Cone Head...lol

[Chinmama]

My poor Jake had to have emergency surgery yesterday to have a tumor removed from his eyelid. It's been there for a long time, but has recently started to get bigger. I needed to get it removed anyway, but it didn't seem to be bothering him.

Well, yesterday I was filling up the treat jar in the kitchen and he heard me and came running in, thinking he was going to get a treat. Generally he does pretty well finding his way through the house (he's blind), but he got a little off center in the kitchen (it's a galley style - long and narrow with lots of cabinets) and hit his eye right on a cabinet knob. Blood everywhere immediately, but he was fine - still expecting a treat. I was trying to get a look at his eye and he was fighting me for a treat. It ruptured the tumor, so off to the ER vet we went.

He had surgery last night to have it removed, and they sent him home with a cone on his head. Poor guy can't see anyway, and now he has this thing attached to his head. I feel especially bad for him when we're outside trying to potty because he is used to walking with his head down to sniff out where he is going. Now he's just like a little front-end loader, scooping up all sorts of stuff into his cone.

The thing is, she told me if he wasn't messing with his eye, I could try taking it off. But, he does run into things since he can't see and I do not want him to accidentally bust his eye open again. He has to wear this for the next 10 days. He can't chew on his toys or anything because he can't reach them. Anyone have any suggestions on how to make the next 10 days a little easier, and less depressing? This is my first cone experience, and his too.

 

[JennyBug]

We only had to cone one dog. I would suggest lots of love and extra attention, including pets and talking to him. BIG ADVICE: If he likes to go for car rides, be careful of him sticking his head out the window! My mom thought this would cheer our dog up, and poor Ginger ended up with her cone head stuck backwards against the car until my mom could stop and take it off (don't worry, she was fine, just embarrassed, I think).

If you don't want her wearing the cone, you can always keep him on a short leash so that he can only go where you allow him to go. You could also take the cone off of him for short periods of time so he can play.

 

[tskoffina]

Or if you're stationary in a room, maybe babygate the doorway and cover with a thick blanket so he can have it off. That's hard with a blind dog. Poor puppy. Good luck, I hope he gets better quickly.

 

[3CsMommy]

Maybe an inflatable collar? http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3185093

 

[starleomach]

No ideas for you but good luck!

 

[arf2184]

Poor guy. Running into to things with the cone won't hurt. Without it though, he could injure the eye again so I'd leave it on.

Matty's been a cone head three times now...she has a habit of licking small wounds until she makes them much worse. There's nothing wrong with her vision, but she always ran into to everything (and everyone) with the cone on. She also scooped up a bunch of dirt outside and we had to empty and wipe down the cone before she came inside.