Scratchings-and-Sniffings

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Could Tyrone Be Traumatized for Life? Posted: 24 Mar 2010 05:20 AM PDT I got a frantic call a while back from one of Tyrone's chief benefactors. Tyrone was recovering from having his dew claws removed after snagging one and darn near tearing it off. The problem was the dreaded elizabethan collar poor Tyrone was forced to wear. Seems he had been chewing on his stitches and removing them prematurely before the incisions had healed.   Well, according to Steve and Alexandra, Tyrone's humans, the cure was worse than the original insult.   Tyrone was going nuts with this thing on his head. He'd back into stuff, paw at it, whine, whimper and generally protest. When he finally realized he couldn't rid himself of the device he settled into what Steve described as a state of "depressed resignation". He was not himself by any means. Steve and Alexandra literally wondered whether poor Tyrone could be psychologically impaired by the experience. If only I had known about a couple of alternatives I stumbled across at last month's Western Veterinary Conference in Vegas.   I met the owner/ inventor of a product called "Stopbite" that looks like a great alternative to the traditional elizabethan collar. Nancy Winestock came up with the idea after a couple of sleepless nights with her "lampshade" afflicted dog. Like Tyrone, he couldn't handle the E collar. He wouldn't eat and he couldn't sleep. Neither could Nancy.    She collaborated with her veterinarian brother, an engineer, and out of shared misery and necessity came the idea for a better protective collar.   With a "Stopbite" protective collar dogs have a heck of a time getting to stitches, hot spots, wounds or sores allowing them the time they need to heal. They can't lick off the topical medications so often used for these conditions either. Best of all they still have their peripheral vision intact and they can eat and sleep much more comfortably. Stopbite comes in four sizes and works for cats too.   If you'd like to see "Stopbite" in action, visit Nancy's web site. You can find out where they are sold and even buy one on line if need be.   I saw another option that looked viable too. Called the ProCollar, this device is more like a donut that fits around your dog's neck preventing self trauma.   The ProCollar is covered by a canvas lined outer jacket that looks nice and seems durable, too. My only question for the salesman was about durability. It looked to me like Miles might be able to shred one of these over time with a persistent hind foot. Not so, said the person in the ProCollar booth.   Well, at least we have options now. I may give one of these to Tyrone for his birthday. That is, if he's not too traumatized to receive visitors.

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