Trim My Fur X Kong Cushion - Know the E-collars

Many pawrents face the problem of having a dog that loves to chew their paws, chew their fingers and even bite on their itchy spots. Other than using topical solutions, I guess another common solution is to make use of the Elizabethan Collar otherwise known as e-collar in short.

Though no dogs like to wear a block or a cloud around their neck, these are inevitable things that we may have to do, so as to keep our fido on the road to their recovery.

There are many different types of e-collar available in the market. How would you select the most suitable e-collar, should be based on the following 10 factors:

1. Flexibility to adjust the collar around your fido's neck (size)
2. Flexibility for fido to move, and look around (line of sight)
3. Flexibility to sleep with collar on
4. Comfort of fido when on collar (did they try to paw it off)
5. Material of collar (Plastic, foam, float, pillow?) Does the material trap heat?
6. Ability to clean and wash collar
7. Price factor
8. Purpose (fashion? Stop them from barking? Stop them from biting/chewing?)
9. Beauty factor (does it look very ugly when on it)
10. Convenient to put on and remove collar

Let me summarize these factors into 3 main factors and we shall review each collar based on them:

#1 : Level of Comfort
#2 : Material
#3 : Price




#1: Hard plastic tradition Elizabethan Collar, Buster Collar (Commonly used by vet)

One such type is the most commonly seen, hard plastic collar which is neither comfortable for the fido nor does it allows the flexibility for them to look out of the collar. Its no wonder they are also known as the "cone of shame", often used as a method for pet owners to punish their barky fidos. This collar is difficult to put on and take off, hard and difficult for your fido to fall asleep on.

#1 : Level of Comfort: Low
#2 : Material : Hard & trap heat, wipe to clean
#3 : Price: about $7-$22


Image credit: http://pets.webmd.com/ss/slideshow-surprising-things-about-dogs-and-cats

There is another version of this collar which has valcro tapes and appears to give more flexibility than the traditional e-collar.
Check out the Ez Clear Collar.



Image credit: Kong Singapore

#2: Rainbow flower designed e-collar

There is a new trend of pet owners buying this type of e-collar as a fashion accessory for their fidos because they look like a piece of art. I believe this is much better than the previous but I am unsure of the support that it gives the furkid and does it really deter them from biting. There is also little flexibility of adjusting the size of the e-collar. But I do not think it will deter the fido from biting their paws.

#1 : Level of Comfort: High
#2 : Material : Soft & trap some heat, washable
#3 : Price: about $27-$33




Image credit:Polypet

#3: Soft Foam e-collar

While the soft foam e-collar is both adjustable and offers more comfort and control to the size, it can be removed quite easily by the fido and doesn't offer the fido the flexibility to move about, the fido can remove it easily by cornering itself and steping on the cone due to the tick-tac buttons.

#1 : Level of Comfort: Mid comfort
#2 : Material : Soft, solid & trap heat, wipe to clean
#3 : Price: less than $10



You can adjust the size of the cone using the tic tac buttons.



#4: Kong Cloud

This is similar to your travel pillow fabric material which we commonly use during our long flights or bus ride. It can be easily inflated and is relatively comfortable compared to the hard plastic types. It is also machine washable.

#1 : Level of Comfort: High
#2 : Material : Soft, traps some heat, machine washable.
#3 : Price: about $22- $52

Image credit: Kong Singapore

#5: Kong Ez Soft Collar

This collar opens up to a fabric wrapped  traditional cone. It is easy to keep, doesn't takes up space and feels fairly comfortable i suppose. Unfortunately it is only suitable for X-small and small sized dogs with a neck size not more than neck size 5.5, or 12x10 inches.

#1 : Level of Comfort: Mid Comfort
#2 : Material : Hard, traps some heat, machine washable
#3 : Price: about $15-$19




Image credit: Kong Singapore

#6: Kong Cushion

It looks exactly like a swimming float and your dog can sleep comfortably on it. It does not restrict their sight or motion and they are easy to clean. The float material is good so it doesn't feels sticky at all. This material is cooling so your fido doesn't feel the heat from the e-collar. It also comes with bone shaped velcro tapes so you can adjust the size accordingly to your fido's neck size.

#1 : Level of Comfort: High
#2 : Material: Comfortable and does not trap heat, wipe to clean
#3 : Price: about $30-$66



If you realised, the float is 1/2 inflated. This is to enhance the comfort of the float when on your fido.



Well, at the end of the day, it all depends on your needs and how deep you can dig into your pockets to get something comfortable for your fidos. For Milky, we don't think she likes any of these, though we only tried the foam and Kong Cushion on her and we prefer the later as she can sleep comfortably on it, while she is unable to chew on her paws, it doesn't restricts her line of sight.

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Loves,
Trim My Fur