The dog boot saga continues with guide number 3

As I wrote in my blog post yesterday,  I decided that I would never buy another pair or rather set of dgo boots again.  It was too much trouble and too expensive.  Then, I met Gia.  My third guide dog and my first golden retriever.  After two dogs who hated wearing coats or boots or anything but their working harnesses, I was astonished in class to find that Gia enjoyed wearing her rain coat.  She modeled it.  She pranced.  She danced.  She wagged.  When I got her a winter coat (another story for another blog entry) she loved that too.  So, I decided perhaps I should loosen my restrictions on dog boots.  I bought her a pair.  She tolerated them being put on better than the others.  She walked in them well.  But, still we lost them sometimes.  Hear about a few of our spectacular boot adventures starting tomorrow!

dog boots continued

My second guide dog was a yellow labrador named Margaret and she also hated her dog boots.
I was determined though to persist with the boots as she also had very bad food allergies which made her feet particularly sensitive and she really hated the salt and limped a lot especially at bus stops where they always seem to really pile on thesalt.
I tried several kinds of boots but she managed to lose many of them no matter how careful I was.
The other complication is that often when you lose one boot, you have to buy four more. So, after Margaret, I was left with a drawer filled with odd dog boots. I decided that no more dog boots for any of my dogs but my next guide proved me wrong about this rule. stay tuned tomorrow.

Are the dog boots really on the dog paws?

One of the most difficult things for me about having dogs wear their boots, is knowing whether or not the boots are staying on the feet.  The story I told a couple of days ago, illustrates that the first time I tried them on my first guide, I had no idea that I had to check.  I thought that once they were on, they stayed on.  This is not always the case.  If someone with full sight puts boots on their dogs, they can glance down periodically at the paws.  Or perhpas they see a boot flying off or see it in the snow.  I can do none of these things.  One way to check on the status of boots is to feel them periodically.  Maybe at each street corner?  But, this is not an easy task.  Usually, when it is cold enough for my dog to need to wear boots, it is also cold enough that I need to wear thick warm gloves or mittens.  Once they are on, I can't feel the dog boots.  So, I need to stop, remove a mitten, hurriedly touch each foot to see if the boot is still on, and then put the glove back on.  And, if the boot is gone, where is it?  Do I wait outside in the freezing cold to ask someone to look for it?  Or do I just carry on?  I can sometimes hear if a boot is missing by the sound of the dog feet.  This is harder when there are many other sounds in the environment but I have caught this by sound a few times.  I did call my co workers on my cell phone one time to ask if they could keep an eye out on the way out to their cars for boots.  Stories of dog boot adventures continue tomorrow.  Two days of dog boot wearing this week and still all four pawz boots are in place.  Yay Tulia!  Yay me!

Happy birthday Louis Braille.

I interrupt my posts on dog boots and winter to say happy birthday to Louis Braille. It is hard to believe that braille is over 200 years old and in some ways has never changed. Yes, there are braille displays and braille printers now but braille itself has not changed. Some say in these days of computer programs that read aloud text on the screen, audio books, etc, that braille is dying. I sure hope it isn't. When given a choice, I will read in braille if I can. I have read studies that blind people who know braille are more likely to be employed. I would urge anyone going blind to try to learn at least a little of braille. I love braille. Happy happy birthday to you Louis Braille you have had a very huge effect on my life.

Dog boots

Yesterday, I began a new series on this blog about challenges in the winter for me as a blind person.  I started by talking about my winter boots.  Today, I talk about my guide dog's winter boots.  Actually, this talk of dog boots will go on for a few days.  Today, my first experience with dog boots.  My first guide dog was a lovely black labrador girl named Gwenny.  She was raised in southern California and trained at guide dogs for the blind in San Rafael California.  http://www.guidedogs.com/ She had never seen snow or winter before I got her.  For the first few years we were together, we lived in British Columbia and so didn't see much snow then either.  When we moved back East, the first winter was a big shock to Gwenny.  She didn't like the salt burning her paws.  So, I went and bought boots for her.  Gwenny hated wearing anything other than her harness.  She would not walk in a rain coat even though she didn't like the rain.  She would sit herself down and refuse to move unless I removed the embarrassing coat.  My school and vet suggested to put the boots on, walk around the neighbourhood and praise her for wearing her boots.  I put them on, put the harness on, and set off.  Being new to this, I didn't think to check the boots.  I figured that once the boots were on, they stayed on.  I kept walking around saying,  "Aren't you good for wearing your boots."  When we got home, only one boot remained on.  Gwenny never would wear boots or coat and so I had to give up on them with her.  Tomorrow, more dog boot stories.  It is minus 20 something out today so dress warmly if you too are in the cold.

Blindness and winter boots.

As I got all dressed up to take my dog outside this morning, I decided to blog about the challenges of being totally blind in a winter climate. Let's start today with winter boots. I also want to say that these views are mine and not all blind people would necessarily agree with them. So, winter boots. It gets cold here so I definitely need winter boots that are warm. For me, I don't want them with heels. I want to feel the ground beneath my feet. They need to be warm, good grippy soles, with good traction. but, walking in winter boots poses a few problems. First, when traveling around, I get a lot of information from all of my senses and my whole body. That starts with my feet. While wearing shoes, I can feel changes in surface. The bumpy pavement just before my mail box. The slight dip of the little driveway before a certain garbage can. With boots on, I still feel the big changes in elevation but not always these little cues for my environment. tomorrow, another installment. It is slippery out this morning. Be careful all.

What shall I blog about in 2012?

So, happy new year to all. May 2012 be wonderful for all of you. I'm wondering what to blog about this year. I'm thinking of blogging on different themes perhaps. Blindness and technology, blindness and traveling around, funny things about being blind, frustrating things about being blind, how tos. Myths and misconceptions. Any suggestions are welcome.