[nagdu] harness or not?

[Nicole Torcolini]

I think that there are a number of things to consider here. If the dog seems
comfortable in the harness, and the dog fits where he needs to go with the
harness on, then probably just leave it on. I always took the handle off of
my harness when I put Lexia under my chair because I use an offset handle,
and those don't fit as well under chairs. As far as the effect on the dog
and people around you of taking the harness off, I would think that it would
be possible to minimize those. If you are talking about one of those classes
where you go and listen to the professor talk, then people should not be
paying attention to your dog in the first place. Also, just the fact that
your dog is there when dogs are not usually allowed should be enough to
indicate to people that he is not an ordinary dog. If you find that your dog
is better behaved when in harness, then that might be a reason to leave it
on. However, dogs usually come to understand that, in certain places,
harness or not, they need to behave. One final consideration is if, when
leaving the harness on, your dog might decide that it is a portable chew
toy. Luckily, I have never had this happen, but I would still check on your
dog a few times during class the first few times, especially if he has not
had to lay still for that long before. Different dogs respond differently.
For some, it is a welcomed nap time; Lexia slept through most of my classes
in both high school and college. For others, it might be the most boring
thing in the world. These are just my thoughts.

Nicole and Lexia 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Shannon Dyer
Sent: Monday, August 26, 2013 5:58 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] harness or not?

I worked two dogs while in college. Both undergrad and grad school consisted
of classes that were three hours long. I always left my dogs' harnesses on.
Neither one seemed to mind, and I felt it made it clear that, even though
the dogs were lying down, they were working, and were expected to behave
properly.

Shannon and Ace
On Aug 26, 2013, at 11:17 AM, "daniel" <gutz2020 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hey guys, as yall know I'm going to be starting college really soon. I 
> have a question though: My classes are like an hour and a half long, 
> what do I do with my dog's harness? Do I leave it on or do I take it 
> off? I feel like that's a long time to leave the harness on when she's 
> going to be laying down but I don't know!
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Dan
> 
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