Types

Different Types of Service Dogs:

• Medical alert dog
  • Diabetic alert
    • Alerts their human when their blood sugar is below 70 or above 180 (or outside normal range for that person)
  • Seizure alert
    • We don’t know what they alert on
    • Can’t really be trained, usually pick it up after being trained for seizure response
    • Fainting alert
• Mobility Assistance
  • Counterbalance
    •  The dog will pull when they feel their owner losing balance. Helping them stay upright.
  • Guide dogs
    • Able to be the eyes of their human handler
• Autism Assistance
  • These dogs are trained to make daily life more safe and less stressful for those who might find it hard to function in daily life otherwise
• Hearing Dog
  • Trained to alert their owners to specific sounds. Some examples of sounds that can be alerted on
    • Owner’s name
    • Fire alarm
    • Doorbell
    • Child crying

A Service Dog is a dog trained to preform a certain task or tasks to assist their handler. Their training is what sets them apart from pets and grants them public access. These are only a small number of the different types of service dog there are.

• Medical Response dogs
  • Seizure response
    • They are often trained to make the environment safer for the person having a seizure. Including but not limited to
      • Alerting a caregiver when a seizure occurs
      • Keeping the area around the handler safe during the seizure
  • Psychiatric response 
    • Can be trained to help with a myriad of different mental health conditions, depending on a handlers needs
      • Anxiety
      • Depression
      • Bipolar disorders
      • Other mental health conditions
    • Not to be confused with emotional support animal

• Emotional Support Animal (ESA)
  • Not considered a Service Dog so they don’t have the same public access rights
  • The animal’s presence is the comfort
    • Not specifically trained for a task to help
  • Doesn’t have to be a dog