Steve already wrote his summary of the Barenaked Ladies concert, and mine is pretty much the same. It was weird seeing them now, and knowing I saw them 7 years ago when they still included Steven Page, and yup, for the most part, they pulled it off…except for the part where your mind just begs to squish him back in there.
But what I want to write about is something I tried out at the concert, well Tansy tried them out anyway. Mutt Muffs! Yes, I know, that sounds positively disturbing…or at least it did to me. I had trouble saying the name out loud without sort of hiding my face.
So what the heck are Mutt Muffs? Well, they’re ear protection for dogs in places like, oh, say, concerts. I’ve always worried about the noise and how scary, and probably damaging, it was for my dogs. I tried cotton balls that I would put in Trix’s and Tansy’s ears, but a. I didn’t want to shove them in too far, and b. all it would take was a shake of the head and there were cotton balls on the floor, so I had to bring lots of extras.
And then I heard about these things. They’re seriously ear muffs for dogs. You strap them on under the chin, then straps hold them on over the head, and voila! The ears are completely nestled in ear muff goodness.
I just recently got them, and they arrived in the mail on the 22 of January. So, they were tried out on their maiden voyage on concert night, and after some initial help with setup, I would say they were a resounding success! Tansy lay down in the middle of yelling screaming concert goers and the usual noise of loud music that comes with a concert. She lay down and just stayed there, instead of sort of fidgeting around.
I would say the hardest parts about these things, for me, was measuring her head to make sure I got the right size, and figuring them out when they arrived in the mail. For the size, there is a helpful size chart. If you’re good with a measuring tape, you have all the info you need. Once I got my dad to help, we were in business.
When they arrived in the mail, they looked straightforward…until I tried to put them together. So many straps going so many ways! I eventually broke down, took them to a pet store and had someone help. There are instructions and pictures that come in the box, and it took them all of 5 minutes to help me put it together. Once they’re together, all you do is undo the chin strap to take them off, so you don’t have to figure out all those straps and buckles and stuff each time.
She let me put them on her head with minimal fuss. I swear, I think she’s excepting that I’ll shove things on her body, and she’s just like “ok, another thing.” We have had a coat, boots, and now mutt muffs.
But she wore them, and she seemed pretty settled! I do believe I’ve made a fine investment with all the shows we go to. Yea Mutt Muffs!