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

[Tamara Smith-Kinney]

Agreed!  Even though I privately believe that jeans and sneakers are
appropriate to any and every occasion...  /grin/

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC)
Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2010 12:10 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
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






_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
nagdu:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/rebecca.pickrell%
40ngc.com

_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/tamara.8024%40comcast
.net