I get asked a lot, ‘Just what do you do as a PTSD Service Dog?’ Every service dog is different, as every person with disabilities is different. So, we are trained to the specific needs of our human, thus every dog has somewhat different skills. My Mum was victim to an armed car-jacking so a large part of my job is to detect malfeasance in other humans. I am also trained to maintain a constant 360
degree guard of my Mum and alert her when someone is approaching out of visibility. I am also trained to place myself between my Mom and a stranger if the stranger is beginning to invade her established personal space or act erratically in some way. I will sometimes bark and growl if the stranger keeps coming, but I never bite. My job is to just make the stranger stops and thinks and give Mum enough time to warn them to stay back. Aside from the specific commands and skills that I have, I also provide therapeutic interventions in another special way. In general, we dogs are extremely receptive to our human’s emotional and psychological states. When they are agitated or anxious, we sense this and then do whatever interaction we are trained to do. I am trained to jump in my Mum’s lap and lick her neck and face, distracting her from whatever is disturbing her and keeping her focused on the present moment while interacting with me. This is lots of fun for me and she settles down, too. Every post will bring meaning and insight in to my job with my Mum and the friends I have made along the way..
