Since we don't have a fenced backyard, letting Oscar outside to play has proven to be a challenge. We either had to leash and stay with him, or we tied him up to a piece of small rope, which was anchored to one of the bird feeder poles. Either way, it was a pain in the butt and we spent more time untangling him from the legs of the patio table than actually playing. While I was searching online for rawhide bones, I came across this:

It's a tie out stake, which goes in the ground and has a rotating retractable leash attached to the top. There was a good chance this was going to be as much of a failure as the rope, but since it was less than $15, we figured it would be at least worth trying. Mr Moo set it up not long ago and it's working like a charm.

We think the retractable leash pulls on him just enough that he retreats and goes around things like the table and flower pots now instead of getting wrapped all around them like before. It's designed for small to medium dogs so the tension isn't so high he has to struggle to move, but, apparently, it's enough to get him to back up, which is exactly what we were hoping for. Oscar is looking forward to spending many sunny summer afternoons in the grass. Another dog dilemma solved!