(VICT) Re: Dolores and Cali's blog
- From: DArste2@xxxxxxx
- To: vi-clicker-trainers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:49:07 EDT
For those of you who can't envision the size of a mini. Cali fits on a
standard, van, wheel chair lift. I know that because she has her own training
bus
here that is wheelchair accessable and took her first ride up and down on the
lift. And, she fits into a large sized dog harness. Becky Cali's breeder tells
me her measuring "stick" measures big.
I'm 5'1" and I have to reach down slightly to reach Cali's whithers. I judged
a dog show recently where I stared nose to nose at a Great Dane. He was
literally taller at the ears than me. Cali is on par or maybe slightly smaller
than
a Newfoundland dog.
To answer one of Ann's questions regarding harnesses. We are only now at the
end of week 2 of training. Up to now, I've been using a modified dog harness
that is similiar in some ways to a sled dog harness. I lays accross Cali's
shoulders like the old horse collars do. This one is not padded as we are not
working all day yet.
As I looked into the harnesses, I settled on trying the one that Julie makes:
www.livingblind.com for more than a few reasons. One is that her handle comes
off. So, we Mona can have more than one handle. You know, one for dress up
and one for sport. Just kidding. The reason this is important is that I expect
that since Mona has not had a guide before her first excursions out with Cali
may be slow. Later, as she desires more speed, she may want a longer handle. I
also visited with my Swedish friend who races Trotting horses. Here in the
States trotters race with a harness set up similiarly to the guide harnesses
I've
seen used. In Sweden, however, they are set up like the sled dog harness with
the shoulder straps along the shoulders. Marica showed me film clips of the
racing horses in Sweden and I was attracted to the freedom of shoulder movement
that I saw in those horses.
The other reason that an easily removable handle may come in handy is Mona's
desire that Cali be able to ride in a variety of cars. Most of the people that
have mini's as guides, have seeing partners and a "normal" vehicle for
travelling which is usually a van of some sort or a car set up to carry the
mini.
Mona's family may not be the primary drivers for trips with Cali. It is more
likely that she will travel by bus or with friends. Cali has shown a great deal
of ability to get into vehicles. And, while there is much to do in this area
still, one of the difficulties that I can forsee is that a handle may get
caught
on a car in which the back doors don't open wide as is the case with some
that I've looked at. Cali is fearless about getting in if she can figure out
how.
Warmly,
Dolores
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