[NAGDU] smelly leather harnesses

[Ann Edie]

Hi, Aleeha,

I suggest cleaning the harness with saddle soap, then using a leather conditioner on it. I use one called Leather Therapy, but there are many others. You can get the saddle soap and conditioners at horse tack shops and I'm sure they are also available online from vet supply or horse supply sites, although I've never bought them that way. This process leaves the leather feeling and smelling great and also keeps the leather supple and helps it last longer.

Back in the early 1990's when I was at the Seeing Eye, they used to have all the students spend time on the days before we got the dogs and started using our new leashes and harnesses, going over our tack with saddle soap several times to protect and soften the leather. I wonder do they still do this at TSE or any other school? They also taught us how to remove the hardware from the leash and then shorten the leash a bit, in case the leash stretched from being pulled on by the dogs or from the handler giving leash corrections. I remember that my Bailey's leash was the only one in our class that didn't need shortening by the end of class. His leash hadn't stretched because he was such a good boy.

Best,
Ann

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Aleeha Dudley via NAGDU
Sent: Friday, February 23, 2018 9:41 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Aleeha Dudley
Subject: [NAGDU] smelly leather harnesses

Hi all, 
My dog does not have a natural odor about her that I notice, but her harness smells pretty strongly of dog. It gets hot here in the summer, and I suspect it has to do with that. However, I’m looking for a way to make the harness smell a bit better. I know that if I notice it, so does everyone else.
Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. 
Aleeha 
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