[NAGDU] Mutt mat

Sun Mar 25 19:13:38 UTC 2018

I would like to know more about them too!  I always get grossed out when I ask Sully to lay on the floor of the theater, bus, subway etc.

-Janell

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ricky Joe Cook via NAGDU
Sent: Sunday, March 25, 2018 2:03 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Ricky Joe Cook <rickyjoecook at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Mutt mat

Hi all, is there a supplier that Sells the Mutt Matt? Besides getting them through that school? I am a Pilot graduate.

I think my lab would like one of them. We are in church a lot and the floor where she lays is tile and the carpet is only in the isles so I think if she had something to lay on she'd feel more comfortable.

Ricky Joe & Darcy

-----Original Message-----
From: Tracy Carcione via NAGDU
Sent: Sunday, March 25, 2018 11:43 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Cc: Tracy Carcione
Subject: [NAGDU] Mutt mat

A Mutt Mat is the blanket TSE gives its students.  It's made of cotton, like denim, jeans material.  It's 2 thicknesses of material, and it's maybe 30 by
24 inches.  It folds up easily.  It's big enough for a medium-sized dog to curl up on, but folds small enough to be stuffed into a backpack, or down the front of a jacket.
Tracy

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nancy VanderBrink via NAGDU
Sent: Sunday, March 25, 2018 12:51 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Nancy VanderBrink
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Taking Guides to Marches, Protests, etc.,

Mutt mat?  Could you enlighten me as to what it is and where you got it?

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

> On Mar 25, 2018, at 9:50 AM, Tracy Carcione via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> 
> wrote:
>
> I decided to take Krokus on the march, and he did fine.  The only part
> that confused him a bit was when we were walking in the street, but I
> let him move so that we were closer to the side than the middle, and
> that satisfied him.  I stuck his Mutt Mat in my jacket, and put it
> down for him to lie on when we got to the speechifying part, so he
> didn't get cold.  Everything worked out well.
> Tracy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of margo
> Downey via NAGDU
> Sent: Friday, March 23, 2018 3:12 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Cc: margo Downey
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Taking Guides to Marches, Protests, etc.,
>
> I've taken guid dogs to marches and protests.  No problem.
>
> Margo and Isis
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Heather
> Bird via NAGDU
> Sent: Friday, March 23, 2018 1:54 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Cc: Heather Bird
> Subject: [NAGDU] Taking Guides to Marches, Protests, etc.,
>
> One thing I have working in my favor is that my dog is from TSE and we
> mostly use the word Pfui, pronounced like the French word for yes,
> with an F sound at the beginning, fwee, not foo wee, so "no" does not
> automatically equal "You are being a bad dog." Dogs often get upset by
> chanting, even positive chanting, because it is loud, and intense, even if 
> the word "no"
> isn't involved. Also, dogs can pick up on emotions and protests are
> often charged with emotion, both negative and positive emotions. What
> I did with Ilsa was use the clicker to make a positive association. I
> used a few things I knew would be similar to what she would hear. I
> played crowds chanting "We will, we will rock you." And "Black lives 
> matter." And "N F B, N F B."
> complete with stomping or table thumping. Every time a chant would
> start I would click and treat. I would play the recording or let the
> other people chant, and I would say "Atta girl, good girl, big noise, atta 
> good girl."
> While it was going on. She was alert and slightly alarmed the first
> few times, now she just wags and sits up alertly looking for a possible 
> treat.
> I do intermittently and totally randomly reward after the initial
> desensitization has been achieved, in order to maintain it. We had to
> pass through a group of protesters down town and they were chanting
> and shouting and banging on their thighs and clapping. Ilsa just
> wagged like a goof ball and kept going. I did a mouth mark of a click
> I have gotten very good at and once we got past them I clicked again
> and gave her a piece of cheese I had in my bag. This will work with a
> lot of dogs, in theory, any dog sound enough to be graduated as a
> guide should be able to deal with this stimuli, as long as no one is 
> throwing things or trying to assault you or your dog.
> But realistically not all guides are the same and not all training
> programs, and even really solid dogs from really great schools can
> develop fears as they age, so I would suggest that everyone do this
> desensitization training in some way shape or form, but be cognizant
> of how your dog is reacting and proceed accordingly. It's better to
> plan and then never need it, then to discover in the middle of a
> legislative seminar, or a convention, or a sporting event, that your dog 
> has just been traumatized.
> You can make yourself a bit bipolar and you will feel super weird
> during the training, but it is worth it "Jeremy, if I ever hear
> something like that come out of your mouth again, you will lose the
> iPad for a week. Atta girl Ilsa, Ilsa is a good girl, no one's mad at
> Ilssa, because she's a good girl." "NFB, NFB, Good Girl Ilsa, NFB, NFB, 
> big noise, good girl, NFB, NFB."
> (To the beat of the crowd chanting "We will, we will rock you." "Good
> girl, Good girl, Ilsa." "We say, hell no, (insert name of politician)
> has got to go. Great job. That's a good Ilsa." In the immediate, it
> can be a little bit crazy-making, but the rewards are very obvious
> when you have a pretty much bomb proof dog, happily doing their job
> when you encounter or participate in a large, loud group activity
> which would be disconcerting to an unprepared dog. I used the same
> method to get Ilsa used to fireworks, because they can legally set
> them off in our area around the few weeks before and after the fourth
> of July and they sometimes do so even in the day time. I would click
> inside the house every time one went off far away, and treat, then we
> would sit outside and listen, click and treat, then we would get
> fairly close to an active display, more click and treat. One
> afternoon, a little while before sunset, someone set off some
> fireworks in a parking lot we were passing. I seriously jumped, both
> feet off of the sidewalk several inches, almost peed my freaken pants,
> (have two babies the natural way and your won't judge) and what did
> Ilsa do? She jumped then turned and looked at me, sat down, tail
> swishing and nosed my hip where my bait pouch is when I am working
> with the clicker. So I retrieved my heart from my throat, took a deep
> breath and gave her a treat. As we continued our route they set them
> off again, a half a dozen more times, one while we were crossing a busy 
> street. Ilsa just continued to the up curb, and once out of the street, 
> she paused and turned to me enquiring about the possibility of another 
> treat.
> Had I not done this training, she might have been ruined that night,
> or at the very least, we might have been stranded sitting on someone's
> front lawn with a shaking dog waiting for someone to drive and come
> and rescue us. Had I not prepared her and had the fireworks started in
> the middle of that crossing, we likely would have been hit by a car if
> she had frozen or had bolted. So, I absolutely support bringing guides
> to various types of protests and marches, just prepare ahead of time
> and know what to expect and help your dog know what to expect. Walking
> in a march, parade, etc. is a whole separate issue with regards how
> you want them to guide you, especially if you are walking in the
> street, and how to best go about it will depend on your dog, your
> school and how often you intend to participate in such events, so that
> is probably a subject for a whole different post, right there.
>
>
>
> Heather Bird
>
> "They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I
> wasn't a Communist.
>
> Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
>
> Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because
> I wasn't a trade unionist.
>
> Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was
> a Protestant.
>
> Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up."
> - Martin Niemöller
>
> In our diverse society we must never fail to speak up in the face of
> Human Rights violations lest we be the next targets of such violations.
>
>
>
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