Dogs are naturally skilled and intelligent, and with the proper training, they can do just about anything. In this article, we will look at how psychiatric service dogs can help you with your anxiety.
If you are an animal lover, you know that being around pets can fill your heart and calm you down. And while you may prefer certain species and breeds over others, there is a reason why dogs are specifically considered man’s best friend. They have followed human beings through tribal wars, national disasters, and climate change — surely they are better adapted to sensing our emotional distress as compared to other animals?
Accordingly, they are intelligent, fiercely loyal, and with proper training, unbelievably obedient, because of which dogs have been employed in multiple ways. You may know that there are bomb-sniffing dogs, military dogs, and guide dogs. But did you know that there are dogs with skills utilized particularly for mental and emotional disorders? There are even variations and unique roles for dogs who fall under this group.
Three kinds of dogs for people with anxiety
Therapy dogs
Therapy dogs are pets that have been tested for their temperament and are registered with a therapy dog organization. They are well-trained and commonly seen providing comfort in nursing homes, hospitals, orphanages, and other institutions. Most therapy dogs are volunteers, together with their owners.
Emotional support dogs
Emotional support dogs are meant to provide comfort to their owners by their mere presence. They are not trained for specific tasks, nor are they utilized for much other than being with their owners. Nonetheless, they are often very helpful to their owners in cases of public emotional attacks.
Psychiatric service dogs
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, for a dog to qualify for psychiatric service, its owner must have a mental disability. Psychiatric service dogs are then given specialized training to conduct support tasks on behalf of their owners. They are then viewed as working dogs and not pets.
Any breed could qualify for any of the roles mentioned above. However, the psychiatric service dog for you may need to be a specific size, depending on your needs. For example, it would be difficult for a toy poodle to turn on your light. This is why the most common psychiatric service dog breeds are German shepherds, Labradors, Golden Retrievers, and Huskies. Poodles could still qualify, but they have to be of larger standard sizes.
What can psychiatric service dogs do?
Medical and Signal Alert
Your psychiatric service dog can be trained to stay aware of panic and anxiety attacks. It can fetch water and medication for you, help you calm down by disrupting emotional overload and providing tactile stimulation, and alert others and seek help on your behalf if the anxiety attack is severe.
It can even be taught to sense the changes in your body. This means that if it notices that you are on the verge of breaking into an anxiety attack, it will use its leg to paw and distract you to try and prevent the attack from happening in the first place. It will also prompt you to take your medications, and won’t stop nagging until you have done so.
Deep Pressure Therapy
Deep pressure therapy involves a dog using its weight and warmth to mitigate your anxiety. It can be used as an everyday calming strategy, a disruption measure, and a mindfulness technique, depending on what is needed at the moment. Your dog would offer this to you as you require it or as it identifies the need in you.
If this is something that you look forward to, you may opt for larger breeds as they would apply more pressure on you. However, an advantage of smaller dogs is that they can be trained to stay still in a sling while putting all their weight on your chest. It makes them ready for deep pressure therapy, even when you’re out shopping or running errands.
Boundary Control
Dogs protect their owners by instinct, but the training conducted with psychiatric service dogs takes their security ability to a whole new level. For example, when you are going through a panic attack, your dog will prevent others from approaching you if they are unnecessary to your recovery. It is qualified to make room safety checks for you, and it can identify whether a specific environment would be anxiety-inducing or not. If you deal with social anxiety, it can even facilitate your social interactions and provide support.
Companionship
Service dogs might not be considered as pets, but either way, they will love you, and you will grow to love them too. Knowing that you have a dog to take care of could motivate you to get out of bed every morning, and if you don’t, it will make sure to wake you up instead. Psychiatric service dogs are still qualified to do what emotional support dogs do, and yours will be happy to provide companionship and affection.
How to qualify for a psychiatric service dog
If you’re dealing with anxiety, you may be interested in getting a psychiatric service dog. However, you can only do so if you meet the following criteria as established by the ADA:
- Your anxiety is debilitating and affects your life activities
- You have a recommendation letter from a licensed mental health professional
- You are able to command and care for a service dog
- You have a stable home environment
- You are capable enough to participate in the dog’s training process
- You have the finances to look after your service dog for at least twelve years
According to Little Angels Service Dogs, you can expect to spend around $30,000 - $40,000 to purchase one service dog. Given that you have to pay for veterinary care, boarding, food, and grooming after that, you may need to budget an additional $2,000 for your dog each year. This means that before you can get your service dog, you need to have at least $64,000 in your bank account.
Furthermore, you would need to make sure that your dog is eating, exercising, and being taken out to answer nature’s calls. Now, this may be difficult if you deal with debilitating anxiety. Although it is part of your dog’s role to remind you of certain things, making scheduled alarms on your phone would also help you keep track of these things. You may also opt to use apps such as Do, which will allow you to create multiple tasks with set times for various dates. It will help ensure that you don’t miss out on caring for your dog at any point in time.
All of this may sound very tedious and costly, so you might be tempted to ask if your existing pet could simply be re-trained as a service dog. Sadly, this cannot be so. A psychiatric service dog would get around 600 hours of specialized training so that it would be tailor-fit in serving your psychiatric needs. It would be difficult to do that with a pet who already has patterns and routines around you.
While you can teach an old dog new tricks, it would be infinitely more painstaking, and there is no guarantee that your dog won’t revert to its old habits. By choosing the route of a professional service dog agency, you can be confident that should anything happen to you, there is a well-trained psychiatric service dog that will come to your rescue.
Getting a psychiatric service dog is a commitment and an investment. At first glance, you may wonder whether or not the money and effort will be worth it. But, know that the amount of help and care that you would obtain from your service dog will be priceless. Yes, it will provide you companionship like any other dog, but it can also enhance your independence, give you smart security, and help you function through your anxiety.
