Kangoo boots (rebounding boots)

[stepdancer]

Here are my first impressions of my Kangoo jumping boots.
http://kangoojumps.com/

Last night my husband assembled my Kangoo boots. There are two pieces that have to be bent and then slid in place and I just could not do it. I tried and got a good pec workout before admitting defeat. DH was happy to come to my rescue.

Well, these Kangoo boots are really fun! They are comfortable and stable. My ankles felt very secure, compared to roller skates or ice skates. They are unisex sized so are plenty wide in the toes. I jumped up and down, and then shifted my weight back and forth from left to right. I went through a few motions that are typical in a hi-lo class. This worked well and I realized an added benefit of the weight of the boots. It is like working out with ankle weights. Each boot weighs about a pound. The Kangoos absorb the impact; they don't make you jump very much higher so ceilings were no problem.

The fun really started when I ran. Gosh, I felt like a kid! Bong! Bong! I ran from one end of the house to the other. My dogs tend to follow me around as it is but with my loping back and forth, they really got into the new game. I ran on carpeting and hard wood and both were fine. When I try them outside, I will post about it.

Here's the negative (not too much)
Getting the first boot on is no problem. The second boot was challenging. I loosely put it on and then backed up to a wall so I could stabilize myself while I bent down to tie the laces and buckle up.

After 10 minutes, the front of my shins started to hurt from the buckle. Next time I will wear socks that come higher up. I was wearing anklets.

I made the mistake of sitting on the couch and struggled to get back up. The Kangoos make you almost 8" taller. I.e.: when sitting my knees were 8" higher and that changed my center of gravity.

The manufacturer suggest disassembling the boots between use. Ha! Since they are difficult to assemble that is just not realistic.

So far I am pretty happy with my purchase. I got them on Ebay for about $60, including shipping. I've seen them for $225, not sure I would enjoy them as much for that price.

As I use them, I'll post my thoughts. In the mean time, I would love to hear from anyone else who owns Kangoos.

Valerie

[GymRatt]

Originally posted by stepdancer
When I try them outside, I will post about it.

Outside is best with them...

I've always wanted to jog, but couldn't take the impact. With the Kangoo's, jogging was a snap. (people look at you like you're crazy, but that's ok )

Enjoy!!

GR

[Debbie S.]

I just wanted to say that your dog is so cute. I LOVE how its head is black and its body is white.

[stepdancer]

My puppy is a Newfoundland. She is a Landseer which means she is white with black markings. Her name is Holiday, Holly for short and was just 10 weeks old when I took that picture.

She is growing steadily, about 3 pounds per week. At maturity she will be around 120 pounds. We love huge dogs so we say the bigger the better!

She is in obedience class and doing very well. I will be taking her to advanced obedience and then when she is a year old take the test to become a therapy dog.

Thanks for asking so I could brag a bit about my puppy!

Valerie

[Loretta S.]

She's darling. Really I've never seen a dog like yours of any breed. I didn't know she was a puppy, so except for the color combo I would have guessed a bichon or a cockapoo (she looked similar to a black cockapoo I had when I was a kid). I didn't know that there were newfies with white markings. My mom used to have a standard black one and he was a doll. When he was a baby he had the fluffy lion's mane like your dog, so my sister named him Leo. All the newfies I have met have been the sweetest dogs, gentle giants.

[Debbie S.]

Newfies are gentle giants. They are so laid back and they have the neatest personalities. There was a newfie in the doggie obedience class that I used to go to with my ol' gal, Olga. He was a neat dog.

But, they can be protective. This dog, who was so laid back broke the back window of Jim's truck shell when he saw someone giving Jim a hug. He thought he was in danger and he went right through the window!

[stepdancer]

Dog genetics are quite powerful. Our dogs have always been true to their breeds.

My family had our first Newf when I was 4, so I have 40 years experience with the breed. Your story of the dog breaking a window is unusual. Generally Newfs have good judgement. They are exceptionally tolerant.

Also, most often just their size is enough to prevent any trouble. None of our Newfs have been barkers. Instead they make eye contact as if to say "You should think about what you're doing." One of my Newfs stared down a large stray male dog that wandered into our yard and he took several steps backwards before turning his back on her.

My German Shepherd on the other hand had to be taught not to bark. She is territorial and wants to bark warnings to the UPS truck, cats, squirrels, falling leaves, aliens.... She is a very smart dog, still learning new tricks at 9 years old.

[Julier]

May I ask how you taught your German S. not to bark? We've been trying to break ours of that habit for over a year. Sometimes it seems better than others. TIA

[stepdancer]

Since volunteering with Canine Companions for Independenc (assistance dogs for people with disabilities other than blindness), I've learned new things and have applied them to our grown dog and our new puppy. I was pleasantly surprised to find our 9 year old German Shepherd learned the quiet command in just a few weeks. When our dog barked we told her "No!" and then "quiet". As soon as there is a break in the barking, we praised her and said "good quiet". This cycle had to be repeated many times but the length of time between barking got longer and longer.

Our Shepherd will always bark when a stranger comes to the door and that is good as far as we are concerned. When I get to the door I tell her "quiet" and she stops.

Teaching a puppy "quiet" is even easier, especially if you crate train. When the puppy whines, you tell her "quiet" and praise her as soon as she is quiet. This probably won't work all by itself. The next step is to mist the puppy with a solution of water with about 10% vinegar. This will taste bad but won't harm the puppy or stain the carpeting. Also some breeds the love water actually enjoy being misted and the vinegar spoils their fun. I only had to mist my Newf puppy twice.

The only other thing is that you have to make sure you are not inadvertently rewarding your dog for barking. If she gets attention for barking, she might perceive that as a reward. This can be a challenge because you don't want your dog to disturb the neighbors or wake a sleeping baby.

I hope this is helpful.
Valerie

[Julier]

We tried both those methods. I don't mind if she barks when someone comes to the door etc. That's her role. What I don't get is the barking just for the sake of it at 1:00 a.m. .

Last night she did that too. By the time my husband went down to spray her, she had stopped. She probably knew he was coming and wanted to fake him out. Basically, she's a wonderful dog so I'm not complaining too much.

Thanks so much for the response.