Elizabethan collars and plastic bags

"The Cone of Shame": Welfare Implications of Elizabethan Collar Use on Dogs and Cats as Reported by their Owners

Elizabethan collars are used in companion animals primarily to prevent self-trauma and associated negative welfare states in animals. However, they have been anecdotally associated with negative impacts on animal health and welfare including distress, abraded/ulcerated skin and misadventure. This study aimed to characterise the welfare impacts of Elizabethan collar use on companion dogs and cats, as reported by owners. Owners of pets who wore an Elizabethan collar during the past 12 months were surveyed about the impacts that the use of Elizabethan collars had on animal activities, in particular sleep, eating, drinking, exercise, interactions with other animals, as well as overall quality of life (QOL). The majority of 434 respondents (77.4%) reported a worse QOL score when their companion animal was wearing the collar, significantly so when the Elizabethan collar irritated their pet or impacted on their ability to drink or play. While other factors are likely to impact animal welfare during veterinary treatment that necessitates the use of Elizabethan collars, this study suggests that Elizabethan collars themselves might have negative welfare impacts in a range of domains including nutrition, environment, health, behaviour and mental state. We recommend that animal owners are informed about potential negative impacts of Elizabethan collars and harm minimisation strategies. Where possible, alternative methods of preventing self-trauma should be explored.

Restraint collars. Part I: Elizabethan collars and other types of restraint collars

Restraint collars can provide an investigator with a noninvasive means to prevent certain undesirable behaviors and provide a clinician with a nonpharmaceutical method to prevent an animal from inflicting self-injury; without proper use and monitoring, however, these collars can do more harm than good. This first part of our look at restraint collars introduces collar types and proper use. Next month's installment will review specific issues associated with the use of different types of collars for different species.

Effects of a canine Elizabethan collar on ambulatory electrocardiogram recorded by a Holter recording system and spontaneous activities measured continuously by an accelerometer in Beagle dogs

Ambulatory electrocardiogram (ECG) has been recorded in dogs wearing a jacket to protect a Holter recording system, but the jacket was often damaged by dogs. We compared ECG recorded by a Holter recording system and spontaneous activity measured by an accelerometer in Beagle dogs with or without an Elizabethan collar. There were few significant differences in mean values (per hr) of the heart rate and the amount of spontaneous activity between dogs with or without the Elizabethan collar. Mean values (per 23 hr) of them had no significant difference between them. We concluded that the Elizabethan collar did not have any effect on ambulatory ECG and canine movements and was effective to protect the recording apparatus.