Caldera Pet Therapy Tall Stifle Wrap with Gel, Medium/Tall, Black

Doesn’t work for a 3 legged dog... my dog just collapsed even when I didn’t use the harness. Sad, really hoped this would work for the money I paid for it. Requested a refund and return, we’ll see how that goes.

The first one the clip was broken.. item replaced without any issues. The replacement item would not stay on the injured leg. The bracing attachment did not stay put on opposite leg either. Returned item.

Wish it had more direction or a video on how to properly fasten to the dog it kept falling off if I used more than just the brace

Reviewing : Caldera Pet Therapy Wraps – MediumI strongly suggest that that the owner work with their vet to make sure that this is the right product to use on their dog as well as to make sure they are applying it correctly. Different ailments will require different therapies.That said, I ordered this for a dog with an injury that it turns out didn’t need it as he was healing and when I got the product he was substantially better. So I am reviewing this based on trying it on myself and on a healthy, full-coated dog.First I heated up the gel pad in the microwave for 30 seconds, smoothed it out and heated it for an additional 30 seconds. I took it out and put it on the counter to check for leaks and for even heating. No leaks. Good so far.I then put in around my own leg to test the warmth distribution. Here is where if I were to use it on a dog who had had his fur shaved due to an injury, I would want to do this first in the vet office. The heat was unevenly distributed despite my smoothing it out and carefully inserting it into the bag. In some areas it was very hot and as a human I could easily reposition it but if used on a dog it might be too hot in some spots unless you let it cool down all over for a bit. I put it around my leg at 3:57 PM and by 4:09 PM it was substantially cooler and not really seeming to provide enough heat to keep the area warm. So it seems like you would have to keep re-heating it to keep it warm enough to be therapeutic. I also noticed that when I had it on my leg that the heat became more concentrated in spots and seemed to get hotter so I had to reposition it. Doggy can’t tell us if that is happening.I watched both videos that are linked on the product page to see how to apply it on the dog. The first shows it on a demo model of a dog and the second on a live, shaved dog who had an injury. Both were very helpful. Even so when it came to putting it on my border collie I’d wished I’d had a dog model to try it on first.It did seem to fit my border collie who is on the larger size for his breed. He is a very patient boy and tolerates my putting costumes on him and doing all kinds of things to him. I can see that practice before putting it on a dog who is in pain or uncomfortable with being “fussed with” would make this much easier, as at least for me, there was a learning curve to get all the pieces positioned and fastened correctly.By the time my dog was all suited up the bag was no longer warm. Warmth really can be therapeutic but this didn’t seem to last long enough to be truly efficacious. There might be ways to make it so. The other issue is that even when very hot the heat would not penetrate well through the thick fur of most dogs so this is for dogs that have been shaved due to an injury or are short-coated.I really like the idea of being able to provide warmth to a dog with arthritis or an injury. Just not sure yet that this bag stays warm enough, long enough to work well.Without taking the gel pad into consideration, if a vet approves it might ( I don't know) be a good wrap for protecting an injured stifle. But it would take conditioning your dog to get comfortable with it and monitoring them to be sure they don’t remove it. If a vet would recommend it, he/she might also recommend using a cone during the most acute phase of the healing process.I have not yet tried freezing it. Will update this review if I have anything to add on once I do.My primary concern is that the gel pad might be too cold or too hot in spots which might not be good for the dogs skin and he/ she can’t tell you that. I look forward to the company providing more instruction on how to use this effectively and safely.

First of all make sure you have size this properly. I thought since it said medium it would fit my dog because she normally wears a size medium. But this is for a rather large dog.I think these are great idea but for the money I'm not understanding why this attaches to the dogs collar. In doing so you have this long tether that could get caught on something and become a choking hazard. Given the expense here, I think they could come up with a harness that would be independent from the dogs collar. Our dog does not wear a collar in the house and just has a loose thing with her tags on it that would slip away if she ever got tangled in something.I guess if your dog is just laying on the floor this might be ok, but if the dog is crated or loose and you are not watching it continuously it could be a danger. If my dog was not mobile at all I do not think all this apparatus is necessary, as I could just lay the hot or cold compress where it is needed or spend a few minutes holding it there while I sit with her.If you are going to use this take time to watch the video that explains in detail how to put it on. It really is made of very high quality material and once you understand what you are doing it's not hard to put it on. If you are like me and do not want to attach it to your dogs collar you could adjust it to attach to a harness which in my opinion makes it less risky to use. The straps are all adjustable so it seems like that should work.The little cold /heat pack can be microwaved or put in the freezer to get it ready for use. I think you could also use a disposable or alternative heat/ cold pack in the pocket if that works for you. Just make sure if you have heated it that it's not too hot as your dog will not be able to tell you if it's uncomfortable. I'd recommend putting it against your skin to try it out.While I am not crazy about the neck attachement described in the instructions I think this is very well made and should hold up to use. A little high priced in my opinion for well made buckles velcro, straps, and a hot/cold pack but still useful.Thanks for reading my review