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Can a Service Dog Make Me Healthier?
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Can a Service Dog Make Me Healthier?

Emma Yasinski
In Alternative Healthcare
on September 28, 2022 (Updated on: November 24, 2024) 5 min read
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A lot of us say that our dogs make us happy. During Covid, one study even suggested that owning a dog helped stave off depression, but dogs can be more than just good company. They can help you manage chronic diseases from epilepsy to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

As Christine Henry, a licensed psychologist in Texas, explains, a client she worked with “came from a domestic violence situation. Even though she was safe, she had trouble sleeping at night and rarely left the home. Once she had a service dog, she was able to leave the home, and later was able to maintain a job in an office. She also was able to get off her sleep medication over time. She grew to trust the dog and know that he would alert her if there was an intruder.”

What Are Service Dogs, Therapy Dogs and Emotional Support Animals? 

Pets can be used in a variety of different settings to provide specific services along with general comfort and support. A service dog is one that’s trained to perform a specific task, like a guide dog that helps a person with limited vision navigate their surroundings. 

A therapy dog is one that is trained to provide emotional support to people in particular settings such as hospitals, schools, nursing homes and jails. One study in hospitals suggested that patients who saw a therapy dog reported less pain, anxiety, and depression immediately after the visit than those who didn’t.

Emotional support animals are pets that provide comfort in stressful situations and psychiatric distress. They are not trained to perform specific functions.

Service animals are the only ones generally allowed in public spaces. If you obtain a letter from a mental health provider, you should be permitted to have an emotional support animal in your home, but the letter does not mean the animal is permitted in public areas where pets are not allowed.

What Conditions Can a Service Animal Help?

Guide Dogs and Hearing Dogs

You’re likely familiar with guide dogs, animals taught to navigate surroundings for people with limited or no eyesight. These dogs undergo extensive training to support their owners.

Dogs can also be trained to help people with hearing loss. The pets can be trained to respond to doorbells, baby cries, or alarm clocks, explains Amy Sarow, AuD, an audiologist in Michigan. 

Hearing loss affects more than just the ears. Studies show that over time, people who lose their hearing start to feel isolated and are at higher risk for diseases like Alzheimer’s. One study showed that those with hearing dogs reported less depression and anxiety and higher social engagement than those with similar hearing loss but no hearing dog. 

Other people with hearing dogs considered themselves more independent and were less likely to require social services than their counterparts without the service animals. 

“The positive effects on quality of life could even lead to better mental health and therefore reduced need for medication to manage mental health,“ says Sarow.

Allergies, Diabetes, and Epilepsy

Service dogs can also be trained to detect allergens in a room or specific foods. They can warn their owners about approaching seizures and bouts of low blood sugar. In situations where one of these events does occur, the dogs can be trained to recognize the emergency and seek help for its owner. 

According to the Epilepsy Foundation, dogs may also lie down next to their owners during a seizure in order to help protect them from injuries.

Autism

Service dogs can serve as an ice breaker for children with Autism who struggle to socialize. The animals can also be trained to interrupt harmful behaviors or track a person with Autism who has wandered off. 

Most studies evaluating the effect of a service dog on people with autism are very small, but some suggest the animals improve overall wellbeing of both the individual and their family.  

Mobility Support

Dogs can help people with physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy and paralysis, according to a 2020 study. The dogs can be trained to open and close doors, for example, helping people feel more independent. The researchers found that those who were provided with service dogs reported greater functioning in school, work, and social settings.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Dogs are frequently used to help veterans with PTSD. In addition to providing comfort, training service dogs to perform specific tasks such as alerting its owner if someone is walking up behind them or circling a room before they enter, the animals can reduce anxiety. One study showed that veterans who received service dogs were more likely to be able to reduce the dosage or number of their PTSD medications. Another study suggested that for these individuals, the calmer the dog, the greater the individuals would benefit from its presence.

Depression and Trauma

Those who are experiencing depression or trauma may not need a service dog trained to help them get out of bed, but an emotional support dog can still go a long way toward helping them recover.

“Petting a dog helps improve mental health almost instantly and can help someone who has experienced trauma begin to live more in the present moment,” adds Katie Ziskind, LMFT, a therapist and owner of Wisdom Within Counseling. 

These pets also help encourage people to leave their beds to feed and walk their dog, providing motivation, fresh air and light exercise which is known to help depression, Ziskind explained.

How to Get a Support Dog

The first question you’ll need to answer for yourself is whether you’ll need a service dog, one that’s trained to perform specific tasks like identify seizures, open doors and alert you to your surroundings, or if you’re looking for an emotional support dog to provide companionship and comfort at home and on airplanes. If you need a service dog, you’ll want to reach out to an organization that trains dogs to perform the specific service you need. Try searching the database of accredited organizations from Assistance Dogs International.

If you’re looking for an emotional support dog, you can adopt one at your local shelter or speak to a qualified breeder. Make sure you discuss your needs with your healthcare professional and with those helping you to adopt or purchase your dog. 

“Picking the appropriate size animal for the client and one with the right training for the situation or diagnosis is important,” says Ziskind.

Source
Jensen, C. L., Rodriguez, K. E., MacLean, E. L., Wahab, A. H. A., Sabbaghi, A., & O’Haire, M. E. (2022). Characterizing veteran and PTSD service dog teams: Exploring potential mechanisms of symptom change and canine predictors of efficacy. PLoS ONE, 17(7), e0269186.Looking for an Assistance Dog. (n.d.). Assistance Dogs InternationalRodriguez, K. E., Anderson, L. M., Ott, C. A., & O'Haire, M. E. (2021). The effect of a PTSD service dog on military veterans' medication regimens: A cross-sectional pilot study. Anthrozoös, 34(3), 393–406.Rodriguez, K. E., Bibbo, J., & O’Haire, M. E. (2019). The effects of service dogs on psychosocial health and wellbeing for individuals with physical disabilities or chronic conditions. Disability and Rehabilitation, 42(10), 1350–1358.Leung, J. Y., Mackenzie, L., & Dickson, C. (2021). Outcomes of assistance dog placement in the home for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and their families: A pilot study. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 69(1), 50–63.Epilepsy Foundation. (n.d.). Seizure dogsStuttard, L., Boyle, P., Fairhurst, C., Hewitt, C., Longo, F., Walker, S., Weatherly, H., Mayhew, E., & Beresford, B. (2021). Hearing dogs for people with severe and profound hearing loss: a wait-list design randomised controlled trial investigating their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Trials, 22(1).Guest, C. M. (2005). Hearing Dogs: A Longitudinal Study of Social and Psychological Effects on Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Recipients. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 11(2), 252–261.Sarow, A. (2023, March 11). About Me - Tinnitus hearing health and wellness. Live Life LimitlesslyCpdt, S. G. M. (2021, February 24). Everything You Need to Know About Emotional Support Animals. American Kennel Club.Carey, B., Dell, C. A., Stempien, J., Tupper, S., Rohr, B., Carr, E., Cruz, M., Acoose, S., Butt, P., Broberg, L., Collard, L., Fele-Slaferek, L., Fornssler, C., Goodridge, D., Gunderson, J., McKenzie, H., Rubin, J., Shand, J., Smith, J., . . . Meier, S. (2022). Outcomes of a controlled trial with visiting therapy dog teams on pain in adults in an emergency department. PLoS ONE, 17(3), e0262599.Martin, F., Bachert, K. E., Snow, L., Tu, H., Belahbib, J., & Lyn, S. A. (2021). Depression, anxiety, and happiness in dog owners and potential dog owners during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. PLoS ONE, 16(12), e0260676.
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Emma Yasinski
Emma Yasinski
Senior Reporter
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Chris
Chris
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2 years ago

The author shows that she does not really understand the difference between a Service Dog (one trained to do specific tasks that directly mitigate a disability) and an Emotional Support Animal (a pet recommended by a doctor) as she talks about them side-by-side as if they are interchangeable.

This is especially obvious at the top of the article where she states “Emotional support animals are pets that provide comfort in stressful situations and psychiatric distress” then goes on to talk about how “Service animals are the only ones generally allowed in public spaces” but does not actually define either. ESA are pets recommended by a doctor because the medical professional feels that having the companionship of a pet would help the person. Service Animals are Service Animals because they are trained to do specific tasks that directly mitigate a disability. You do need a doctor’s letter for an ESA but you do not for a Service Animal.

Another portion where it’s very obvious there has been a lack of research is here: “if you’re looking for an emotional support dog to provide companionship and comfort at home and on airplanes”. DOT has changed regulation for animals of planes in 2020, going into full effect in January 2021. ESA are no longer allowed on planes – only trained Service Animals are.

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Josaph Lara
Josaph Lara
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2 years ago

I always used to think that ESA and service animals are same. I also used these terms interchangeably. This article helped me to understand the difference.

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