I thought model Olivia Culpo and 49er Christian McCaffrey only just got married, but time is a mindf–k and the wedding happened in June 2024. Olivia and Christian are already coming up on their two-year anniversary, and they’re now a family of four that includes eight-month-old daughter Colette Annalise and six-year-old son Oliver Sprinkles. Oliver also happens to be a toy goldendoodle, but he is still every inch Olivia’s baby and a super big bro to his sister-from-another-species! So all is good in the Culpo-McCaffrey house these days; it’s just outside in the backyard where there’s a problem: coyotes! Though both members of the canine family, hungry prowlers Canis latrans can easily cause serious harm to Canis lupus familiaris (aka domestic dogs). So over the weekend Olivia did what any mom would to keep their pup safe… and got a hair cut? Yes! She kept the clippings and spread them around her backyard to ward off coyotes, and shared the whole story on Instagram:
Olivia Culpo isn’t messing around when it comes to protecting her precious Goldendoodle, Oliver Sprinkles, especially after spotting coyotes in her backyard.
On Sunday, March 8, Culpo took to Instagram Stories to share photos from the hair salon, revealing that she had gathered her chopped-off locks to take home and use to repel coyotes.
“I asked if I could take the hair we cut to sprinkle along my fence line to scare away the coyotes. This is the level of insane dog mom I am but by the way, it works! The coyotes are everywhere and hungry,” she wrote, sharing a small plastic bag with her hair in it.
The former Miss USA winner later shared a video of her sprinkling her hair in her backyard, stating, “Unfortunately for me they live IN my backyard.”
In fact, Culpo shared footage of a coyote right at her glass fence and peering into her backyard. “This video honestly still haunts me,” she wrote, adding, “A cute but ‘hungry’ coyote… trying to eat my baby and during the day.”
She also posted a video of a coyote in her backyard, showing that the animal had hopped her fence. Culpo shared that she happily read “all of your advice” from her fans, adding that she has “coyote vests and air horns” to protect Oliver. “There’s no fence height or secret hair trick that can 100% guarantee your dog’s safety,” she wrote.
Had y’all heard of this hair trick before? I sure hadn’t, and I was skeptical, but yes it is a real thing. The scent marking from the human hair is what repels the coyotes. Human urine works as well, but apparently the gold standard is wolf urine, do with that info what you will. If you’d prefer an alternative to urine of any variety, ammonia and vinegar also send coyotes packing (and who wouldn’t want their backyard to smell like ammonia or vinegar?). Best of all, do as Olivia suggests and have a few remedies on hand at all times. The gift of pup parenthood is that we must take their safety seriously! Remember when Brittany Furlan had to pull her dachshund Neena from the mouth of a coyote in her LA backyard? I sure do, because I can still hear the sound of Brittany’s screams from the security camera footage!! Even larger dogs whose literal job is to guard the sheep from coyotes, even they can be severely hurt in a coyote rumble. And look, it’s not that I’m anti-coyote writ large; my heart empathizes with anyone who’s perennially hungry! Like I said, it’s just that our pups are dependent on us, and by dog we must not let them down.
Olivia Culpo shares videos of coyotes outside her house! She has little dogs and is working to keep them safe pic.twitter.com/kgdmdqOqpA
— celebitchy (@celebitchy) March 9, 2026
Photos via Instagram and credit: Getty Images, BFA.com/BACKGRID
Coyotes are crazy in the Bay. They’ve rushed my dog when she was peeing in the backyard. Coyotes ate a friend’s dog and then tried to get in their house. Be safe, Oliver!
I live in north Georgia. We have coyotes but they are considered invasive as they were brought here years ago. I cannot imagine the coyote problem in California, though. I’d be stressed all the time.
We live on five acres and have had coyotes. I called Fish and Wildlife Service and they said they aren’t a threat unless they are rabid, but to keep a jar of spare change outside and shake it and that will scare them off. One day our dog was PLAYING with a coyote puppy, the mom was watching about fifteen feet away, I shook the jar with all my might, and those coyotes bolted away immediately. I couldn’t believe it. My dog ran to me and stared at me like I had lost my mind and was bummed I scared her new friend away.
I like to donate my hair to to charities so that they can try to make wigs with it but sometimes it’s not long enough so I’ve been told that my hair is either used as repellent for wild animals or put into things used to counter oil spills in the sea. I’ve always found it fun that your hair will always be useful.
(Little tidbit : in order to be made into a wig your hair needs to be as long as a A4 sheet of paper.)