Veterinarian bush doctor

 

A simple cone from cardboard and duct tape that you can attach around the collar.

We eventually put a small piece of cardboard to close the gap but we gave the dog a day to get used to eating and drinking with the cone.

A huge challenge having dogs in the bush is the lack of veterinary care. Village dogs are typically utilitarian; kept around for security, to eat scraps, and the worst, to "clean up" human feces (especially toddlers who can not easily control their bowel movements). The dogs are typically cared for but moreso as a farm dog than a domestic animal. They are normally not allowed inside due to being dirty and full of ticks. They are also not coddled and physically pet. Many westerners find this cold at best and bordering on mistreatment at worst but it's a very different context and in the end I feel like most people do ultimately care for their dog.

As I write this I realize I should probably have an entire blog post about dogs. The point of this blog post is to highlight the creativity one must have when seeking supplies for the dog. In this case, one of our dogs was bitten by a spider and it caused some serious itching above his eye. We realized we needed to get him a cone. 

Unfortunately there were not any cones available in our region and although the internet is full of advice for "do it yourself cones", they are actually lacking detail and, in my opinion, over simplify the issue. Dogs typically despise cones and it's not difficult to understand why; they obstruct basically all their senses and create a rather claustrophobic environment. Thus, the cone needs to be very secure or else the dog will easily remove it or hurt themselves trying to remove it.

Hopefully the first photo provides an easy to understand blue print to making a homemade cone. The most important aspect is to ensure the collar is very tight. I think cardboard is the best because it is not sharp and thus the dog will not hurt themselves trying to remove it but if I needed to improve on this design I might choose to line the cardboard with plastic to make it tougher.

Good news is, after about five days with the cone and some antibiotics the wound healed up. But it's good to know that we can manufacture the technology on site if necessary!