Amazon.com : Alfie Pet - Cobalt Recovery Collar (for Dogs & Cats) - Color: Blue, Size: M : Pet Supplies

Aloha! Every time the vet forces my dog to wear an E-collar (AKA Elizabethan collar or recovery cone), it is one of those stiff plastic ones that look painful to wear. I think back to my childhood dog who endured painful E-collars his entire life. Now that I am older and wiser, I refuse to make my second dog wear a hard plastic lampshade around his neck. So I want to say mahalo to Amazon and Petoga Couture for making it possible for my dog to sleep and play in a cone that is a little more comfortable to wear. I will pay any amount to give my dog comfort. Obviously, the pet supply manufacturers know this. Nevertheless, I am grateful for E-collars like this one. My dog still hates me for making him wear it. But at least when he sleeps, the soft material allows him to lay down and rest his head. I didn't expect the collar to be so big, but that's not a problem. The main thing is, the collar is lightweight and allows him to run around freely and then sleep peacefully. Another thing that I like about this: there is an adjustable cord around the base of the cone. I don't really use it because I'm afraid of choking him. This E-collar does not come with instructions. However, it is important that you are able to fit at least two fingers underneath the collar. Otherwise it might be too tight for your dog to breathe. Luckily, this cone fits my dog perfectly without any tightening of the cord. I purchased a small for my 10-pound dog. In my opinion, the collar runs a little big. (My dog's regular collar size is 10 inches.) The bottom line is, I would definitely purchase this item again. Incidentally, I purchased mine in September of 2012 and it is in excellent shape. Take care of your possessions, people. Do that and you will get plenty of value.One final note: if possible, do not fold this cone flat and tuck it away somewhere. If gets misshaped pretty easy. Once it loses that round shape, it probably will not bounce back. It's a soft material without any kind of skeleton to keep it pretty. Good luck and mahalo!

OMGoodness! This is the B-E-S-T collar for my puppy! Not only can he wear it the way pictured, but you can flip it back so it's on his shoulders, instead of around his head - it does the very same thing keeping your dog from aggravating his healing leg yet it doesn't seem to bother the dog from wearing it as much. This is such a good quality too and hand washable, very pliable. Wearing as pictured my puppy looks like a clown (VERY silly) and wearing it (flipped back) over his shoulders it looks like an old Elizabethan collar, very cute and he can see where he is going MUCH better too. My doggy seems to prefer the second way MUCH better. Oh and, it has a great adjustable tightening cord too, very nice. I wound NOT recommend your dog wear this collar when you are NOT around unless you know FOR SURE he will not hurt himself trying to get it off his neck. My doggy does not seem to have ANY issues wearing it. But you never know how dogs can get themselves in an awkward "situations" when we are not monitoring them. Before I got this collar I tried everything to keep him from irritating his elbow and even with me in the room he somehow managed to get all the bandages off every time even with a cut sock to go over the bandages - he is SOOOOO silly! With this collar it totally keeps him away from his elbow and is an EXCELLENT product! ALL Vets offices should have theses. I give it 10 stars!!!UPDATE: I have 2 doggy doors in my house, one in the kitchen (no steps) and one in the laundry room (several steps). The one in the laundry room has a couple of steps up and out and a few more steps from the outside in. I noticed that if worn like a cone going in and out of the doggy door it can be somewhat of a problem, though he can make it in and out, it stills poses a challenge. It's bendable, so it works, but it's a bit difficult for him to maneuver. If worn flipped back onto his shoulders it becomes even harder to go in and out of the doggy door ONLY because there are steps. No steps, no problem with it flipped back. However, with steps there is a bit of a problem because he steps on his collar. So you have to watch him going in and out of the doggy door so he does not hurt himself trying to get in and out. Usually the dog only needs the collar until the boo-boo is healed, so to me, I will simply watch him going up stairs and help him through the doggy door. I still VERY MUCH love the collar and my little snoogles loves it too. Still give it 10 stars!!!UPDATE #2: After not using collar for quite a while, needed it the other day and had boo-boo face! Apparently when storing this little booger, you need to store it using some kind of form so it keeps it's shape. Maybe even newspapers bunched-up inside it. How ever it looks when it's stored will be how it remains when needed again. I folded mine flat not thinking anything about it, but when I went to use it again is was a disaster! I tried wetting it, washing it, etc. but the plastic ribs inside it made for an ugly crumpled shape that could never be re-shaped. Product is still a wonderful product, it's just that you need to store it with a LOT of care so it can be used again in the future. Mine was so bad I had to throw it out, but will definitely order again should I ever need one. Seller really should sell it in a plastic cone protector box for future use so it never gets misshapen again.