[NAGDU] NAGDU Digest, Vol 165, Issue 8

Retina pwolf1 at wolfskills.com
Wed Dec 12 17:44:28 UTC 2018


I have thought here that might be helpful.  Metukah is eight, and has used shoes before.  She did fine when we introduced her to them, with of course that wonderful freaky, wonky stumbling at first that is so comical.  But in minutes she had it down and got normal.  

This is not the part that will help you it sounds like. Just to say we have experience with shoes. It seems that she goes a little nuts anytime that there's been over a year between events. So perhaps every dog has some level of this anyway. Here is something that might be helpful, because I was recently in a situation where I was going to take her many miles on a rocky beach area. I had not thought ahead and it never occurred to me that we would need shoes for her there. What the stores had was way too big for her. So I cut a pair of my own socks, after putting them up on her feet and well up past the transition joint of shoulder to leg. There's that little knobby area up there where you can secure a human sized sock and it basically covers much of the leg. The toe of socks is usually a little bit reinforced. I often have a little roll of paper tape with me, the kind that you can get in a first aid department at the store, or at the dollar store. I pulled up the sock and made a rap at the around the upper joint, and then another rep behind the toes and heel pad, the equivalent of what would be ankle for us. This secured the sock up the leg and around the operating area of the foot. On rocky gravel and varied sand, we got about 3 miles out of those socks. When I wore them out I turned them over top to bottom surface, and got another 2 miles out of that! It was very comfortable for her. This will not work on snow and ice because it will transmit cold. But it will work with abrasive and hot surfaces. The point I'm making for you, is not this. The point is they are extremely comfortable once you have them on and they don't change much of anything about the walk. This might make a good transition device for you. I think that putting on regular shoes after that we'll be less of a challenge, does anybody have thoughts on this question mark Best of luck!
> On Dec 12, 2018, at 4:00 AM, nagdu-request at nfbnet.org wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
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>   1. Re: looking for suggestions regarding stress while wearing
>      dog shoes (Nancy VanderBrink)
>   2. Re: looking for suggestions regarding stress while wearing
>      dog shoes (Tracy Carcione)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2018 13:31:54 +0000
> From: Nancy VanderBrink <vandyvanderbrink at outlook.com>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
> 	<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] looking for suggestions regarding stress while
> 	wearing dog shoes
> Message-ID:
> 	<MWHPR10MB2046F6CA48267BD8678D9D6FCEA60 at MWHPR10MB2046.namprd10.prod.outlook.com>
> 	
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
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> 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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> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2018 11:21:34 -0500
> From: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,	the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
> 	<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] looking for suggestions regarding stress while
> 	wearing dog shoes
> Message-ID: <585bf5d584b520a5cfe0535cc6666f2f.squirrel at mail.panix.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
> 
> Hi Raul.
> Is it possible the shoes don't fit him well?  Maybe a different style
> might be more comfortable?
> I had some shoes that were like socks with lether soles, and Velcro to
> hold them on.  They might protect his feet from heat, while being more
> forgiving/roomy than harder shoes.  My trouble was they would sometimes
> fall off, and they weren't too useful in the snow, since they got wet. 
> They'd be better in dry conditions.
> I've totally forgotten the brand, though.
> Tracy
> 
>> 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.
>> 
>> --
>> 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   W: 832.639.4477
>> Email: raul at raulgallegos.com
>> Twitter: @rga7285
>> 
>> ???Blindness is a characteristic, not a handicap!" - Dr. Kenneth Jernigan
>> 
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> End of NAGDU Digest, Vol 165, Issue 8
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