We often think of working dogs as hyperactive breeds that are constantly on point and ready to accept the next task with unbridled enthusiasm. While some, such as drug sniffers and apprehension dogs are just that, many dogs are trained for situations that require a more calm demeanor. Emotional Support Dogs (ESA's) provide comfort to people who suffer from anxiety, PTSD, panic attacks, and other psychological issues. For these concerns, the patient might benefit from having an animal that is simply available for companionship. Emotional Support Dogs can actually be prescribed as treatment from licensed mental health professionals that determine an ESA to be beneficial to the patients quality of life.
Service Dogs, however, play a much more involved role in caring for their human. Service Dogs require very specific training related to the disability of their human. Some service dogs can perform tasks as simple as alerting others to an emergency situation while more precisely trained dogs can actually press an alert button to either signal their companion to take insulin or to summon an outsider to respond to the emergency. Often times a service dog will be trained to retrieve items for mobility impaired people, lead visually impaired people while in public areas, or even wake their sleeping human up when they sense episodic nightmares in progress.
On the other end of the spectrum, dogs used for tracking fugitives and 'sniffing out' substances typically have a higher strung disposition than that a Support of Service Animal. The German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois are often used due to their herding breed instincts plus their ability to differentiate between and threatening and non-threatening person...all of this being fine tuned by expert trainers and experienced handlers.
At PAWS Working Dogs Support Network, we work to achieve a top level of excellence in providing people with the type of dog needed for their specific need, be it law enforcement, medical service, or therapeutic support.
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