09/01/2022
September is National Service Dog Month. 🐕🦺 Every day, smart, dedicated dogs go to work to make their owners’ lives a little easier and a little more secure.
In honor of these amazing dogs, we wanted to share a few facts about what makes them so special.
1. Service dogs are highly trained professionals.
These hard-working dogs undergo hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of hours of training. Their training includes basic obedience and manners, intermediate and advanced skills, public access training, and job-specific task training. Each Service Dog’s task training varies to match their human partner’s unique needs
2. Service dogs provide a diverse array of jobs.
Service Dogs assist people with a wide range of disabilities. Common types of Service Dogs include visual assistance, hearing, allergen alert, brace and mobility support, neurological assistance, sensory processing, psychiatric, and many others. The jobs a Service Dog can perform are limited only by a trainer’s capability and the laws of physics.
3. Each Service Dog team is unique.
All disabilities are different. Furthermore, each person with a disability is an individual, and so is the dog! A Service Dog is trained to help their specific person with their specific needs. Some Service Dogs open doors and help pull wheelchairs. Other Service Dogs alert to malfunctioning medical equipment or to the presence of deadly allergens. It’s important to remember that personality and temperament play a huge part in creating a successful partnership.
