Apparently, there are times when dogs don’t get along any better on a play date than some people. Even though monitored by a human alpha, another canine took a chunk out of the back of Ranger’s ear, as well as punching holes all the way through. My dog now has one side of his head and ear shaved, and a lampshade around his neck. Oh, he’s sooo cute.
This was the second round of wearing a “cone of shame”. Just before this growing experience of canine comradery, Ranger had been neutered. We were hoping it would calm him down. No sign of that happening. (Just ask Kairi, our daughter’s doberdor. Thankfully, she can outrun him.)
Feeling pity for his (second) plight, I invested in a nice comfy donut that would fit around his neck and be like a pillow when he laid down (if he ever did). He figured out how to unpeel the fasteners. I used enough duct tape to keep Houdini in a cone. Ranger dismantled it. So, we went back to the cone. He managed to tear this one. More duct tape to hold it together. (I should have invested in the company!) Within a few days, the cone was ready for the recycling bin, and I had another one, larger this time.
Ranger has now been wearing a cone long enough that he’s learned it can be useful. He puts it on the ground to intensify whatever smells he finds in our back yard. I think he’s following a gopher. Hold the cone high and it amplifies turkey gobble and squirrel chi-chi-chitting. It also acts as a megaphone for barking. He can scoop up a toy, rock, mulch with it. It’s good for knocking apples and pears off low branches. It is a challenge to run out the door. But, hey, who needs a screen door anyway. It just gets in the way. Getting under the dining room table to sniff for crumbs is more difficult. But he can flatten the cone and get his head under the guest room bed to sniff Kairi’s crate. Where is she? Are you under here? Buf. Come out, come out, wherever you are! The cone is great for flipping food dishes and water bowls. He wasn’t happy when I was given a goat feeding bucket and filled it with water. Try flipping that, you big hairy lug! He did. It helps to wrap a hose around and tuck it in like a boa constrictor softening up its meal.
Stitches come out Monday. WooHoo! Arf! Arf! Clearly remembering the last visit, the vet said to double Ranger’s dose of gabapentin and trazadone. It would help if “Mama” could go in with him, but COVID regulations are what they are. I think. Maybe they’ll changed in a day or two. As long as they don’t require Ranger to wear a mask. A cone has been hard enough!