Here is a description of some of the actual tasks which a dog can be trained to perform.
Bring Medication to Alleviate Symptoms
Dog assists partner to cope with nausea, cramps, dizziness, other medication side effects or the fear paralysis of PTSD or the sudden waves of terror, chest pains and respiratory distress of a severe panic attack by fetching antidote medication to alleviate the severity of the symptoms.
Dog trained to fetch medication from another room if kept in a cupboard in a basket.
Dog trained to fetch purse with medication in the home ( will search and drag.)
Dog trained to bring purse with medication from a specific place, such as the outer office, closet or bathroom vanity where it is usually kept.
Dog trained to locate a heavy purse sitting on hotel room dresser or desk or chair by following directional commands and drag-deliver it to his partner.
Bring a Beverage So Human Partner Can Swallow Medication
This complex task involves a sequence of skills, takes four to six months to master.
Dog trained to fetch a beverage to enable the human partner to swallow the medication.
Must master the skills of: 1) going to the kitchen from another room to pull open a refrigerator door or cupboard door with a strap, 2) picking up the beverage from refrigerator shelf before the door swings shut, 3) carrying an ice cold beverage to the partner in another room, 4) going back, if need be, to shut the refrigerator door or 5) fetching a basket containing a beverage, plastic glass, possibly other small items that may spill out if the basket is not properly carried by it’s handle from the cupboard shelf to the partner in another room.
Bring The Emergency Phone During a Crisis
Enables the human partner to contact a doctor, therapist or other in a support system when experiencing alarming medication side effects, terror or respiratory distress from a panic attack, or a flashback. An individual suffering from depression, possibly with suicidal ideation, also needs to be able to reach a supporting person or agency. Retrieval of the portable phone can be very useful in other situations too. (Training Note: this should be made a “place command,” as asking a dog to visually search the house is unreliable, especially if the phone is left on a counter or piece of furniture above the dog’s line of sight. It is best to locate the charger unit on the floor in a room with two entrances. If possible, the emergency phone should never be used except during practice sessions. This will help ensure its availability during a crisis.)
Dog is trained to bring the handler a portable phone. If the room where the emergency phone is located has two entrances, the dog should be specifically taught to find the second entrance in case the first is blocked so the task can be completed. The end goal is to successfully train a service dog to bring the phone to any room in the house when needed.
Answer the Doorbell
When situations occur in which the handler urgently needs help but cannot get to the front door to let someone into the home due to physical incapacity from drug interactions, injuries that occurred due to lightheadedness, fainting, other side effects, or illness, the service dog could assist by opening the front door and escorting emergency personnel or a member of the support system to the handler’s location.
Dog trained to tug strap to open lever handle of the front door to let in emergency personnel or members of support system on command or in response to doorbell itself.
Dog trained to escort the person to the handler’s location.
Call 911 or Suicide Hotline on K-9 Rescue Phone
People with physical disabilities have reported going through periods of severe depression and not a few admit they’ve contemplated suicide. Those with a mental disability like PTSD are equally susceptible to developing this mood disorder or experiencing a sudden exacerbation of its symptoms. Scientists view it as a biological problem, not purely psychological. With some the condition becomes a lifelong struggle. A service dog can improve the safety of its partner whenever the mood disorder becomes life threatening. One task to consider is schooling the dog to operate the K-9 Rescue phone to summon help during a crisis. [available at
www.ablephone.com]
Dog trained to call 911 / any preprogrammed number by depressing the huge white button on a K-9 Rescue speaker-phone.
Bark For Help in an Emergency
This task could be useful if someone has close neighbors willing to respond if they see the front door wide open and the dog in the doorway or on the porch barking his head off. Can work well in multi-family housing units. Many handlers tell the neighbors that if they hear the service dog barking, to immediately assume they are “in trouble” and respond accordingly. Handler will have to prevent the dog from doing nuisance barking, otherwise like the boy that cried “wolf,” no one will pay any attention to the service dog barking in a crisis. Lacking a K-9 Rescue phone, unable to afford Lifeline or an alarm company service, this task offers a low budget alternative if partner falls down, injures self, has an alarming drug interaction crisis or needs assistance for another reason and happens to be home alone.
Dog trained to open front door anytime of day or night and bark for help.