Ruff treatment

In news from the “you don’t say!” desk a Uni Sydney study warns pets loathe the cone of shame

Researchers report the Elizabethan collar, used to stop animals licking wounds and tearing at stitches, stops them drinking, grooming and getting around.

They propose alternatives, such as inflatable collars plus medication to stop itches and sedatives to keep calm.

CMM’s canine correspondent Buzz the Dog comments that for a start, the name has to go. “Bloody things are less Elizabethan than Jacobean – as in the plays where everybody is murdered,” he growls.