Wednesday, May 22, 2013

WFMW: Dog Problems

Today's Works For Me Wednesday is for all my fellow dog owners out there. If you've ever had a dog that has gone through surgery, then you know the heartache that follows: your dog has stitches and/or staples, and you now have the task of getting them to leave. it. alone. so it can heal. And if you've ever owned a dog like Duke, then you know that this task can be downright impossible.

Duke had stitches. Within three days he ripped out half of them. So he got staples put in. He ripped those out within two days. 

Why didn't you put the cone on him? You might ask. Well, we tried that. But when he immediately started slamming his head into the ground to try and get it off, it came off real quick-like. Because the only thing worse than a $450 vet bill from surgery is a $200 vet bill to pay for your dog's busted face right after the surgery. Basically, if he was going to be that desperate to get it off with us standing right there, what would he do while we were gone at work? Would I come home to find my dog knocked out and my house a wreck? Not a chance we were willing to take.....

So after he ripped out the staples on Sunday, we started to get pretty desperate trying to figure out how to get him to leave it alone. Because there was no point in getting staples put back in if he wasn't going to leave it alone. And even if we didn't take him back to get staples again, it was never going to heal if he sat there and licked it all day while we were at work.

Cue our lifesaver: the Kong Cloud. This thing is AMAZING and I wish I could buy whoever invented it a milkshake. Or at least say thanks. Because after a week of trying everything we knew to try, Duke-y Face is finally unable to mess with his wound. (PS: the vet didn't put staples in again when we took him back, it had already started healing enough on its own.) The Kong Cloud was right under $30 for a Large, and I purchased it from our local Pet Supermarket. 

The Kong Cloud is a protective collar that attaches to your dog's regular collar. It has an inflatable tube surrounded by thick cloth (so they can't puncture it by scratching at it). All you do is attach it to your dog's collar, blow up the inflatable tube to the needed amount, and then put your dog's collar back on him.

It took him a little while to get used to it, but we did our best to be really upbeat about the collar. And as soon as we put it on him we gave him a treat and then played with him so that he would learn that the collar was not a punishment. He wears it all day and all night and so far it is working really great for us! Here he is so you can see what it looks like (don't mind Lauren in the background #photobomb):




It has also brought a whole new realm of nicknames for Duke to our minds: balloon-face, bubble-head,  balloon-dog...just to name a few. But for real, I'm just so glad we finally have a solution so that he can finally heal. 

The Kong Cloud really works for me!!

Note: I am not an affiliate nor was I reimbursed in any way by the makers of the Kong Cloud. I just have a deep appreciation of their product!  :) 

"For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it."  ~Mark 8:35

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