Anxiety Service Dogs

Snow day! Fun day!

Me and my dogs struggle every day

One of the other trainers said to me "you're a brave man, taking on these dogs at this age" I am the king of shit puppy stage. You get them as cute puppies, I get them as smartass teenagers, and the next person gets a well trained dog. And I wouldn't have it any other way! I love my job and the challenges it presents

The discord server isn't available any more but I am strongly considering making a new one, yes! - Nate

Hey there, Some tasks a dog can perform for depression include: Grounding tasks (Deep pressure therapy),Alerting to a bad state of mind, Medication reminder, Providing distraction through nudging/licking/pawing (remember this has to be a trained task in response to identifying a depressive episode), Alerting family members/roommates to a crisis. These are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Hope they help! - Nate

- Nate

-Patch

-Patch

-Patch

Patch

And this is the ask that's going to resurrect me from my extended hiatus. Just because YOU don't need a service dog doesn't mean that they aren't beneficial to others with debilitating anxiety. As someone with anxiety you should 100% be aware of the fact that things that works for others won't necessarily work for you. Anxiety can present in many forms. I'm going to use myself as an example. As someone with PTSD and severe anxiety, when I get anxious and/or have panic attacks I disassociate. Which can be extremely dangerous for me in public. The dogs I train are all trained with guiding tasks, for my benefit specifically. When I dissociate my dogs will pick up on it and Immiedietly take me somewhere safe. Whether this be an area that's clear of people or back out to my car, depending on the situation/location. This is a life saving task for me. One that lets me be independent, without a service dog I'd have to wait for a friend to be available to accompany me to do things as simple as grabbing groceries. I use other tasks but this is the main one that gives me the confidence and ability to go out alone. Anxiety and anxiety symptoms aren't the same for everyone. And service dogs aren't needed by everyone. Yes there are people out there with anxiety who don't need a service dog and just want one. There is a reason any reputable Psych Dog program has stringent applications (including mine). Just because you've met others with debilitating anxiety who don't need a service dog, doesn't mean there aren't others who do need them. Such as myself. This is the same as saying that because you and those you know with chronic pain don't need a wheelchair, every one with severe chronic pain can and should get by without using one. It's abelist and generalizing because YOU don't need it. - Nate

-Patch + Auden

I was first diagnosed as a freshman in high school (though by the nature of my illnesses, it technically started age four), and after having been there, and where I am now, as a general rule I say after high school. Even if that means getting the dog the summer of graduation or freshman year of college. So I guess the age would be 18 or so? But that’s just my personal opinion. I know people navigate high school with an SD, but that seems like a nightmare to me haha. People don’t tell you that for a while after you get your dog, your anxiety will actually be worse because of people coming up to you, petting your dog, general anxiety around the dog, blah blah blah. I couldn’t have done it in school. No way. But plenty of people can, and do. Good luck!-Patch & Auden

-Patch & Auden