A Fetching Chapeau

I've got a new product for dogs, which I really like:

It's called the "OutFox Field Guard."


It's designed to protect your dog from getting foxtails embedded in its face when you take your canine buddy anywhere these insidious grasses grow--like canyons, dry river beds, and open fields. The seed heads are designed like a one-way burrowing machine, and once they touch an animal's fur, they detach from the stem and begin to embed themselves--painfully--in the animal's flesh.

Foxtails abound in the Los Angeles area. We encounter them along the canyon path where I walk Pao Pao twice a week.

But I didn't get the hood for that reason. I got it because the dear dog has an unshakeable fondness for swooping up all sorts of disgusting things into his sweet little mouth. Pebbles, dirt clots, nails, animal poop, even shards of glass.

It's all yummy to him.

I've tried giving his leash a sharp tug and hollering "NO!," but I have to do it so many times that my canyon-walking partner says that hiking with me is like walking next to a person with Tourette's.

I've tried giving him a yummy chew to hold in his mouth, but he masticates it to a slobbery mess, then swallows it whole in about 30 minutes--and each chew costs about $2!

So, when I saw the OutFox mentioned in my local paper, I thought this might be just the ticket.

He doesn't look very happy in these photos, but partly that's just the way a pug's face is shaped.

I made sure he loved the thing right off the bat by dropping treats in it, and praising him for his good looks every time he put it on.

It has an adjustable slide thingie at the back of the neck to fit it to your dog's dimensions, and two hook-and-loop tabs to attach it to their collar so it doesn't slide around the neck.

Ready for walkies, Pao Pao? Let's go!