Types of Service Dogs

Types of Service Dogs

There are many different Service Dogs and they all do different jobs and help people with different things. Following are ten types of Service Dogs that are divided into the categories.   

Medical Assistance Dogs are trained to help their handler with their medical issues. Some examples of these dogs are Diabetic Alert Dogs, also known as Blood Sugar Alert Dogs. They are trained to alert their handler when his/her blood sugar is dangerously high. These dogs are trained to monitor smells in the air for a specific scent on the human breath that is related to rapidly dropping or low blood sugar levels They are also trained to call 911 on a K9 alert phone if their handler has a high blood sugar. FASD Service Dogs are specially trained to help support children who have been exposed to alcohol before birth. These children might have been diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Seizure Alert Dogs can alert their handler before he/she has a seizure. Itis a very hard job to alert their handler naturally and only a small number of dogs are able to do this. Seizure Response Dogs are not like Seizure Alert Dogs. Seizure Response Dogs are trained to help a person who is experiencing a seizure.  An Allergy Detection Dog is used for people who have intense allergies. These dogs can sniff out traces of allergies in food so the owner can have some independence. These dogs are used for people who have intense allergies, not slight ones.

The next category of Service Dogs are Physical Support Dogs who are trained to help people with physical disabilities such as those in wheelchairs or people who are blind or deaf. Hearing Dogs are trained to alert their deaf handler when there are noises they should pay attention too. Some of the sounds include, alarms, doorbells, knocking, phone calls, cars, and hearing their own name. Guide Dogs are trained to guide or lead their blind handler. These dogs go through a tough training process and learn to guide or lead their blind handler through streets, traffic, and their everyday life. Bigger dogs are better for this job. Labradors, German Shepherds and Golden Retrievers are most commonly used. The training is a hard process that starts when the dogs are puppies. If they don’t meet the standards they can get cut from the program. Not all the dogs that start the process finish it. Mobility Assistance Dogs are used for people in wheelchairs. They are trained to pull wheelchairs, open and close doors, bring objects to their handler, operate the light switches, etc. This helps people who need assistance gain independence.

The last category for these types of service dogs are Mental Help Dogs.  Mental Help Dogs are trained to help people who have problems that are not physical or medically related. Autism Support Dogs are trained to  help children and their families become more independent and socially inclusive. These dogs can also interrupt harmful behaviors. The training that the dogs go through is extremely hard. They have to learn how to calm children down when they are having an episode. When families get an Autism Support Dog for their child, it helps relieve the family's stress because the dog helps to supervise the child.  Autism has a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. There is not one type of autism, each child with autism can have unique strengths and challenges. Some autistic children may tend to sleepwalk and wander off. Autism Support Dogs can help reduce this or even eliminate it. Once a support dog enters the child's life, parents see dramatic changes in the child behavior.  Even the number of episodes the child has seem to happen less frequently. These dogs don’t only help the autistic child but they help the whole family reducing stress for everyone.

Mental Help Dogs can also be dogs that are also trained to help people who have PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). These dogs can distract the handler when he/she is having a traumatic episode. PTSD is not only a result of war, but it can be from rape, witnessing a violent crime, being a victim to a violent crime, abuse, etc. Service Dogs are also trained to help people struggling with PTSD. Service dogs that help with PTSD can help prevent nightmares, encourage exercise, help prevent social isolation, and more. These dogs go through an extremely difficult training and only so many dogs get to participate in the training and some never pass. To begin training as a PTSD Service Dog, the dog needs to have certain traits such as outstanding temperament, structural soundness and a proven lineage of healthy genetics.  Even if they qualify to begin training, only a portion of the dogs end up getting certified and accepted to be a PTSD Service Dog. PTSD Service Dogs are not only for veterans, they can be for anybody who has severe PTSD.