Where problem dogs are no problem

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Psychiatric service dogs

I have always wanted to train dogs for a higher purpose, like guide dogs for the blind.  It has come to my attention recently that there are service dogs for people with mental disabilities.  I know there are service dogs that can detect oncoming seizures and problems with blood sugar, but psychiatric disabilities?  I needed to look into this.  I have been researching for several days now and this is what I have found out.  Anyone who has a psychiatric disability can have a psychiatric service dog (PSD).  That includes me. These dogs are granted all the same privileges that any service dog is granted.  These dogs are trained in a team with their owner.  So I have taken it upon myself to begin training Emma to a higher standard.  She has already passed her Canine Good Citizen test (CGC) which is suggested.  The is a therapy dog already.  I am prepared to help anyone who with a mental disability who wants to train their dog to become a service dog.  Each dog would be obedience trained, have to take the CGC test, pass a public access test and be trained to each owner specifically.  I am currently looking into what privileges are granted to service dogs in training so as not to run into any problems taking Emma somewhere I should not be taking her.

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