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

Lyn Gwizdak linda.gwizdak at cox.net
Fri Oct 15 04:54:16 UTC 2010


I'd agree with you, Rebecca.

I forgot who it was who wanted to go to a school that wouldn't give her a 
hard time in letting her train in heels during the last phase of her 
training. It makes perfect sense to do this if she wears these shoes 
normally in her everyday life.

Seeing Eye wouldn't have any problem with her doing this. Don't know aboout 
the other schools  - I don't wear those kind of shoes. Doing this should be 
part of the woman's free lance work.

Lyn and Landon
----- 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>
Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2010 12:09 PM
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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