Service Dogs?

[ShyestofFlies]

I'm curious of anyone has one or is considering getting one.
What ways could having a service dog help you?
Do the benefits outweigh the energy cost needed to get or train one yourself?


For those interested in reseaching more, I will link to some stuff about fm/cfs service dogs.

http://aroundwiththehound.com/post/7577675419/how-service-dogs-help-people-with-me-and-similar

 

[Who Me?]

Can a service dog cook dinner and vaccuum? Lol.

 

[ShyestofFlies]

Can a service dog cook dinner and vaccuum? Lol.

I wish! I've heard they can help with the laundry and clean up the house though.

 

[Who Me?]

I wish! I've heard they can help with the laundry and clean up the house though.

Yah but they'd still have to walk themselves and clean up their poop.

 

[Remy]

I have thought about it but to get a dog certified, it is a fairly long process and a TON of work training. Getting one fully trained is also expensive and they typically have long waiting lists unfortunately.

I had a meeting with a trainer and she unfortunately did not think that either of my two wonderful dogs was a good candidate (Cricket has some health concerns and Ivey is pretty excitable).

I'd still love to have them certified as service dogs because it would make taking them places so much easier for me but it looks doubtful at this time. The trainer made a good point that service dogs are tools, not pets, as such. Not that you don't love and care for them and form a bond, but they need to know they are there to do a job. My dogs have been too spoiled since birth to adjust to a change in role, I think.

It's easier to get an animal certified as an emotional support animal as opposed to a service dog but they are not offered the same protections under the ADA.

 

[ShyestofFlies]

What got me interested was the teaching your dog to help you up hills on command and the counter balancing task for when you go off balance. While some of the effects of a ESA would be nice, I think what I like best is the physical aid a bigger dog can provide. Unfortunately the down side is big dog, big poops! But surely if you can train a dog to pick up medicine bottles and cell phones, you can train them to clean up after themselves, right?

 

[San Diego]

I lost my 15 year old dog a year ago. She was small (8 pounds), fully trained, and no longer required daily walks - I could literally open the back door, let her go out to do her business, and she came back in immediately. She was wonderful emotional support and required very little of me.

That being said, even the small amount of work required (food, water, get out of bed on bad days, occasional baths) was too much for me. As dearly as I miss her, her death came as a small relief. It grieves me greatly to say it, but I cannot imagine keeping up with another dog. Heck, I’m not even sure I could keep a goldfish alive at this point!

Do most people who have service dogs actually have someone else in the house that maintains the animal?

 

[appa]

I know this is an old thread. I had a dog I trained as a service dog who died a few years ago. she was trained to help me with ptsd symptoms as i had symptoms of me/cfs but wasn't diagnosed and didn't realize i had it. i keep thinking about training another dog as service dog with help of my spouse (like before) because i struggle so much with will power and pacing that i never leave the fence around my home now unless it is to see a doctor. i always do to much. the task of telling me to stop and rest and turn around and go home could help me so much to be able to do more. and other things. some service dogs really love to put dirty clothes into a washing machine and take the clean ones out. they can't fold them but they can help still. i keep wondering what tasks would help me.