Service dogs are more than just well-behaved canine companions adorned in cool vests. These dogs are highly trained partners, each uniquely equipped to provide life-changing assistance to individuals with a wide range of disabilities. They are also a testament to the deep bond between humans and dogs, offering not just practical help but also emotional support and a sense of security.
“Any dog can be a service dog,” says Michelle Cote, a Connecticut-based trainer specializing in service-dog certification for veterans, first responders, and civilians struggling with conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression.
A good service dog must possess certain key qualities. Cote says they need to be “easy to train and have a will to please, but they also need a sense of civil disobedience to do what they have been trained to do—they need to know what’s right and make independent decisions.”
They also need a keen sense of observation. But perhaps most importantly, they require a remarkable sense of calmness and focus, allowing them to work effectively in public spaces amid distractions.
5 Different Types of Service Dogs
While there are many types of service dogs, these are the most common types:
- Psychiatric-services dogs are trained to assist individuals with mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression and PTSD. These dogs offer emotional support, performing calming behaviors like nuzzling or providing deep pressure therapy
- Visually impaired service dogs, arguably the best-known service dogs, guide dogs are trained to assist individuals who are blind or visually impaired and help them navigate through public spaces, alerting them.
- Hearing-impaired service dogs are trained to assist individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. They are trained to detect and alert their owners to sounds like doorbells, smoke detectors, and phones.
- Mobility assistance dogs serve individuals with limited mobility and are trained to perform tasks like retrieving dropped items, opening doors, and pulling wheelchairs, and even providing balance support.
- Autism service dogs support those on the autism spectrum. For children, they provide physical safety and emotional support. Cote said autism service dogs also provide support to families, helping them engage in activities as simple as going to the park or out for dinner.
Specialized Medical Service Dogs
The field of service dogs is constantly evolving to meet individual needs and several types of specialized service dogs are emerging:
- Diabetic service dogs can detect changes in blood sugar levels, alerting their diabetic handler to take corrective measures.
- Allergy detection dogs are trained to identify allergens like peanuts and help individuals with severe allergies stay safe.
- Seizure alert service dogs detect the onset of seizures and are trained to help keep their handler safe during an episode.
Service Dogs Allowed
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects the rights of handlers and their service dogs. With few exceptions, services dogs are allowed anywhere their handlers frequents. The ADA defines a service animal as a dog that:
- Is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.
- The tasks performed by the dog must be directly related to the person’s disability.
- The disability can be physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or mental.
Business owners, managers and staff cannot ask for documentation or medical information of any kind and may ask only two questions, according to the ADA:
- Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
- What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
A Lesson For All Dog Owners
Beyond the assistances service dogs provide their owners, a study by Purdue University’s Human-Animal Bond Research Institute suggests the bond goes deeper.
The study involved 120 individuals with disabilities and measured their levels of anxiety, depression, anger, loneliness and sleep quality compared to before they started working with their service dogs.
The results showed a significant decrease in anxiety, anger, and loneliness after partnering with a service dog. While the study focused on service dogs and their handlers, the findings are a reminder of the mental benefits dogs provide to all owners.
