[nagdu] Eager to get harnessed up

[PICKRELL, REBECCA M (TASC)]

	Best post ever! 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of The Pawpower Pack
Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2011 11:21 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Eager to get harnessed up

Laveau has a thing about harnesses.  No, I'm serious.  Between Julie  
and my husband, we've rebuilt her harness at least three times.  She  
loves it so much.  If she hears me pick it up she will come running;  
even if she's in a dead sleep.  She will shove her head in it and if I  
dare put it on another dog, she will try to push them away.

I used to make the mistake of storing the harness on a low shelf when  
she wasn't working.  Laveau would frequently get it out, and try to  
dress herself in it, putting her legs through the wrong holes and  
getting altogether tangled up.  Then she would chew herself free.   
This is why we've had to repair it so often.  If she's not trying to  
dress herself in it, she will take it to her bed, and hold it to her  
chest with her front legs.  It is hysterical.

Her harness is made of nylon and the histrionics that she displays  
when it's time to throw it in the wash could win her an academy award.

One time, I put her harness on Mill'E-Max, my golden.  Laveau saw  
this, and immediately ran over and grabbed the handle grip in her  
mouth and started pulling backward in an attempt to get it off of  
Mill'E.  I teach my dogs that backward pressure on the handle is their  
cue to go "forward."  So off went Mill'E-Max, guiding Laveau around my  
house by her mouth on the harness handle.  It was honestly one of the  
funniest things I've ever seen and I wish I had a camera, because my  
words don't do it justice.

I have learned to hide the harness from Laveau.  She is now grown up  
enough and has not chewed one in a year.  My husband is starting on  
her new grown up harness-- the teeth mark free edition.

Rox and the Kitchen Bitches
Bristol (retired), Mill'E SD and Laveau guide dog, CGC.
Do not meddle in the affaires of dragons, for you are crunchy and  
taste good with ketchup.
http://pawpower4me.blogspot.com
  pawpower4me at gmail.com
AIM: lillebriss


_______________________________________________
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%40tasc.com