Inflatable Collar

The plastic cone is the part of an operation nobody plans for. The animal comes home half-awake wearing a lampshade, walks into the same door frame twice, cannot work out where the water bowl went, and by the second evening somebody has taken it off just for a minute. That minute is when the stitches go.

This is the inflatable answer to that problem: a padded ring that sits around the neck rather than a funnel that sits in front of the face, so peripheral vision, the food bowl and the water bowl are all still reachable. The cover is nylon and described as scratch and bite resistant. It fastens with an adjustable Velcro strap plus loops that thread onto the pet's own collar, so it cannot simply be reversed off over the head, and a zip in the back lets the inflatable inner come out. The cover is washable at 30°C, and deflated the whole thing packs down to almost nothing.

• Nylon cover, described as scratch and bite resistant
• Adjustable Velcro strap, plus loops for the pet's own collar
• Zip opening at the back to remove the inflatable inner
• Cover washable at 30°C
• Deflates flat for storage between uses
• Four sizes, all measured on neck circumference

On sizing: these are sold by neck circumference, not by breed or bodyweight. The Large covers 36-44cm and each of the other three sizes carries its own range, so measure the neck where a collar normally sits and buy on that number rather than on what size of dog you think you have. The bigger caveat is what an inflatable collar can and cannot do: it sits at the neck and does not extend past the muzzle, so it stops a pet reaching its own back and flank but it will not stop a determined dog getting to a paw, a tail tip or a low belly wound. Ask the vet which kind the wound needs before swapping the cone out.

Who it's for: anyone bringing a cat or dog home from surgery who has already watched them fight a rigid cone, and owners dealing with a wound or hotspot on the body rather than on a paw.