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Can a Service Dog Help You?
If you are living with a disability, you may qualify for a service dog. A service dog is a trained, working animal that provides care to their human based on their disability. They may be trained to protect a person during a seizure, guiding someone who is visually impaired, pulling a person in a wheelchair, alerting someone who is hearing impaired, or even helping a person remember when it is time to take medication.
Psychiatric service dogs are trained to help people with a mental illness or disability including addiction. Addicts are able to turn to their pups in difficult times when they need comfort and support and would otherwise be alone without them. The dogs encourage responsibility and accountability and keep people going through addiction recovery active and social.
Service dogs are not just pets. While they may provide comfort and emotional support, that is not their sole purpose. In fact, other people are not allowed to interact with a service dog when he is working in public. That means no saying the dog’s name, talking to the dog, petting the dog, eye contact with the dog, or any other action intended to distract the dog from his job.
How to Choose Your Service Dog
Breed
The most important quality to look for in a service dog is reliability. A properly trained, reliable dog has the ability to save your life in a hazardous event. So it’s not about picking your favorite breed of dog– it’s about finding the kind that is best suited to help you in an emergency.
Different breeds each have their own specific talents:
Poodles are great at detecting food allergens and can be trained to do other tasks that help people with limited mobility. This breed is also hypoallergenic.
- Pomeranians are good medical alert dogs and can help people who are hearing impaired.
- Collies seem to have a heightened ability to detect seizures in advance.
- Golden retrievers have a gentle temperament and are great with children who have autism.
- German shepherds are pretty much good at everything, but they are especially stable guide dogs.
Lifestyle
You should also take your lifestyle into consideration when choosing a service dog. Things such as the size of your house, whether or not you have a yard, allergies, and your overall activity should all help you determine which dog is best for you. If your home is a small apartment and you are generally sedentary, an active breed may grow restless and bored living there. Or if you hate the idea of picking hair off your clothes and furniture constantly, maybe don’t go for a long hair breed.
Choosing between a puppy and an adult dog is your next step. With a puppy, you have more control over its training and overall outcome. However, they are a lot of work and can be very destructive in the first couple years of their life. With an adult dog, what you see is what you get. Many adult dogs enter and graduate service dog training every year.
The most important thing you can do when searching for a service dog is take your time. Your service dog is going to be your constant companion. It’s important that you find one with which you have great chemistry so you can trust him. Meet several dogs, talk to other people you know who have service dogs, and tap into any resources your local animal shelter or veterinarian may provide.
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Service dogs help people with disabilities live safer and happier lives. When choosing a dog, it’s important to pick one that will be reliable. Different breeds have different talents, but you should also take your lifestyle into consideration. In the end, you want to do as much research as possible and have patience when it comes to finding the right one.
This article was contributed by “Bernie the Boxer.” We thought it was an excellent, easy-to-read summary of the main ideas to consider when getting a service dog. Thank you, Bernie! You are one smart guy and we appreciate your paw-sitively wonderful contributions to MyMagicDog.com.
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