advice needed for St bernard barrel

hi guys, (1st time posting here)

I have a piece of oak, which I’ve planed and sanded into a barrel shape, which I hope to attach to our st bernards collar. I’ve searched online, but there’s not much info on st bernard barrels…

so I thought is ask around on here, (after all, thousands or heads are better than one, right??)

I would just like advice on whether I should stain, (I’m thinking danish oil) and what paint to use to paint the flag and also what sort of vanish/laquer to use, as I’d imagine he’s gonna be jumping around in the sea with it!

here’s a pic of my project at the minute and an image of something I want to achieve. I’m going to dremel out the flag and barrel “segments” and then p

aint them. any help would be greatly appreciated!!

-- making something from nothing, and making it your own... thats life.