Restraint collars. Part I: Elizabethan collars and other types of restraint collars.

Restraint collars can provide an investigator with a noninvasive means to prevent certain undesirable behaviors and provide a clinician with a nonpharmaceutical method to prevent an animal from inflicting self-injury; without proper use and monitoring, however, these collars can do more harm than good. This first part of our look at restraint collars introduces collar types and proper use. Next month's installment will review specific issues associated with the use of different types of collars for different species.