The Hood

"Understanding your dog and knowing how to control him, develop his potential and resolve behavior problems, emotional conflicts and frustrations are no less essential than love and respect."                          ~ Michael W. Fox

Poor Walter.  He is like the boy in the plastic bubble - except we don't have a bubble for him. 

 We have The Hood. 

Walter Wears the Hood in the Car

I purchased The Hood (Comfy Cone) for Walter a long time ago and it sure has come in handy.  It is much better than those shameful and inflexible plastic lampshades.  How embarrassing and mean those things are!

We have had several allergy tests done on Walter because he often gets itchy skin and ear infections.  Turns out, he is allergic to so many things such as weeds and plants and trees and certain foods and even cats!  It is impossible to keep him away from all of these allergens - unless, of course, we place him in a plastic bubble like Tod Lubitch.    And so he will go through periods of itching and scratching.  The poor guy is itchy, yes, and he takes medicine and he gets oatmeal baths and rubdowns with oils and other soothing potions but still, he scratches and bites and bites and scratches until I have to, once again, put on The Hood.

In addition to Walter's allergies, he also displays some OCD tendencies.  Yes, that is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and dogs have it, too.  Water cannot bear it if something is out of its proper place; if it is, he barks and moans.  If he is taken out of his daily routine and doesn't do the same thing every day, he barks and moans.  If we leave some new or different object in his path, he barks and moans.  He digs holes in the dirt over and over and over again.  Then, there is the obsessive scratching, biting, chewing and licking that he will do for hours on end even long after the itching has stopped.  It can be destructive.  Because he scratches or chews on one spot over and over, eventually it causes a bloody, open wound; and therefore, he must surrender to the The Hood.

It does appear that Walty might even be fond of  The Hood.  It can be folded all the way up (his peripheral vision is blocked but he can't scratch or bite anything on his body) or it can be folded back in a fashionable, rain hat sort of way (as seen in the photos) which is the way he wears it most of the time.  It still keeps him from scratching his face and ears.  I do have to remove it during mealtimes as it impedes his ability to effectively eat his food and causes his bowl to slide across the floor.  Then he barks.  It serves as a lovely pillow when he sleeps and he seems to be quite comfortable.  Look at how peaceful he is - he doesn't even know I am photographing him!

Walter Wears the Hood When he Sleeps

Gotta love the Walty.  He is one of a kind and pure love despite his little OCD tendencies.