Get your bitch trained (Outward Hound Treat & Training Bag)

Member Name: rolletrog

Product:	Outward Hound Treat & Training Bag
Date:	29/10/09 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Extra pocket, easy access, tons of room

Disadvantages: Not many

~~*~~*~~ Outward Hound Treat Bag ~~*~~*~~

Pig (the greatest chocolate Labrador ever known to man) has an exhausting schedule of showing, agility and obedience, and to encourage her performance (it's bribery in its simplest form) I use hotdogs, cheese and other kinds of smelly yumminess. At first I relied on my trusty coat pockets during these sessions but because I rarely wash my waterproofs, I frequently put my hand into a pocketful of mouldy mush. Mmm, nice. So, for a change, instead of purchasing Piggy a present, I treated myself to a lovely new treat bag - how exciting.

~~*~~ What is it? ~~*~~

It's a treat bag for treats. It could probably function as a crap bum-bag but really it's perfectly designed for easy treat access. It has an adjustable strap which clips around your waist and there's plenty of material left so it'll go around the largest of dog owners (apparently it stretches to 40"). There's a large main pocket which has a 'pop open/close' mechanism and a netting section in front of this which handily holds insect repellent, poo bags and a clicker (well, for me it does anyway). It's about 9" wide and 5" deep which means plenty o' hotdogs fit inside. There's a D ring to hold your keys or to tie your filled poo bag too (the life of a dog owner is a slightly unpleasant one at times) and a plastic clip to attach your lead or something similar to. It comes in red, green, black and, Pig's favourite, blue - she has all the Outward Hound accessories in blue because although she may have the face of a farmyard animal she has unbelievably good fashion sense.

~~*~~ How many gravy bones are needed to purchase one? ~~*~~

Currently, they're on Petplanet for £7.99 and I did see them on ebay for £4.99 - as ever, shopping around will produce varying results but at least on Petplanet you get to chose the colour and find out if they're in stock - plus they've other Outward Hound products so you get to coordinate (and spend over £30 quid and the postage is free (I really should get commission for that site)).

~~*~~ Will it last the life of the Pig? ~~*~~

The bag itself seems to be made very well like all Outward Hound products - you pay for quality with them. No stitching is failing and the netting part is completely intact despite the Pig frequently scrabbling at it. The material on the inside of the main pocket is excellent - on many an occasion I've gotten home and forgotten to put the bag in the fridge so the next time I use it, there's a mouldy pile of gunk in it - I merely turn the pocket inside out and wash it thoroughly and it's then good to go immediately without making the outside soggy too.
The blue material that encases the bag is somewhat stained on our treat bag because I tend to leave it in the mud whilst competing and because somepig who shall remain nameless treads on it with her great big hoofs - I suppose it could be washed but it may damage your machine as the top 'pop' section thing is made of metal. Unfortunately, this 'pop' section is somewhat of a letdown - on the one hand it starts off great as the metal does stay open when it's supposed to and it closes fairly firmly but after a few months, the metal must loose it's rigidity and now it won't close properly thus Piggy can get her great big gob in and help herself. However, the fact that it's so easy to open means I can reward her immediately with no delay which is very important when teaching Pig "Bang, you're dead". In addition, the netting section has no zip or Velcro to keep things within it so I frequently drop items as I run around the course though having this separate section is invaluable to having other items away from the treats but still to hand.
The D ring and the clip are made of pretty solid plastic so as long as Pig's lead isn't attached to her when I clip it to the treat bag it'll easily take the weight and since the clip has regularly taken the weight of one of Pig's tremendous bowel movements, I think we can safely say they're of strong material.

~~*~~ It's a treat bag, what else is there to say? ~~*~~

Not a lot, so I'll keep it brief.
It may seem pricey compared to other treat bags but it'll last, has plenty of room, two separate sections and fits easily around your waist unlike those crap pouches that you have to attach to your belt. Everything you need for your dog walk can be kept in this handy bag so we wholeheartedly recommend it.

Thanks for reading.

Caroline & Pig
October 09.

Both wondering what goodies are in the bag today.

Review will appear elsewhere, probably.

Summary: It'd make a nice chrissy present for dog people