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You are here: Home / Open Threads / We’re getting through it…

We’re getting through it…

by | 93 Comments

This post is in: 

Convalescing Pete supports Ukraine:

We’re getting through it…

(It’s a coincidence that the two dog blankets shown are the colors of the Ukrainian flag, but I’m sure Pete would approve.)

Stressful weekend so far. The dogs have been weird toward each other, apparently because of the goddamn cone?* So, we’re running interference.

Due to already elevated stress levels, I’m trying to avoid reading about politics because the shit going on right now makes me incandescently angry. But y’all discuss whatever you want to talk about in this open thread.

*Sweet Jeebus, I hate that fucking cone! Larry Lampshade pictured above whacks me in the face with it by night and shreds my shins with it by day. I plan to look into alternatives — suggestions welcome!

Reader Interactions

93Comments

  2. 2.

    WereBear

    They have soft or inflatable ones now. Those rigid ones are awful.

    One dog would use it to trap cats on the floor so he could lick their heads.

  4. 4.

    Another Scott

    Sorry for the pooch stress. I’m glad Pete is recovering Ok.

    We have used the hard plastic clear cones (our pooches hated them) and we have a Zen Cone now. It’s softer, maybe is less of a megaphone for sounds. It seems Ok, though the pooches still hate it. It’s not so noisy and disruptive when they bang into something, and still seems to work Ok to keep them from messing with their stitches and bandages.

    HTH a little.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  5. 5.

    Humdog

    We use Another Scott’s cone replacement and it works better than the plastic cones but still not much fun. I switch them to loose t shirt if the wound is amenable. Poor little guy. Also, I understand they smell different with the surgery and the drugs so that could be why they’re acting weird. Hope this stage passes quickly.

  7. 7.

    JillR

    When my new rescue was neutered, he was smart enough to be able to use the cone to scratch his incision, which pretty much defeated the purpose. I tried male dog diapers, instead of a cone- actually worked reasonably well. A&D ointment also seemed to help avoid the itching

  8. 8.

    TaMara

    We use a pool noodle, cut to neck size with a small rope or string through it. Works on Danes, might be too cumbersome for the little guy.

  11. 11.

    CarolPW

    I used the Kong cloud collar for my Puck after an ear surgery (linked by @Yutsano: above). Puck couldn’t mess with her ear with it on, so Badger shouldn’t be able to mess with his nose either. Puck had to wear it for 2 weeks, had no problems with it, and she used it as her pillow when she slept.

    It wouldn’t work for feet, legs or abdomens, but for heads it was perfect.

    ETA: It lets them eat and drink normally.

  12. 12.

    West of the Rockies

    We use purposefully gross-tasting tape over gauze to avoid the cone of shame.  It’s been effective with our sheepadoodle.

  16. 16.

    trollhattan

    @CapnMubbers: +1

    We can vouch–much mo bettah than the cone o’ shame.

    Nobody gets their shin raked; dogs can finagle doorways, silent, deflates for storage, win-win-win-win.

  19. 19.

    Softail

    I don’t know if it works for dogs or if you would want it but for my cats there is a bandage dressing. It evidently tastes just awful and very quickly they learn not to lick. It’s kind of mean but also much less restrictive so…

  20. 20.

    WereBear

    @TaMara: Please laugh, we did.

    One of the cats did love to have his head licked, but the others were innocent bystanders. This dog would pretend they also liked it.

    Which is what we had to keep an eye on.

  21. 21.

    CaseyL

    I have to say, the cone gives Pete an angel’s halo, and with his expression, he looks like a very disappointed angel.

    So glad he came through the surgery all right!

  27. 27.

    zhena gogolia

    @Humdog: Yes, whenever one of my cats came back from a procedure, the other cats would treat him weirdly.

    Betty’s story about the cone reminds me of my relationship to my goddamn cane, which thankfully I’m not using much now. No matter how carefully I would prop it against something while doing something else, it ALWAYS FALLS TO THE FLOOR WITH A LOUD BANG, followed by a streak of obscenities (from me).

  30. 30.

    WereBear

    @zhena gogolia: My favorite cat-came-back-from-the-vet story is Puffy. My little backyard breeder rescue who was 5 pounds of black fluff. Left for the vet, as normal as he got.

    Came back drooling and staggering and so bizarre acting the other cat hid in the closet until Puffy had recovered from the anesthetic.

  33. 33.

    KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))

    @Another Scott: My son bought several soft quilted cones similar to the linked cone when his chihuahua had to have surgery on a dislocated hip. He didn’t like any of them , of course, but the soft ones were lighter, more comfortable to sleep in, and less irritating against his little neck. He pretended he couldn’t eat in any of them, & demanded that I hand feed him when my son was at work. I found out later that he ate fine once my son got home. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  34. 34.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Alexander Verbeek 🌍@Alex_Verbeek
    🎨

    The best way to see Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” is to stare at the center of the spiral for 20 seconds and then look at the painting.

    RT when it works for you.

    Holy fuck… Other worldly. I remember staring at cave ceilings in absolute darkness after days underground and seeing things I could not possibly see. This is similar. The mind is an amazing thing.

  36. 36.

    trollhattan

    Japan are about to get their butts mauled by a super-typhoon.

    Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan have been urged to evacuate their homes amid warnings of “unprecedented” risks from an approaching storm. Typhoon Nanmadol is expected to make landfall on Kyushu island on Sunday.

    Winds could reach 270km/h (168mph) and some areas could experience 500mm (20 inches) of rainfall in just 24 hours.

    Let that sink in.

  37. 37.

    pat

    And there is a huge storm approaching Alaska at the same time.

    Mother Nature, letting us know She.Is.Not.Pleased.

  40. 40.

    eachother

    At least you are one day farther along, Betty Cracker.

    I have used the inflatable collar.  Works fine.  Size may matter for Pete.

    Crazy times my Friend.  Incandescently is a good describer.  And why the f**k is the worst human in the hemisphere still at liberty? (TFG)  A danger to us all.

  41. 41.

    Martin

    The whole classification situation with the judge has be irrationally mad. Maybe because it lands on familiar ground.

    There’s an information concept that people tend to not think about, because they don’t need to. If you buy cookies and it says ‘gluten free’, that label is not authoritative. Its presence doesn’t magically make the cookies not have gluten in them. You can suspect the label is wrong, send the cookies to a lab and confirm the presence of gluten or not.

    But a classified label on a document is authoritative. If you think it shouldn’t be there, there’s no external authority you can appeal to. The only authority over if something is classified is that it says classified on it. It’s a form of self-documentation, of 0-degree information transfer. You can ask if it *should* be classified, but that’s an entirely different question and has no impact on whether someone broke the law reading a document they weren’t allowed by law to read. If the document says ‘classified’ then it is, by definition classified. It’s assumed that at some future time it will no longer be classified, so reading it while it is classified doesn’t somehow absolve you of wrongdoing for some future date when it is declassified.

    So none of this makes any goddamn sense. It’s just performative bullshit by the judge. There isn’t really even anything for the government to push against because it’s effectively the judge declaring that the government doesn’t exist or something equally absurd. Where do you even begin?

  44. 44.

    Cmorenc

    If only Desantis could be forced to wear the cone of shame – Trump too.

    Only problem is just as vampires cannot see their reflection in a mirror – would the cone be invisible to them?

  45. 45.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    Poor little guy! Our latest kitty came home from the vet with the Cone of Shame on after he had been neutered, unlike our other cats in the past. I swear there were tears welling in his eyes just from the hell he had been through and the cone was frosting on his shit cake. I took the cone off and kept an eye on him to make sure he wasn’t worrying the area that was healing.

    Chuckie was good about it and quickly recovered, allowing him to resume his kitten rampage throughout the house.

  46. 46.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Convalescing Pete supports Ukraine…. (It’s a coincidence that the two dog blankets shown are the colors of the Ukrainian flag, but I’m sure Pete would approve.)

    Patron would approve too! We need to figure out a way for Pete and Patron to meet.

  49. 49.

    Matt McIrvin

    Lefty-political Star Trek fan group I follow on Facebook now being disrupted by gun-nut Communists needling the liberals about how Marx and Engels wanted to arm the working class. Fun, fun!

  51. 51.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Martin: Yeah, that’s sort of what “classified” means. There’s a linguistic term I’ve forgotten that applied to language acts that enacts what it says. Frez, “I promise” or “I do” are words that make what they state be true. “Classified” verges on that.

  52. 52.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Martin: I’m with you. The zone is flooded with bullshit and we are obsessed with following rules and going by the book (because WE don’t want to be lawless like THEM or some such). I’d give the judge phony documents sprinkled with porn and expletives for the SM to review. Or just ignore Cannon like Trump ignored every law, standard and norm, as she herself has demonstrated easy to do. Enough!

  55. 55.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Chris T.:

    It’s an odd little Britishism.

    Where does the phrase laughing like a drain come from?

    The colloquial British-English phrase to laugh like a drain means to laugh loudly and coarsely. This phrase alludes to the sound of water gurgling down a drain.

  57. 57.

    Steeplejack

    @zhena gogolia:

    Maybe too late now, but you should have gotten one of those canes with the four little feet—a “quad cane.” Stand up by themselves and also provide better support. HurryCane is the one I see advertised endlessly on TV. Available at Amazon, CVS, etc.

    I briefly thought about getting one when I was recovering from my surgery last December, but then I realized I wasn’t going anywhere anyway.

  62. 62.

    Jackie

    @Odie Hugh Manatee: When my Edgar got neutered, it was on a cold, late Nov day. The moment I let him out of his carrier, he went straight out the cat door and plopped his butt on the cold sidewalk and, I swear he sighed with relief. A minute later he moved a foot forward and sat down again. I was a mixture of “poor baby” and chuckling. I also had to give him a nod to being a smart kitty.

  64. 64.

    Baud

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Lefty-political Star Trek fan group I follow on Facebook now being disrupted by gun-nut Communists needling the liberals about how Marx and Engels wanted to arm the working class. Fun, fun!

     

    Set phasers on kill bourgeoisie.

  65. 65.

    Another Scott

    @Martin: Of course, even if he didn’t have any documents marked “Classified”, he still has broken the law by taking a boatload of US Government Official Records that do not belong to him.  They belong to the US Government.  There’s no controversy about that, either.

    All the classified stuff is the impossible to ignore (by people who can actually read and understand the laws and regulations) elephant in the burning room aspect of this whole fiasco.

    Maybe Cannon can be investigated and impeached during the lame duck session.  Hey, a fellow can dream can’t he??

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  67. 67.

    WereBear

    The leaves are just beginning to turn here. And I’ve been in a Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane mood all day, and yes, I played the album I could find that has both of them on it.

  69. 69.

    patrick II

    @SiubhanDuinne:

     
    Speaking of moving, back in February I mentioned I had and you suggested that I send in some pictures to “on the road”. So I took your suggestion. Twice. The first one got wiped in the Balloon Juice Acopalypse, but the second one is here. Since it’s your fault, I thought you should see it (if you haven’t already).

  72. 72.

    persistentillusion

    @frosty fred: I have a friend who is of Chinese descent who moved to England and her experience was an eye-opener for both of us.  “Never been called a wog before, don’t recommend it.”

    ETA: This was 1985. She went to boarding school in NE and felt like the UK wouldn’t be a big deal.

  74. 74.

    livewyre

    @Sure Lurkalot: It’s important to keep in mind what law is for in the first place. The alternative to rule of law isn’t rule by virtue, it’s rule by force. The path away from blood and chaos remains uphill. We’re still working on it, sadly.

    The idea is, at least, that law is an invention that lets us not have to count on the good people killing more of the bad people than the other way around (even presuming you’re in a position to define such an essence of virtue, which I would venture no one can be, but that’s a whole other topic). So we and the law are on the same side until and unless we’ve despaired to the point where throwing lives on the fire sounds worth a shot. Its strength is ours. Autocrats and their followers don’t need our help nullifying the concept – and they’re certainly working on that.

  75. 75.

    HinTN

    I don’t know about dogs but Franklin, the puma cat lord of all, came home from the vet with a cone and promptly found a way to remove it. The vet laughed when I related the story. Said not to worry so long as he behaved himself, which he did.

  77. 77.

    Chris T.

    @Steeplejack: The Spousal Unit has a number of these quad-canes. Some are better than others. The one piece of advice I can give about them is: test them out in person. Height, handle, balance, etc., all matter, but are all individual tastes. (Most of these are adjustable height but the adjustments aren’t all the same.)

  78. 78.

    Miki

    Gently wipe that little drip from the boy’s nose, will ya? And get him one of those soft donut things that will keep his feets off his snoutlet and make it impossible for him to rub that snoutlet on a rug.

    And drugs. Nothing wrong with sleeping through this trauma.

    Pawsitive thoughts to Pete and ya’all.

  79. 79.

    RaflW

    Just hosted a very fun and I think successful house party for our friend Brienne Brown for (WI) Assembly 31. (She has a website of course but I like this small town letter, since Brie is running to represent small town & rural areas of the state).

    Still feeling remarkably like (late) summer here. Got to sail in some wild gusty winds before the party, too.

    Just an all around excellent Saturday!

  80. 80.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @Jackie:

    Cooling his ‘heels’, eh? I think our Chuckie was still under the influence as he was acting goofy. Like laying next to the water bowl and slapping his reflection in the water, splashing it everywhere. Then jumping in the bathroom sink while I was washing my hands, making me deal with a kitten sliding under the running water while I had soapy hands. After that he invaded the pantry and destroyed a roll of paper towels.

    And so on…lol

  82. 82.

    MTCinVA

    Oh no, not the cone of shame!  One of my kitties is quite the escape artist, so a friend recommended this one.  She still escaped from it but took a bit longer and it seemed to generally bother her less than the traditional cone of shame.  You’d need to measure his neck before ordering one and Pete may need a different size, but I would recommend it.

    https://www.amazon.com/Bolbove-Plastic-Recovery-Collar-Design/dp/B06XBHS6H3/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Bolbove&qid=1663461425&rnid=2941120011&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-1&th=1

  83. 83.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Steeplejack: I used a HurryCane while I was recovering from my knee replacement last year–walking around with one was mandated by surgeon and PT. Worked fine. It only has three little feet and its ability to stand up by itself is actually a bit chancy. But it worked fine as a cane. It’s also collapsible so you can easy carry it around in your car, etc.

  84. 84.

    kindness

    I was really lucky last time my pup wore the Lampshade of Shame.  I took it off her and she didn’t chew out her stitches.  What a good girl.  Politically I’m OK with the world.  President Uncle Joe has gotten tons of great stuff passed.  And while no doubt living in Florida is more stressful than California, I think it’ll all work out in the end.  I mean DeSantis’s antics owning the libs brings glee to the base but it drives away moderate independents.  It doesn’t give him one more vote.  The Trump judges….well…I figure we’ll survive them.  The one going after the DOJ/Mar a lago search is quite the winner.  If there is a way to kick judges out for being pin heads, she’s a good choice to begin with.

  85. 85.

    Geminid

    @kindness: I think you are right about DeSantis’ stunt turning off moderate independent voters. I think it will also alienate many of Florida’s first and second generation immigrants, and not just Venezuelans.

    I sometimes wonder if DeSantis is taking his reelection for granted.

  86. 86.

    kindness

    @Geminid: I think Florida needs election monitors to watch DeSantis’ election staff.  You have to assume bad stuff is going to happen.  The cockyness is an act but it’s possible he thinks the fix is in.

  87. 87.

    Comrade Scrutinizer

    @Martin: I was assured back in 2016 that judgeships were merely a distraction raised by Hillary to scare people into voting for her.

  88. 88.

    RaflW

    @Steeplejack: Early in the pandemic we went in on a family cabin 1 hr from my partner’s parents. His dad can’t really travel any more – about this far is usually it before his bungled hip surgery gives him hell.

    We’ve made friends here and being on the water is lovely. The boat comes out Thursday and we head back to the big city of Minneapolis – which will be good, too. We like both!

  89. 89.

    Ken_L

    Being incandescently angry is natural and commendable. However it would make the day of any Trumpmonkey reading it.

  90. 90.

    Cathie from Canada

    Somebody likely already mentioned this  upthread, but they’re called a “onesie” for a dog, and pet stores sell them.

    My daughter and her wife just had their Great Dane spayed and that breed is too big for a cone, so they are using a Onesie and they say it works great.

    I think the short-hair breeds would be more comfortable than a longer-haired breed.

  91. 91.

    WaterGirl

    @Geminid: I would like to think so, but if kids in cages didn’t turn these folks off, I’m not sure why this would.  Unless closer to home (your state) engenders a different response from the US govt.

  92. 92.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: The story of kids in cages hit the news s few months before the midterms, when Democrats flipped40 House seats. The story may have had an impact. The Martha’s Vineyard/migrant story hit only seven weeks before these midterms. Exit polling being what it is these days, we won’t know its impact. I think there will be polling on this matter soon, though, and we’ll get a better idea of people’s sentiments.

  93. 93.

    WaterGirl

    @Geminid: You may be right.

    I am not trusting polling at all this year, at least I am trying not to.

    Polls have been totally unreliable for multiple cycles now; we are fools to trust them for any more than trends.

    And really not that, even.  I could completely see the MAGA folks putting the word out to lie in polls to make Dems think they are doing better than they really are.

    The Rs play dirty.

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