[NAGDU] Mutt mat

Aleeha Dudley blindcowgirl1993 at gmail.com
Sun Mar 25 22:43:01 UTC 2018


Hi, 
I think Ruffwear has them. 
I also think they give discounts to service animal handlers.
Aleeha

> On Mar 25, 2018, at 2:13 PM, Janell via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> 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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