[NAGDU] Mutt mat

Miranda knownoflove at gmail.com
Sun Mar 25 23:15:03 UTC 2018


Hi,
Search for the mutt Matt company. I believe their website might be: www.themuttmatcompany.com. RuffWear doesn’t sell them, as these are two separate manufacturers.
I hope this helps, and have a wonderful week!

Best wishes, Miranda


Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 25, 2018, at 6:43 PM, Aleeha Dudley via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> 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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