Dogs have been working for humans for thousands of years, but service therapy work dogs carry out particularly specialized tasks that can make a real difference in people’s lives. From leading the blind to assisting in hospitals and supporting search and rescue operations, there isn’t much these exceptional dogs can’t do.
While most people interchangeably use the term service dog to refer to any dog that has received special training to carry out specific tasks for humans, there are subtle but important differences between service, therapy, and working dogs.
Knowing these differences is particularly important if you’re considering getting, training, or simply learning more about these amazing animals.
This guide explores everything about service therapy work dogs, including:
What service therapy work dogs are
The subtle yet important differences between service, therapy, and working dogs
Training requirements
The best breeds
Costs and certifications
And much more, including frequently asked questions
What Are Service Therapy Work Dogs?
The term service therapy work dog collectively refers to dogs that perform tasks that benefit humans.
Generally speaking, there are three types of service therapy work dogs:
Although all three dogs work closely with humans, each has a very different role.
What Is a Service Dog?
A service dog is trained to perform specific tasks to help an individual with a disability.
Some examples of tasks that service dogs do are:
leading blind people, alerting deaf handlers to sounds such as doorbells, detecting seizures, low blood sugar, retrieving medication, opening doors, pulling wheelchairs, activating alarm systems, and providing upper body support.
Since service dogs assist their owner almost constantly, they should not be petted or disturbed when working.
Some Common Types of Service Dogs Are:
Guide Dogs
These dogs are trained to lead the blind.
Hearing Dogs
These dogs can be trained to alert their handler to sounds such as a doorbell, fire alarm, crying baby, telephone ringing, or someone entering the room. They can also alert their handler when being called.
Mobility Assistance Dogs
These dogs help people with conditions such as multiple sclerosis, MS, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, and arthritis. They help with things like picking up dropped items, opening and closing doors, turning lights on and off, and carrying bags.
Medical Alert Dogs
Medical alert dogs can be trained to detect things such as a drop in blood sugar, seizures, allergic reactions, narcolepsy, and heart problems.
Some can even detect things before the occurrence can be detected by an electronic machine.
Psychiatric Service Dogs
These dogs can help individuals suffering from PTSD, severe anxiety, autism, depression, panic attacks, and other mental illnesses. Psychiatric service dogs are trained to do things to help their handlers cope with their mental illness, not merely to provide comfort.
What Is a Therapy Dog?
A therapy dog differs from a service dog in that it provides comfort to many different people, rather than being trained to help one individual.
Therapy dogs spend time in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, rehabilitation centers, disaster relief centers, libraries, and universities.
They help lessen feelings of stress, anxiety, loneliness, and fear.
Many hospitals have a program where patients can spend time enjoying and interacting with therapy dogs.
What Is a Working Dog?
Working dogs perform useful tasks for their handlers.
They can be police dogs, military dogs, search and rescue dogs, detection dogs, herding dogs, livestock guardian dogs, and avalanche rescue dogs. There are several kinds of working dogs.
Unlike therapy dogs, working dogs often undergo lots of training to do their job and frequently perform physically demanding tasks.
How Are Service Dogs Trained?
Training a service dog is a very serious business that takes about 18-24 months. This is the average time it takes to train a service dog depending on the owner’s needs. The basic obedience training includes: sit, stay, heel, down, come, leave it, and public access. The public access training involves exposing the dog to crowds, elevators, airports, shopping malls, restaurants, and loud noises. Task training is also essential, which involves teaching the dog to do one or more tasks depending on the handler’s disability.
The dog can be trained to get medication, brace up, detect epileptic seizures, interrupt panic attacks, lead during poor vision, and detect when blood sugar is low. It is also vital to teach the handler how to care, communicate, reinforce, and work with their dog. Dogs undergo therapy training where they interact with humans, learn how to behave appropriately, and how to be extra gentle and calm around strangers. Therapy training always focuses more on temperament than tasks. Dogs are exposed to lots of noise and strange environments.
Most organizations require their therapy dogs to pass tests before they can begin volunteering. Working dogs also undergo special training depending on the job requirements. Some of the working dogs include: detection dogs that are trained to search for explosives, narcotics, guns, agricultural products, currency, and electronics. Other working dogs include search and rescue dogs, police dogs, and sniffing dogs. Detection dogs have exceptional sense of smell that enables them track certain scents and substances. Search and rescue dogs are trained to find missing people like hikers or people buried under collapsed buildings, and avalanche rescues. Police dogs include tracking, apprehending suspects, searching buildings for criminals and evidence, and detecting drugs.
Best Dog Breeds For Service Therapy Work Dogs
There are certain dog breeds that are best suited for service, therapy, and work dogs due to their exceptional level of intelligence, temperament, and ease of training. Labrador retrievers are one of the most popular dog breeds worldwide. They are known to be friendly and easy to train. These traits make them perfect for guide, mobility assistance, and medical alert. Golden retrievers are very patient and gentle dogs, great with children and elderly. They are great therapy and service dogs known for being reliable.
German shepherds are one of the most versatile working dogs and excels at police and military duties. They are also exceptional mobility assistance dogs, guide dogs, and search and rescue dogs. Standard poodles make wonderful service dogs, especially for people with allergies. They have hypoallergenic coats, that require little maintenance. They can serve as psychiatric service dogs, medical alert dogs, and mobility assistance dogs. Border collies are very intelligent dogs and are suitable for detection and specialized service work, including search and rescue, tracking, agility, herding, and farm work. They are very energetic and need lots of exercise to stay healthy.
How Much Does a Service Dog Cost? Costs vary considerably.
Can Any Dog Become a Service Dog?
Any dog can become a service dog depending on their nature, attitude, level of intelligence, and energy. The best dogs to serve as service animals include those that have confidence, are calm, less aggressive, focused, highly intellectual, and energetic. Service dogs need to be fit and healthy throughout their careers. The breed of the dog also plays an essential role in determining whether the dog can become a service dog or not. Most service dogs are of mixed breeds.
Legal Rights of Service Dogs
It’s important to know that in most countries, service dogs are legally entitled to enter places where pets are typically not allowed.
For example, they can go to:
Restaurants
Hotels
Stores
Public transport
Government offices
Healthcare facilities
It’s important to note that therapy dogs are not considered service dogs and do not have the same access rights as service dogs, since they do not undergo the same specialized training to perform tasks for people with disabilities. Laws regarding service dogs can differ depending on the country, so it’s essential to research local laws
Benefits of Service Therapy Work Dogs
The benefits of a correctly trained service dog are immeasurable.
Some reasons why more and more people are getting working dogs are:
Increased independence
They can help their handler complete numerous tasks
Improved safety
Medical alert dogs can notify their owner of an impending medical emergency.
Increased feelings of happiness, comfort, and relaxation
Service dogs can help reduce feelings of depression and anxiety.
Assistance dogs can help their owner move around more freely.
Improved quality of life
Studies have shown that assistance dogs can improve confidence levels and encourage people to participate in more activities.
FAQs
Are therapy dogs and service dogs the same?
No, they are not. Service dogs are dogs that have been trained to perform specific tasks to assist a person living with a disability, while therapy dogs are trained to provide emotional support to several people in a variety of settings.
Can emotional support dogs be service animals?
No, they can’t be classified as service animals since they have not received the necessary training to perform particular tasks to help a person living with a disability.
What are the best breeds for service dogs?
Some of the best service dog breeds are Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, standard poodles, and German shepherds. However, every person has different preferences and requirements, so it is best to choose the dog breed that suits you.
How long do service dogs go to training?
Most service dogs go to training for about 18-24 months when they are placed with their new owner
Can service dogs play?
Yes, they can, although it is essential to provide them with mental stimulation and physical exercise to ensure the dog has a good quality of life.
Conclusion
While the topic of service dogs in society may seem complex, distinguishing between a service dog and a therapy dog or a working dog is relatively simple. For instance, service dogs help people with disabilities perform various tasks, therapy dogs offer emotional support to many individuals in a setting such as a hospital, and working dogs are trained to carry out specialized tasks in a professional capacity. This includes dogs that assist in searches and rescues, detect bombs, and work in the military. Therefore, whether you are looking for information about service dogs or want to train your dog to become a service dog, it is crucial to understand the responsibilities that come with being a service dog owner.
