Service Dogs

Kinds of Service Dogs: Mobility Assistance

There are many types of service dogs in use today, and they all serve unique purposes for their handlers. One of the oldest and most common kinds of service dogs is one that assists their handler with specific mobility related tasks. For people afflicted with a variety of diseases or afflictions like multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, traumatic spinal injuries, paralysis, and other common ailments, having a service dog as your right hand man helps to make life just a hair easier. Able bodied individuals take for granted all of the things they are able to do each and every day. Being able to dress oneself, pick up an object off the shelf at the grocery store, and answer the phone are just a few tasks that can be laborious or impossible if you are movement compromised.

A service dog is trained to be an assistant not a nuisance. Daily life is challenging enough that a service dog is there to help but can’t be an added challenge in and of itself. Service dogs are special dogs that often fill the role of not just helper but also great listener, friend, and ice breaker with new people. Mobility assistance dogs are trained specifically for issues that generally arise for people affected by mobility issues. Some of these things they are commonly trained to do:

• Behaviors like jump on tables, stand, and roll over are all used to give the handler ways to access the dog better. Having it jump on a table puts the dog at wheelchair height making it easier to groom and take care of.

• A dog that is trained to put on his own collar, help put on his cape (vest that identifies him as a service dog), and go find his leash are all tools to make getting ready to leave easier.

• A skill like Tug is used to open cabinets or the refrigerator door but it can also be used to help someone remove their socks or clothes.

• Specific affection commands like having the dog place his front paws in his handler’s lap and stand up, placing his head on his handler’s legs, and a snuggling of the handler’s neck with the dog’s head are all used to help the handler share affection with the dog. When you are limited in mobility, the simple act of petting a dog is more difficult, and these commands give the dog a way to easily provide affection in a manner that the handler can do.

• A variety of directional commands let the dog know where to go. He can go in doorways first, turn around, go under tables, walk backwards, and know which side of his handler to walk on.

• Picking up dropped items is a skill that is used with high frequency. Dogs are trained to retrieve materials of all construction. This means a dog will pick up a dumbbell as easily as a dropped pill bottle. The command can also be used to retrieve items off of shelves at the store, and the gentleness of mouth means the dog can retrieve items without damage or even hand money to a customer service worker for payment without swallowing it.

• Turning on and off lights is another task of great importance. Similarly, the dogs can be trained to push all kinds of things with their nose making it easy to translate skills to other areas like pushing the silver handicapped button at the store to open the door.

• Bracing and pulling are two more tasks that are of assistance to a handicapped handler. Bracing dogs help to steady their handler for movement, and dogs trained to pull are able to help a handler move their wheelchair in a specific direction.

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