# Service dogs - how do they physically help you?



## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

As someone who doesn't have a disability requiring a service dog, I am quite ignorant in the ways that a service dog can physically help a disabled person. I'm not sure if it's too personal to ask this (I wouldn't _think_ so, but who knows...) but I was wondering if some can share some cool tasks SDs help you do.

For example, I think I've heard that these dogs can help a person stand if they've fallen down. I wonder- can you really place all your weight on the dog's back? How does that work? Logistically, I could see a BIG dog like a Newfie being able to take a person's weight, but never would have thought a smaller dog like a GSD or Lab would be able to. Fascinating.

I suspect that there are some REALLY awesome things these dogs can do for you that I'd have never even thought of. 

The intent of this thread is to enjoy the amazing abilities the dogs can be trained in, especially as they relate to helping those who need physical assistance. I think it's absolutely fascinating! In no way am I making any statement about the disability or the person with the disability. I understand this might be a sensitive topic be it that I'm asking about physical impairments. So to be clear, once again- I'm asking about the amazing capabilities of the dogs- and nothing more.


----------



## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

I know 1 dog that yelps when the owners blood sugar drops dangerously low. I know another dog that reminds his owner to take medicine everyday at the same time. I know how this dog was conditioned to do this task everyday, really cool!


----------



## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

If you're interested this site has some info on service dog tasks: 
Assistance Dog Tasks

You can find more if you search for the type of service/disability and "tasks" on google. For example "diabetic service dog tasks" or "balance service dog tasks" etc...


----------



## Cheyanna (Aug 18, 2012)

*Service dog tasks*

I have no problem disclosing what Fiona does for me.

First, she alerts to my pain. She alerts at the beginning so I can get my meds started. She also provides pain relief when it is too soon to take meds.

Second, she helps me get up when my knees are higher than my bottom (when I sit on something too low). I can grab the traffic portion of her leash and tell her to go, she can and has pulled me up.

Third, she can help me up when I fall. I put her in a sit and then place my hands at her shoulders then tell her to stand. (We are not there yet with this training)

Fourth, she can bring me my cell phone when I fall and I need the ambulance or a person's help (We are working on this one as well)

Fifth, she can pull my cart. I have a cart at work, because I cannot carry anything. She pulls the shopping cart as well.

Finally, I suffer from dizzy spells. She stabilizes me when I cannot tell up from down. She leans against me and can tell when they are coming.


----------



## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Cheyanna said:


> Second, she helps me get up when my knees are higher than my bottom (when I sit on something too low). I can grab the traffic portion of her leash and tell her to go, she can and has pulled me up.


This- using the harness in kind of a tug-o-war kind of way- I figured. That makes a lot of sense to me.



Cheyanna said:


> Third, she can help me up when I fall. I put her in a sit and then place my hands at her shoulders then tell her to stand. (We are not there yet with this training)


But this... this is really cool! I'm not sure I totally get the mental picture, but I think I see it enough to assume her rear is doing a lot of work here while her front stabilizes. So do you have to work a lot of core drills to ensure she's well muscled throughout her loin?


----------



## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

I don't have a SD but my uncle's border collie acts as one, though she's not an active SD. She's trained to pick things up for him because bending to get them off the floor is too much for his back. She's trained to find his glasses (usually in their case) when he cant remember where they were put. She helps pull him to his feet if he's been sitting for a while and needs assistance getting up. She alerts when he his blood sugar drops. She brings his cell to him if he needs it. She's also been trained to go to the neighbors house for help if he falls and she cant help him up or his blood sugar drops too far and my aunt isn't home. She does several other tasks as well but I'm not entirely sure what they are. The ones listed are the ones I've witnessed or been told about by my aunt. Only reason she's not an active SD he can take anywhere is because she's not always the best in new situations though she's been very well socialized and she's friendly. She gets a little too excited sometimes.


----------



## Xeph (Jun 19, 2005)

Moo keeps me from falling over by doing counter balance work. He puts his weight into his harness and applies steady pressure while we're walking to keep me upright. If I do fall, I fall forwards or straight down, and he helps me get up.

I do not put my hand on his back. That's dangerous to the dog. I place my hand on his wither and he braces for me.

Strauss is a large dog for a GSD at 27". Perfect for this kind of work.

My new dog is just 25". Luckily, I need more counterbalance than brace work, and he is certainly capable of doing it, even though he weighs 30 pounds less than Moo does.


----------



## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

KZoppa said:


> She's also been trained to go to the neighbors house for help if he falls and she cant help him up or his blood sugar drops too far and my aunt isn't home.


That is so freakin' cool!! I'm not even sure how I'd approach training something like that. This is exactly why I started this thread. That's badass right there... The dog is making so many decisions! Awesome!


----------



## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Xeph said:


> I do not put my hand on his back. That's dangerous to the dog. I place my hand on his wither and he braces for me.


Thanks for sharing! I don't know why but I never thought to check youtube for videos. I did see exactly what you mean about putting weight on the withers rather than back. That makes a ton of sense


----------



## Andaka (Jun 29, 2003)

Jag is not a public access dog, however he helps me out at home a lot. I have a bad back from a fall down my basement stairs, so often bending for things on the floor is painful. Jag will pick up just about anything -- he helps with the laundry, off with my coat, and carries his training bad into class. He will help me balance going up stairs by putting his head under my hand. He helps me out of a chair (I put my hand in his collar and ask him to back up, then pull myself up.

His sire, Tag, even helped me dress after I had surgery a few years ago. I would put my pants on the floor and put my feet in them. Tag would then hand me the waistband.


----------



## SFGSSD (Dec 28, 2012)

Video of tasks and public access test for hearing impaired can be found here.

http://sfgsservicedogs.com



Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

We don't have a SD either, but my young, adult daughter sometimes has balance issues, and she has taught our dog to stand if she needs help getting up off the ground. 

I really like the image that Xeph posted of the harness on her dog. I don't know why I never thought of that before, something like that could come in handy. And thanks for the advice about not putting your hand on a dog's back.

The man down the street from me has a true seeing eye dog. He is on his 2nd GSD, he is able to walk all over town.


----------



## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

wildo said:


> That is so freakin' cool!! I'm not even sure how I'd approach training something like that. This is exactly why I started this thread. That's badass right there... The dog is making so many decisions! Awesome!


 
a lot of it was step by step training and simulation like situations where he would have a good day and pretend he couldn't get up. Backchaining helped a great deal too. Gracie is so darn smart she picked it up almost instantly. She naturally alerts when his blood sugar dropped so they took advantage of that.


----------



## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

SFGSSD said:


> Video of tasks and public access test for hearing impaired can be found here.
> 
> Saint Francis German Shepherd Service Dogs
> 
> ...


That's great! I'm hearing impaired, but I can hear ok with hearing aids. None of mine are trained to help me out, but they still do. Mostly simple things like someone's at the door, they'll come and look at me with a bit of excitement and I'll know to check. If one of my kids is up at night, Tuke will jump on the bed and push her head/ muzzle into me. She's done the same when our new pup needed a potty break in the middle of the night.


----------



## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Andaka said:


> His sire, Tag, even helped me dress after I had surgery a few years ago. I would put my pants on the floor and put my feet in them. Tag would then hand me the waistband.


Wow! That's another cool one! I would have never thought about that.


----------



## Cheyanna (Aug 18, 2012)

Withers is the word I was looking for, not back.


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Shaolin (Jun 16, 2012)

KZoppa said:


> . She naturally alerts when his blood sugar dropped so they took advantage of that.


Finn does that as well for my Husband, but he wasn't trained to do it. He also helped as a counter balance after I hurt my back before my surgery. It was nice having that extra bit of support going up and down the steps. He would also pick up stuff off the floor. He's not a SD by any means, but it worked.

It's cool to see all the different types of SDs out there. A friend of mine has a Lab to help with balance issues, helps her up if she falls, and brings her the cell phone if she can't get up. He also does a list of other things, but those are the only ones I can remember at the moment. She wouldn't be able to leave her house without mind numbing fear if it weren't for that dog.


----------



## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

Shaolin said:


> Finn does that as well for my Husband, but he wasn't trained to do it. He also helped as a counter balance after I hurt my back before my surgery. It was nice having that extra bit of support going up and down the steps. He would also pick up stuff off the floor. He's not a SD by any means, but it worked.
> 
> It's cool to see all the different types of SDs out there. A friend of mine has a Lab to help with balance issues, helps her up if she falls, and brings her the cell phone if she can't get up. He also does a list of other things, but those are the only ones I can remember at the moment. She wouldn't be able to leave her house without mind numbing fear if it weren't for that dog.


 
I think my grandma's corgi would alert to her low blood sugar if my grandma would pay a bit more attention to her signals. Perhaps I should mention this to my grandma next time I'm back home....


----------



## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

I haven't read the replies yet and so will come back to read them as well as explain more about what Tessa does for me, but here's a short reply... 

As far as helping stand and take weight, the dog can help a person get up in a couple different ways. As for taking weight it depends on a bunch of things. One is that like many other things the dog shouldn't begin training to brace or take weight until they're 2 years old and have had the appropriate elbow and hip xrays to determine health. A service dog is NOT a replacement for a cane, crutch, walker, or other weightbearing device. They cannot take the weight of an individual every step. Temporary bracing when the weight is placed on the correct spot, the shoulders and not the spine, is fine. When being used for balance its better to use the dog as counterbalance.

To assist someone to get up, the dog can also pull an individual up to assist in standing from either the floor or a seated position. I might have some photos of from training Tessa on this, I'll take a look. And they can also brace in a standing position to allow the individual to push off of the shoulders to assist in standing. It depends on how much assistance an individual needs, how often its being done, etc. 

Tessa assists me in getting up both from issues with my joints as well as issues that I have from my heart that causes changes in position to make my heart race and cause dizziness and lighteheadedness. So she also provides a stable brace to help as I steady myself in getting up. I tend to fall frequently from issues in balance as well as joints giving out, and Tessa can either brace and be used to help steady myself to prevent a fall, as well as assist me in getting to the ground in a less damaging way, and then back up once I'm ready. 

She can get the lights for me, so that I do not have to get up myself and my balance is also much worse in the dark. My disability gives me a limited amount of physical strength and endurance, how I use that is up to me. Once its out though its out, so even little things like getting up to flip the light switch because the sun is going down means using up some of that limited ability plus the postural changes quickly zap my energy. 

I've been using a wheelchair most of the time for the last year and I've realized just how much the constant standing was draining my energy. Since I cannot maintain standing for very long I have to sit, but that means more frequent ups and downs which are difficult. When standing she can hand me an item so I do not bend over to get it assists with the joint issues of bending over, the postural change of bending over, the energy lost in the act... I also personally drop things a LOT due to nerve damage in my arms that affects my hands. Many service dog tasks may be "little" things, but these little things performed over and over during the day use up a lot of the limited ability for someone who is disabled, and together can mean the difference between bigger things such as the ability to cook yourself dinner, take a shower today, or even bigger such as make it out of the house for an appointment or errand.


----------



## Cheyanna (Aug 18, 2012)

Well said Lin. There were some days I would not leave the house before Fiona. I live on the second floor (bought my condo before I got hurt and diagnosed). Some days going up and down the step takes whatever drive / energy I had away. So I save my energy & strength so I can work (super easy job, just requires my brain). But even the insurance company is thinking that me not working anymore is in the future. I just hope it is far, far away.


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Stark is NOT a service dog, but he does perform tasks that help my cousin.

He is able to pick anything up that has fallen, or go and grab something that he needs (off tables, counters, in bags, on shelves, etc.).

Stark is also able to help my cousin out of his wheelchair by holding and "tugging - minus the tug part) a thick piece of cloth/rope with my cousin holding the other end. This helps my cousin get the momentum to get started with getting upright out of the chair. Unfortunately my cousin is now at a point where he is unable to do this (too weak of muscles in his arms and abdomen). 

I have also taught him to turn of lights and open cupboards and doors using a tug/rope system. Hitting light switches with his paws. Another task we worked on is getting his leash/harness from the hook or other places we may have put it and bringing it to me or my cousin.

I can also guide him using a set of yes/no commands on retrieving books out of a bookcase (if I want a specific one) and / or food out of the fridge or cupboard.

I use to spend a lot of time with my cousin, so Stark was doing these things a few times per week. Now with my cousin in University full time and myself working, we haven't been able to do much with one another except once or twice per month. 

He does not have a service animal nor does he want one at this point, but does enjoy working with Stark.


----------



## Shaolin (Jun 16, 2012)

KZoppa said:


> I think my grandma's corgi would alert to her low blood sugar if my grandma would pay a bit more attention to her signals. Perhaps I should mention this to my grandma next time I'm back home....


Finn won't leave Ben alone. He is up his butt constantly. If it's really high/low, he'll start whimpering/whining until he corrects it. We didn't train him in it, he just did it naturally. It took us a while before we finally got it, but once we did, I'm just glad we listened. It saved Ben's life one day.


----------



## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

Shaolin said:


> Finn won't leave Ben alone. He is up his butt constantly. If it's really high/low, he'll start whimpering/whining until he corrects it. We didn't train him in it, he just did it naturally. It took us a while before we finally got it, but once we did, I'm just glad we listened. It saved Ben's life one day.


 
yeah. Chloe starts annoying my Grandma more than usual but my grandma just gets mad and locks her in her crate. She's still very much a cat person but she does love that dog. Especially since my grandpa loved Chloe so darn much. I'm always telling my grandma that Chloe needs to get out and walk and she'll be calmer and she complains about how much Chloe pulls on the leash. I bought her an easy walker harness for her. Now she just grumbles about how even at 80º, its too cold or too hot or too windy. I just shake my head at that point. But Chloe gets really pushy when my grandmas blood sugar goes up or down.


----------



## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Lin said:


> I've been using a wheelchair most of the time for the last year and I've realized just how much the constant standing was draining my energy. Since I cannot maintain standing for very long I have to sit, but that means more frequent ups and downs which are difficult. When standing she can hand me an item so I do not bend over to get it assists with the joint issues of bending over, the postural change of bending over, the energy lost in the act...


Thanks Lin- I was hoping you'd respond. It didn't dawn on me until watching a few youtube videos of mobility dogs just how important what I might think of as "the little things" like flipping a light switch or picking up an item are. After seeing some examples, I can really appreciate and understand what you mean in the section I quoted. 

I thought this thread would be really cool as kind of a celebration of some really neat tasks (obviously coupled with good training). I didn't expect to appreciate those tasks I took for granted like bending over to pick up an object, or walking to a light switch. Very neat indeed!


----------



## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

If you're really interested in learning what its like to be disabled and how service dogs assist that (especially physical disabilities) look up and read "the spoon theory." It was written by a woman with Lupus. Its a great example, and expanded version of what I mentioned in my post last night. 

How with a disability we are limited, and its not just about the things we cannot do at all but the things that we might be able to physically do but affects everything else for that day, or week even. Its even hard for people that are close friends or family members of someone who is disabled to understand because of seeing such a small piece, a lot can be hidden even from people you live with. So you may see someone only on their best days, or best hours of the best days. Now and then I can push myself super hard, so I may do that for something important like say to help out as much as possible during a move. But then everyone who is helping leaves, and aren't there to watch that it takes me 3 days to recover enough to really get out of bed or be able to shower! 

So a disabled individual is constantly making choices, if I do this now I can't do this later. If I don't do this or this or this now, then I can do THAT later/tomorrow. Where someone who is healthy doesn't have to think about that or weigh those decisions. I had a friend once, who really tried to understand but didn't, and made a comment to me about how I needed to try to get out more and exercise more because I had such little energy... In a healthy person, those things DO build stamina. But my limited amount doesn't increase, only decreases with activity. So all the little things that Tessa does really adds up to big things in the long run. With the wheelchair, in comparison to someone with paraplegia I CAN stand if I want to/need to, but I don't unless I absolutely have to so I can save myself for better things.

Everyone wants to be independent. I've had people say things constantly about how they could do x for me, I need to ask for help more, why don't I ask them to help with x.... But no one wants to rely on someone else all the time. And everyone has pride get in the way sometimes lol. I've been struggling a lot lately, and Tessa doesn't work full time or do all of her tasks anymore due to some decreasing health and age. My roommate, while angry at me about something, was saying how I don't need to do my own grocery shopping, I can give him or my other roommate a list and they could do it for me. Ok, SO many problems wrong there! I DO give them little lists of 1-3 items on occasion when they're going and I need something to tide me over until I can do a full trip. But having someone grocery shop for you is horrible. I'm on food stamps, and much of what I buy is based on prices and things for sale when I'm at the store. Plus I have some GI issues too, which factors into the food choices I make when I go. Before I got the wheelchair, I had a long period that I was mostly bedridden and housebound and my previous roommate did ALL my grocery shopping for me. Its a little thing, but once I was able to go independently again it was so exciting  And when he was shopping for me, I frequently ran out of my food stamps prior to the end of the month due to having to make lists and choices from home. Doing my own shopping, I NEVER run out of money on the card prior to the end of the month, and usually have a decent amount of rollover thats never spent. 

I'm sort of going off on a tangent here, but in understanding the importance of a service dog you have to understand the differences in life for someone who is disabled. Like you said, you didn't think about how the little things add up. My current roommate once picked up my lightswitch on a stick thats used for training that task and asked what it was. Then he replied "I think if I couldn't turn on the light by myself I'd rather just kill myself." He claims it was supposed to be a joke, but it was pretty highly offensive. 

What specific tasks the SD does is so dependent on the individuals disability, which is why the law even references that the dog must be trained to mitigate its handlers disability. So there is a HUGE amount of variation even among dogs of the same "group" like mobility assistance, or psychiatric assistance. But the basis is all the same, allowing the individual to be more independent and not have to rely on other humans to do what they need to do in life. Activities of daily living at home, errands out in public, and sometimes the difference between being able to attend school or hold down a job.


----------



## Xeph (Jun 19, 2005)

Lin, what you say about having to make choices throughout your day, every day...so true.

If I take my dogs for a bike ride instead of going to the fairgrounds and throwing the frisbee, I am basically out of commission for the next 3-4 days.

I still go to dog shows, but am unable to show numerous dogs anymore. I can show Wesson in her class, and currently can still make it through winners and BOB....I am not sure I could make it the rest of the day (waiting) for groups.

I used to stay from the start of a show to the end. Now, I am basically done by the time my dog's class is finished. A two day show weekend = a week of me being unable to bend over, climb stairs effectively, or run any errands. I'll do nothing but sleep, or, if I'm lucky, get downstairs to watch some TV and answer some emails.

It is very frustrating to have to do the constant give and take


----------



## Natural Beauty Farm (Jun 20, 2011)

Service dogs do a wide variety of things. I trained one for a friends daughter who had a TBI. Her entire personality changed, or came out stronger after the accident. 
Lug reminded her to take meds each morning and evening. If he did not then she would never have taken her meds because she has no framework of time, think 50 first dates.
Woke her up at the same time each morning to go for a walk. Before Lug she would sleep for days, some was depression, some was just not knowing if she should get out of bed.
She became very gullible and strangers sometimes took advantage of her. Once Lug was in the picture, she was safe from such things because he takes awhile to warm up with people like most GSD. She can take him to bars, but I told her Lug has a three date minimum before he will allow a guy to take him home. lol
She would never leave the house if it was not for Lug. She learned about services that would bring everything to her, so she saw no need to go out on a daily basis. Now Lug gets her to the beach, dog parks, and other social events.
He also gives emotional support, not SD covered, but everyone involved feels better when he is "on the Job"


----------



## HSV-SD (Apr 28, 2013)

Natural Beauty Farm - Cute about the three date minimum before Lug allows a guy to go home with them.

Wildo - My husband's first service dog was the demonstration dog for the training facility. She could retrieve her own gear and pick up her dropped leash. She would pick up anything dropped. She could open doors, drawers and refrigerators all to retrieve. If the washer and dryer were front load, she could move the laundry, plus turn on light switches. She was also trained for hearing alert work. We had her thou for the seizure response work. She was trained to come and get me at the house or to bark in public. She had business cards that said who she was and why she was barking.


----------



## Hercules (Aug 1, 2010)

Both of my service dogs are trained to sense when I am about to have an anxiety attack and/or a PTSD episode. They start by sitting in front of me demanding attention. If that doesn't work or if my condition gets worse, they start pawing my chest. If that doesn't work they start licking my hands and if I can't prevent it and I have an attack, they start licking my face and snap me out of it.

I am also training them to bring me medications, water, my cane, open and close doors, turn lights on and off, and whatever task I feel would help my disabilities.


----------



## williamlillis (Jan 7, 2014)

Its really good post. Thanks for sharing with us!! Dogs are such a best companion for you, they protect you & care for you.


----------



## OriginalWacky (Dec 21, 2011)

Ooh, I can add to this topic, I don't recall seeing it before. I have psychiatric issues that can be debilitating, and my Krissie is an emotional support animal (not taken in public, she hasn't got the training for that), and one of the things I will likely do with the next dog I get is see if it will be a good candidate to help me with some of the things that can be an issue. One of the biggest tasks that will probably come into use is the dog being able to lead me out of a place when I have a panic attack, either because the dog knows I'm upset, or because I give them a command to lead me out. A decent sized dog can also be trained to stand between me and other people to keep them out of my personal space, which can be an issue for me. 

At this point, I'm able to do well without a dog, but I'm keeping an eye toward the future and realizing that things can change in the blink of an eye, so I'd rather be prepared and have a dog trained, or mostly trained in ways that would help me than find I suddenly need that kind of help and not have it. I rely on my kids and friends a fair amount now, and they can't always be there with me, so while I'm working on being able to do this stuff on my own, I also realize that it could happen that I'll never truly be able to handle doing some things alone, drugs or no drugs. And if whatever dog I get isn't a good service dog candidate, then I'll still have the joy of the dog, which helps my mood just because I love it.


----------



## kburrow11 (Jan 31, 2014)

Vida is in training for me, and she's already picked up things I haven't trained yet.

So I have a bunch of neurological problems, some of which cause me to randomly black out. I can't predict or tell when this will happen.

After seeing me black out and hit the floor and stay passed out there for ~15 minutes one night, and not being able to reach me, Vida has learned to sense when I'm going to black out.

When she senses one coming, she'll push me down onto the couch or chair to prevent me from hitting the floor. No idea how she figured that out on her own.


----------

