The DIY Service/Assistance/Emotional Support Dog

Last month  I wrote about service/assistance/emotional support (SAES) animals being prescribed by human healthcare professionals. That commentary was motivated by the increased calls and emails I receive about ill-suited dogs in these positions. This month I want to address a conceivably larger group comprised of those who use or seek dogs that they train themselves to enhance their own or a loved one’s physical or mental health. That someone would want to select and train such a dog or appropriate the family pet for that purpose doesn’t surprise me because animals professionally trained to meet the specific needs of the disabled are in short supply and costly. But based on contact I’ve had with those who opted for a DIY solution and got themselves and their dogs into trouble, they failed to consider some significant points.

If you or your loved one didn’t want a dog when you or they weren’t disabled, think long and hard before getting one because you or they now are.

What media reports of dogs used for therapeutic purposes often overlook is the role played by the quality of the physiological bond between the person and the dog. Although some dogs, like some people, daily can serve others from whom they get little or nothing back, over time such lop-sided relationships take their toll on the animal. Also, thanks to technology and a growing disabled population, the selection of devices and services available to maintain or enhance the disabled person’s quality of life has increased greatly. Consequently, there’s no reason to use a dog for this purpose unless a genuine desire exists for the dog in addition to the ability to properly care for and train the animal

If a genuine desire for a dog does exist, get the dog from a reliable source.

Providing reliable service, assistance or support for a disabled person requires a physically, mentally, and emotionally sound animal as well as a well-trained one. That means getting a dog who comes with reliable records and history from a known and respected source. In addition to such soundness enhancing the training/canine learning process, it also will help ensure that the dog carries no disease- causing organisms or parasites that might endanger the owner/handler or others. While always a concern, this is particularly true for those whose disabilities or medications may undermine their immune responses.

Above all, keep in mind that SAES dogs are working dogs, not pets. In no way does this mean that strong emotional attachments don’t form between these human-canine teams. This is a hallmark of the best of them. However, there may be times when the disabled person’s own survival depends on a lot more than any love they share with their animals. At such times the dog’s ability to do his/ her job demands knowledge, skill, and presence. And that requires a special kind of animal.

Don’t expect shelter folks, breeders, or other animal-care professionals to select a good SAES dog for you or your loved one.

Weekly and sometimes daily requests to do just that are making the already stressed lives of shelter workers and other animal care professionals even more so. Proper selection of a SAES animal requires a comprehensive medical and behavioral history of the proposed recipient’s needs and limitations. Asking those outside of the human medical or behavioral health professions without access to such material and its conclusions to select a service animal for you or your loved one is inappropriate as well as potentially dangerous.

Think twice before recruiting the family dog for SAES duties.

While it initially may seem more time- and cost-efficient to train the family pet for SAES work, this depends on the physical, mental, and bond status of the existing dog. A 6-year-old dog who has trouble moving when she first gets up, is needy, and can’t make it through thunderstorms and the 4^th of July without drugs isn’t a good candidate. Similarly, if the disabled person considers the family dog a nuisance, that person and the dog will experience a lesser working relation no matter how fit the dog is.

Don’t get so caught up in what you want your DIY SAES dog to do that you forget your and your dog’s obligations to society.

Most DYIers want their dogs to perform tasks outside the average pet dog’s usual behavioral repertoire; they naturally want their dogs to minimize the effects of their disabilities and enhance the quality of their lives. However, sometimes DIYers become so focused on what they want their dogs to do for them that they overlook a basic obligation of all dog owners. All dog-owner are legally as well as morally responsible for the behavior of their dogs. Any special privileges state or federal laws grant to SAES animals only apply to well-trained, well-behaved animals. Unruly, destructive, or aggressive dogs or those who aren’t house-trained don’t meet this definition.

This means that if you or your loved one desire to take the dog to places where animal presence normally is forbidden, the dog must be rock -solid in basic obedience in addition to any therapeutic tasks you want the dog to perform.

Keep in mind that you or your love one aren’t the only disabled people out there.

While this seems obvious, calls and emails I and others receive suggest it isn’t to some people. As mentioned previously, the disabled population is growing. Consequently, a very real probability exists that you or your loved one won’t be the only disabled person in any public setting. In general, these others fall into two groups that must be taken into account, and both may claim the same rights and access to limited special resources as you or your loved one.

Group I consists of those with legitimate disabilities—sometimes hidden ones—sans animals. Some people with SAES dogs get so used to making the disabled person = SAES dog connection that they mistakenly believe that all disabled people have dogs. Consequently, they may treat those who don’t as “fakes” or worse if those people also request or expect special consideration.

Group II consists of poorly trained real or fake (Don’t get me started on them!) SAES dogs. These animals pose a threat to all people and animals. However, the disabled and their well-trained and -behaved animals are especially vulnerable to harassment and, sadly, even attacks from these dogs.

Don’t buy into the myth that anyone can properly train a dog to do what you want your SAES dog to do.

Properly training a dog is hard work under that best of circumstances. It takes time, patience, knowledge, and commitment to the animal. Properly training a SAES dog is twice as hard, and DIY training a dog to perform SAES functions for you or a loved one is harder still.

Some people become so blinded by their visions of all they and their SAES dogs will do that they forget about any limits their disabilities may impose on their capacity to train such an animal. Schedules filled with appointments with physical and mental health clinicians, physical rehab sessions, or just the fulfillment of daily routines may leave them feeling exhausted. Medications that dull the senses or flatten emotional responses may wreak havoc with the timing necessary to successfully to train a dog. Patterns of good and bad days may make the consistent responses essential for canine learning elusive at best.

Additionally, what makes quality SAES dogs unique is their ability to guide their people through physical or emotional situations those people are unable to negotiate themselves. That means that, in addition to knowing when to obey commands given by that person, the dog also needs to know how and when to ignore them. For example, if the person suffers a panic attack in a crowded public space and starts giving the dog random or conflicting fear-driven commands, the dog must be able to ignore those commands and instead do what she’s been trained to do to calm the person.

The preceding example further points out the need for complete trust between the person and the dog, i.e. a quality bilateral bond. No matter how I look at it, I see no way such trust can exist if a) the person didn’t want or is ambivalent toward the dog or b), shock collars or other forms of punishment are used. Just as excessive dependence on treat-training may result in training that breaks downs when it’s needed the most, so may that which depends on pain or fear of it.

But even if the proper method and wherewithal to implement it exists, all this training hard work assumes that you or your loved one and the dog have the right stuff to be a good working team from the beginning.

Recognize that SAES dogs may become temporarily or permanently disabled and incapable of performing their work reliably.  It’s also possible that you or your loved one may outlive the dog.

This may seem pretty obvious but it’s surprising how quickly people may become so physically and emotionally dependent on an SAES dog’s services that they can’t function if something happens to the animal. Fortunately, basic SAES dog care includes that the dog experiences several hours off-duty, away from the disabled person and out of the home. In addition to giving the animal time relax and enjoy doing doggy things, this enables the person to function alone or develop other non-animal sources of comfort and support. That way if something happens that negates the dog’s ability to work, the effect won’t be as devastating and detrimental to the disabled person’s well-being as it would be if these interludes part weren’t part of the process from the beginning.

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No one needs to convince me how much well-selected and -trained SAES dogs can do to enrich the lives of those with disabilities. But I also know how much grief poorly selected or trained dogs can cause those same people, their dogs, and those around them. So if you think a DIY SAES dog could benefit you or a loved one, please, please, please do your homework first.