[nagdu] EXTERNAL: Re heels (shoes) and guide dogs

[Danielle Montour]

True.

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC)" <REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:09:43 -0400
Subject: Re: [nagdu] EXTERNAL: Re heels (shoes) and guide dogs

And even if it is about vanity, so what? We are human beings, 
some of us
are women, and we all want to look attractive.  If a school fails 
to
understand that, then I wouldn't go there either, because they 
are
saying "Your womanhood doesn't matter".  Not a place I want to do
business.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
On
Behalf Of Elizabeth Rene
Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2010 2:38 PM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: EXTERNAL:[nagdu] Re heels (shoes) and guide dogs

I laughed out loud when I first saw this title, because it 
reminded me
of my
late guide Rafael, who had a terrible habit of chewing shoes.  No 
matter

what I did to train or correct him around this, or where I put 
the
shoes,
Raf liked nothing better than to turn over a high-heeled shoe and 
chew
on
the heel!  Right in front of me, too.  Maybe he was telling me 
that I
needed
to come down "a peg."

I've worn high heels almost every day since I got my first guide 
dog in
1977.

I try to avoid the true spike heel because it gets caught in 
gratings,
and
imagine being a dog getting stepped on with a spike heel!  
Unthinkable.

I don't like heels higher than 2 3/4 inches, because climbing the 
hills
in
downtown Seattle in heels throws my posture off.  I do have a 
pair of
tall,
three-inch high, chunky-heeled dress boots, but I bought them
hesitantly,
and only because they fit my calves better than anything else I 
could
find
at the time.

I think that wedge heels are best for someone worried about 
getting
heels
caught on things, and I like them a lot.  Also, some wedge-heeled 
dress
shoes I've found have toes that turn up about an inch, which 
makes them
more
comfortable to walk in and prevents tripping on cracks in the 
sidewalk.
I
do really love these turned-up toes, and I think they're cute.

When I buy shoes, I obviously have my guide dog with me, so I 
walk with
him
in his harness as part of the trying-on process.  If I'm not 
comfortable

guiding in the shoes, I don't buy them.

I also take shoes of various heel-heights with me to guide dog 
school to
use
on training routes toward the end of class.  That way, I add 
another
dimension to my route, and see how the new guide and I will 
function in
the
real world for which I dress.  If the school won't support this 
idea, I
don't go there.  This isn't about vanity.  It's about the school 
and me
addressing the practicalities of what I'll actually be doing in 
life
once my
dog and I cease being trainees.  I want a school that will
enthusiastically
help me and my guide move seamlessly into our professional life
together.

Platform shoes aren't entirely out for me, though the height of 
the
platform
should be low to moderate.  The construction of the shoe 
determines how
well
it lets me feel the terrain under foot, and some platform does 
protect
(me)
against impact fatigue.  I check out tactile sensitivity when I 
try on
platform shoes.  And I check out sole construction and traction 
then,
too,
for any shoe.

SAS and Rockport make nice dress shoes designed especially for 
walking.
These are usually loafers, dress flats, low wedges, or the 
occasional
2-inch
heel pump.  These brands have soles with good traction, too.

Lastly, keeping high heels in good repair is essential.  Once the 
heel
tips
start to wear down, they're not as safe or comfortable to walk 
in.  If
you
walk as much as I do, it's easy to wear down heels, and it can 
get
expensive
to have them fixed all the time.  The best solution might be to 
walk
outdoors in flats, then don the heels at the office, keeping them 
in the

bottom desk drawer to be worn exclusively at work.

Elizabeth






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