Types of Service DOgs
Guide Dogs
Guide dogs may have been the first time we know them today. In fact, the earliest recorded example of a guide dog dates back to the first century CE, and active and standardized guide dog training dates back to the 1700s.
One of the most unique traits of guide dogs is “selective disobedience”: the ability to obey orders but also to make choices based on their own assessment of the situation.
Diabetic Alert Dogs
Dogs have about 300 million scent receptors in their noses, compared to the poor 6 million we as humans have, which makes their sense of smell 10,000 to 100,000 times sharper than ours. And with awesome scent abilities comes the ability to smell things we can’t, like chemical changes in blood sugar. For people with diabetes, this means they can be alerted to drops in blood sugar before they reach dangerous levels, and if they experience a critical fall, others can be alerted.
It gives people with diabetes a sense of security and independence that they may never have known.
Mobility Aid Dogs
Mobility assistance dogs perform invaluable tasks for people with motor disabilities, especially those in wheelchairs. They can do anything, whether it’s pulling wheelchairs or pressing elevator buttons, and often have the responsibility of helping handlers with many of the day-to-day actions that many of us take for granted. .
Mobility assistance dogs also work with people with arthritis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and spinal cord injuries, among others.
Psychiatric Service Dogs
Mental health disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and bipolar disorder can be extremely debilitating. People with these disorders may have difficulty taking care of themselves or leaving their home, and may regularly have panic attacks or intense emotions in public. Psychiatric Assistance Dogs provide a comforting barrier in times of distress and can perform a variety of tasks, including protecting their owner’s personal space and turning on the light before the owner enters a room to stay. feel more secure.
Although many of their tasks are emotionally based, psychiatric service dogs undergo extensive training and are not pets within the meaning of the legal definition.