Assistance Dogs:

Improving Lives

What are Assistance Dogs?

Most people with disabilities such as visual or hearing impairment employ the help of dogs, referred to as assistance dogs. This allows physically disabled individuals to gain independence without constricting their everyday normal activities such as crossing the street, picking up dropped items, among others.

Assistance dogs undergo rigorous training to equip them with skills that will provide the 'assistance' needed by physically challenged individuals. There are several dog training programs nowadays, but most of them commence with obedience training that allows the dog to follow commands. Then, the specifics of the training method vary depending on what type of assistance dog you are trying to develop. The type of assistance dog will then rely on the specific disability of the dog's partner, such as those with hearing impairment need hearing dogs while those who have trouble standing up or walking need mobility dogs.

Types of Assistance Dogs

When referring to the needs of every disabled person, there are also various types of assistance dogs that will provide specific kind of help. It is important that you recognize the following:

*Guide dogs – as the name implies, these type of dogs are suitable for individuals with a visual impairment

*Hearing dogs – also known as signal dogs, they alert sounds in the environment for the deaf or those with hearing problems

*Service dogs – there are several other types for this one, such as seizure response dogs, psychiatric service dogs, and mobility dogs.

Training For Assistance Dogs

While dogs are dubbed as a “man's best friend”, you need to utilize that natural inclination for helping individuals by training them to obtain the necessary skills. There are custom trainings done on assistance dogs to help improve a disabled person's quality of life.

For physical assistance dogs, most training routines include the following:

*opening or closing doors
*retrieving items
*switching lights on or off
*carrying objects
*pulling wheelchairs
*providing support for standing up or walking, etc

For hearing assistance dogs, the training consists of identifying the following sounds and alarming their partner to make the necessary response:

*buzzing alarm clock
*ringing phone
*doorbell
*door knocking
*fire alarm, etc

There are other variables to the training such as enabling the dog to socialize and get used to an environment filled with people. This helps reduce the level of anxiety on the dog to make it better equipped to assist a person.

Equipment for Assistance Dogs

There are various equipments available in the market that will enable you to control, give commands, and provide comfort to your dog while you go out into the public. Here are just a few of them that you can use on your own dog:

Halter: This can be used in the absence of collars and are useful for controlling the dog. Provided that you have custom fit it for your dog's size, it should be comfortable enough to wear. Therefore, you can control your dog and make it follow your command.

Other equipments for assistance dogs include capes, vests, jackets, and patches. You can also utilize the pockets within the vests or jackets to carry items that you might need. Meanwhile, patches are useful for identifying your dog as an “assistance dog” so you can get better public access.

Considerations For Choosing Your Own Dog

Not all types of assistance dogs and you have to make a careful decision in which you choose to suit for your unique needs. Here are a few factors you need to carefully look into:

1. Temperament – Even if you are used around pets, not everyone is equipped with the ability to interpret behavior of dogs. Choose a sound dog who is naturally suitable for dealing with people and most especially since you need it to gain public access. Moreover, aggressive dogs are not highly recommended.
2. Compatibility – This refers to your needs and the dog's abilities, something of which could weigh heavily into your decision.
3. Health of dog – If you can, have your dog checked with the veterinarian to ensure that it is at its best health. If it is not in good shape, how can it provide assistance to you? While it is imperative for dog owners to take care of their dog's health, it is more important for assistance dogs who are subjected to more stress than average dogs.
4. Training – Not everyone have the capacity to train their dog to achieve working abilities. Therefore, you want an assistance dog that is dependable when it comes to providing assistance.
5. Public access – This is related to the type of training that the dog undergoes. Aside from working abilities, make sure that the handler has provided your dog with the right ethics training to make them suitable for access to public environments.

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