to the neck edge and put an elastic loop & button, but it really doesn't need it. I just slide it over her head. She keeps it on with no problems, but if you have a dog that really wants it off, you'll have to make the neck smaller.
If I had a problem I planned to sew a casing in thinner fabric around the neck edge and use a drawstring. If you have to leave your dog alone very often, or it is very insistent on trying to lick, you will have to make a sturdier or tighter neck. I am always with Emily and she wasn't very interested in her stitches, so it wasn't a problem.
If I had a problem I planned to sew a casing in thinner fabric around the neck edge and use a drawstring. If you have to leave your dog alone very often, or it is very insistent on trying to lick, you will have to make a sturdier or tighter neck. I am always with Emily and she wasn't very interested in her stitches, so it wasn't a problem.
Now she and Mac are looking up what birds we're seeing outside LOL
Now Go Play Outside!
Liz
Thank you for this very helpful tutorial. My new schnauzer is scheduled to be neutered later this month, and I was looking for something more comfortable than the normal plastic e-collar.
ReplyDeleteI purchased the same dish mat at Dollar Tree.
His neck is a little larger. I extended the length a little with the left over material to fit and used a velcro strip I already had to be able to put in on easier.
It worked out great!
Thanks again!
Thank you for letting me know it was helpful! I'm glad it worked for you. It makes a nice collar, without too much work (no lining, stuffing, etc)
ReplyDeleteLiz