# Do I need a service dog?



## HopeforGermanshepherds (Jul 21, 2017)

Sometimes in the morning I feel really sick or I feel like I'm going to faint and I have to take pills, at school my head hurts it comes out of now where and it lowers my strength and my energy so I have to ask my mom to pick me up and drink my pills and rest for a couple of hours this happens daily i have a 4 month old gsd he's trained a little,so do u think I'll be needing a service dog


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

No Idea. Maybe you should ask your physician.


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## konathegsd (Dec 3, 2016)

This isn't a question that you ask others. My gf has similar issues with POTS and diabetic. It really takes a special dog to be a service dog. Your dog MUST be task trained before doing any public access. Where did you get your dog?


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## konathegsd (Dec 3, 2016)

Aren't you having issues with your dog growling at others??


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## Deb (Nov 20, 2010)

Most places that train service dogs require a prescription to be able to enter the program, either to get one trained or to help you train your dog. The dog must also be able to pass a temperament test. As konathegsd said, it takes a very special dog to be able to complete the training.


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## CasanovaBlues (Aug 3, 2017)

I'm personally working with my baby boy to be a service dog; I have POTS and after a few serious injuries resulting from the fainting and vertigo, I realized I needed help. I'm not a physician by any means, so I don't know what your situation suggests medically, but what exactly do you think a service dog would help you with? They can't cure a headache, and if you don't have balance problems and aren't actually fainting a lot, I don't see how you think a dog would help.


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## konathegsd (Dec 3, 2016)

CasanovaBlues said:


> I'm personally working with my baby boy to be a service dog; I have POTS and after a few serious injuries resulting from the fainting and vertigo, I realized I needed help. I'm not a physician by any means, so I don't know what your situation suggests medically, but what exactly do you think a service dog would help you with? They can't cure a headache, and if you don't have balance problems and aren't actually fainting a lot, I don't see how you think a dog would help.


I know the fainting problem all to well. My gf faints all the time. This next year she is getting a new pup to train as a service dog for her pots/ insulin autoimmune syndrome. Then after certified from the ofa training for mobility.


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## HopeforGermanshepherds (Jul 21, 2017)

konathegsd said:


> Aren't you having issues with your dog growling at others??


Unless u cuddle or try to get him mad but hes friendly to other people


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## Diegotxe (Feb 26, 2015)

That's a question I think you should be discussing with your doctor


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## voodoolamb (Jun 21, 2015)

HopeforGermanshepherds said:


> Unless u cuddle or try to get him mad but hes friendly to other people


This basically ruins your dog's chances of ever being a public access service dog. He is too sensitive. Service dogs must be UNFLAPPABLE. 

If some strange kid runs up and hugs the dog, or some idiot tries to wave a stick at him threateningly in order to provoke him (Both these things have happened to people who I personally know who have service dogs) the dog still MUST. NOT. GROWL. Or show any other signs of aggression. 

It may not seem fair, that the dog can't even defend himself, but service dogs are held to much higher standards than pet dogs. 

As far as if you need a service dog, as others have said, your doctor can help you determine that


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Your dog may not have what it takes to be an official service dog but to you he is, just because he is your friend. Work with him, train him, play with him. This may relax you too. You are so lucky to have a GSD as a kid (you are, right?). I would have moved mountains to get a GSD when I was young, anxious and sad. 
I don't know what your health issues are of course but maybe take a picture of him to school with you and when you have difficulties, look at it and think how wonderful it is to have him, imagine petting him and feeling his fur. But please try not to make him into something he cannot be. Good luck to you and keep us updated.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

I agree with with wolfy said. There are many books on service dog training and many things you can train your dog to do. Even if it means your dog is not a service dog doesn't mean you can't teach him things to help you in your home out on walks and where dogs are allowed.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

In some way all our dogs provide a service. Deja and I have a mutual agreement in this. She is by no means a real service dog but she helps me pick up things from the floor since I cannot bend very well yet. But also she gets carried away sometimes and picks up the item and shakes it or thinks that we are going for a walk, especially picking up shoes. She does help me emptying out the dryer but with towels she gets wild. It is super funny and brightens my mood every time but me laughing out loud only makes her wilder. Just a few examples of living with a GSD that's in tune with his/her human and thus some sort of service dog.
I am sure she considers me her service-human.


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## Sheb (Aug 17, 2017)

If this happens exclusively in the mornings after you wake up, a dog with public access probably wouldn't be necessary. 

You could definitely train your boy to help you out at home in the mornings though! Obviously he can't pick you up, but you could train him to bring you water, pills, and a pillow on command. 

One thing to keep in mind is that if you do need a service dog, your boy probably won't be suitable. Plus, even if he was, you would probably have to send him off to a trainer, as you probably aren't in a position to train him when you already have this condition, whatever it may be.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

wolfy dog said:


> In some way all our dogs provide a service. Deja and I have a mutual agreement in this. She is by no means a real service dog but she helps me pick up things from the floor since I cannot bend very well yet. But also she gets carried away sometimes and picks up the item and shakes it or thinks that we are going for a walk, especially picking up shoes. She does help me emptying out the dryer but with towels she gets wild. It is super funny and brightens my mood every time but me laughing out loud only makes her wilder. Just a few examples of living with a GSD that's in tune with his/her human and thus some sort of service dog.
> I am sure she considers me her service-human.


German shepherds love their people and are a dog who has a strong bond with their owner. They enjoy having a job to do. I think they are so smart it does make them feel good to have a purpose. Max can be rambunctious but as everytime we climb over the big dirt mountain for a walk through the dead end path he always slowly guides me up and down the steep rocky dirt hill. In the beginning of spring i was walking on the beach in the water and came to really soft soft sinking sand. The next step I took -the wet sand sunk and gave way underneath my one leg and was in a big hole up to the upper part of my thigh. The sand was really heavy and thick like quick sand - I could get out but was not easy. Max ran over and I was leaning on him as I climbed out. - he just stood their still like a brick it seemed like he knew he was helping me be my crutch. They are dogs that once bonded seem to form a natural partnership with their owners.


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## Kyrielle (Jun 28, 2016)

HopeforGermanshepherds said:


> Sometimes in the morning I feel really sick or I feel like I'm going to faint and I have to take pills, at school my head hurts it comes out of now where and it lowers my strength and my energy so I have to ask my mom to pick me up and drink my pills and rest for a couple of hours this happens daily i have a 4 month old gsd he's trained a little,so do u think I'll be needing a service dog


I'm no doctor, but I'm familiar with what you describe in the morning. Especially if your head hurts, you feel dizzy, weak, clammy, cold, nauseous...

Those are all symptoms of low blood sugar, and you may or may not be sensitive to that (*go see a doctor*). You may or may not have some serious condition. No way to know unless you go.

Do you eat a good, solid breakfast every morning?

If not, for goodness sake, eat something solid every morning at the same time. And by solid, I mean don't just eat a bowl of cereal or a pop-tart. Eat some eggs or something with that.

But seriously. *See a doctor.* You need to rule out anything more serious that might require further medication.


Anyway, depending on what happens at the doctor, you may or may not need a service dog. If it's just an issue with you being sensitive to low blood sugar and nothing worse (like severe diabetes), then that can be managed via some lifestyle changes and closer attention to your physical condition.


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## HopeforGermanshepherds (Jul 21, 2017)

Kyrielle said:


> HopeforGermanshepherds said:
> 
> 
> > Sometimes in the morning I feel really sick or I feel like I'm going to faint and I have to take pills, at school my head hurts it comes out of now where and it lowers my strength and my energy so I have to ask my mom to pick me up and drink my pills and rest for a couple of hours this happens daily i have a 4 month old gsd he's trained a little,so do u think I'll be needing a service dog
> ...


 thanks but theres this one time I walk around my house and it randomly went pitch black for a couple of seconds and I ended up in the floor idk It happens a couple of times


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## konathegsd (Dec 3, 2016)

Go see a doctor.... you would have to send your dog off anyways unless you knew how to train to help you.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

HopeforGermanShepherds, 

I hope that you don't need a service dog. 

That might sound mean, because we're a dog-loving site, and all of us want to take our dogs everywhere. But it isn't mean. I am saying that I hope you don't have anything so severe that you NEED a dog with you 24/7. 

Service dogs do not just make life better for folks with medical issues. They help them try to lead a normal life in spite of their issues. Some of the issues are invisible to other people, like a diabetes service dog. I have diabetes. I do not have a service dog. Most people with diabetes do not need a service dog. They can manage their diabetes with diet, exercise, medication, and checking blood sugar. Those with uncontrolled diabetes, in danger of diabetic coma, were a dog might be able to alert to blood sugar issues -- those folks have a real bad problem, and the dog makes it better but it doesn't make that problem go away, and they live with it every day. 

And I could go down the list. A dog lets a blind person be independent to an extent. But no blind person, given the choice, would choose a service dog over sight. The dog makes it possible for some to work, for them to go places without a human guide all the time. 

My cousin is autistic. He does not have a service dog. He lives in his own world and it is very difficult to reach him, because he does not want to be reached. Perhaps that is unfair, maybe it is more that he is unable to connect. He is my age give or take a few years, so upper forties. He is living in a home for men who cannot function in society. Today, perhaps autism has a range, but dogs have been used to help autistic children function in the world around them. These are not emotional support dogs. They are being used to help severely challenged people connect with something in the world. 

There are other ways that service dogs are used. 

There is a bud-light commercial, a sports commercial, where the guy thinks, "boy I wish I could have this bud light seller everywhere I go." And then it shows the man hollering his jingle for beer, at the guy's work, in his bed, in a meeting, at the grave yard, in the movie theater. The man realizes the bud-light vendor belongs in the ball park. The point is, that taking your dog everywhere is wonderful until you absolutely need your dog to go everywhere with you. 

If you are religious, if the people on this site pray regularly, perhaps adding, "Thank you, God, that I do not need a service dog" is in order. People who have service dogs can thank God for having this wonderful creation that helps them manage their situation. But when you pass the handicapped parking spaces by, instead of being irritated that the only open spots are handicapped, say a little pray thanking God that you don't qualify, and find an appropriate spot further along. 

Think about it. If you have a service dog that can go to school with you, than you need your dog everywhere. Are you going to take your dog to a job interview? "Don't mind him, he's a service dog." Employers are not supposed to discriminate, but, none of them are not going to remember the dog, and wonder what it is about you that requires it. 

I hope you don't need a service dog. If you do, you do. Everyone has their plate of burdens, and some are dished more than others. We can only do our best with whatever our serving is.


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