[NAGDU] looking for suggestions regarding stress while wearing dog shoes

[Raul A. Gallegos]

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.