[NAGDU] looking for suggestions regarding stress while wearing dog shoes

[Nancy VanderBrink]

At GDB last week my trainer had us put the shoes on the dog and then they got to play a lot!. It was a lot of fun and they really seem to enjoy it and I have found it to be helpful.

Please forgive the typos as this message was most likely generated using voice dictation
Nancy Irwin
Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 10, 2018, at 10:06 PM, Aleeha Dudley via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:

Hi Raul, 
Here’s what I would do. 
First, don’t make him be in harness in the beginning. Keep him in the house where he is most relaxed. Next, only put one boot on him at first, then treat him, praise highly, and take it off immediately. Gradually increase the time until he tolerates that one shoe, then do two. It may take a long time, but you may see results this way. The important thing is to not let him get stressed if possible.
Aleeha 

> On Dec 10, 2018, at 4:07 PM, Raul A. Gallegos via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi yes, I have let him sniff them and I have praised him a lot. A minute or less after he has them on, he starts panting as if he's thirsty, a sign that he's stressing.
> 
> 
> 
> Raul A. Gallegos
> First Vice President - NFB of Texas Houston Chapter
> Treasurer - Texas Association of Guide Dog Users
> Board Member - National Association of Guide Dog Users
> M: 832.554.7285   O: 832.639.4477
> Home: raul at raulgallegos.com   Work: training at RGATS.com
> Twitter: @rga7285
> 
> “Blindness is a characteristic, not a handicap!" - Dr. Kenneth Jernigan
>> On 12/10/2018 3:30 PM, Keri Svendsen via NAGDU wrote:
>> The one thing my pup likes is to sniff them before I put them on. Have you tried that?
>>> On 12/10/2018 2:28 PM, Raul A. Gallegos via NAGDU wrote:
>>> Hello all, my guide, Larry, is 3 now and will be 4 in March 2019. I confess that I have not used the dog shoes a lot since getting him when he was almost 2. However, this past summer when I really needed them because of the very hot Texas weather, I put them on him and it stressed him out a lot. So much that he peed while we were doing nothing more than standing while waiting for our ride. I remember learning how I should put 2 on at a time and then play a little with him to show him it's no big deal, but the issue with this is that I dropped the ball and didn't get him used to them. Then when the summer came around, it was necessary to avoid him walking on extremely hot concrete while trying to get from the building we working at to our ride.
>>> 
>>> If someone has suggestions on how I can minimize this and try to get him to see this as fun, please let me know. Yes, I also realize that doing this when it was needed right away wasn't the smartest thing. So, now that we are in winter-time in Texas where they are definitely not needed, I'd like to start getting him used to them so as the weather gets warmer, he will be used to it by then.
>>> 
>>> Thanks.
> 
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