What do Service Dogs help with beside blindness?

Adam and Jeff are inseparable. Whether at school, summer camp, or Little League games, Jeff is never far from Adam's side. Besides acting as a faithful companion, Jeff serves another crucial purpose. The labradoodle is specially trained to alert Adam to significant changes in his blood sugar levels. read more

Service dogs and emotional support dogs have many many tasks and functions. Here are the ones I know of: Guide Dog - Provides mobility for blind persons by avoiding or warning the handler of obstacles or dangers. read more

And service dogs perform a number of functions related to alert and response to help people with medical conditions such as asthma, epilepsy, diabetes, migraines, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and more. read more

If a client falls, the dog can even act as a brace to help them up. PAWS has trained Service Dogs to assist people who have Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Rheumatoidal Degeneration, ALS, Cerebral Palsy, spinal cord injuries and many other conditions affecting a person’s mobility or strength. read more

To be a service dog requires the ability to focus, delay and perform tasks that may be complex. So the breed is not as important as the capability of the individual dog. Service dogs can be trained by a service dog organization and then placed with the physically challenged individual. But service dogs can be trained by the disabled person as well. read more