ADHD Service (or Therapy) Dog
There are basically two populations of people with what is often called ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder):
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General Dog Care FAQ
Four Sections:
Food and water
Health
Grooming
Equipment
Behavior
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When at Home
When at home, is the service dog to be treated just like any other pet?
No, and here are some guidelines (as opposed to laws). We will go over everything with you, too.
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Dogs for the Deaf
Pawsitivity trains service dogs for people who are deaf and also for people with hearing processing disorders.
The #1 task that a service dog for the deaf is trained to do is almost always to alert the handler to specific sounds (such as smoke alarms) or to alert the handler to someone coming up from behind them.
The #1 side benefit reported is that the dogs serve as a "social bridge" to help people with deafness relate to others in their community. Almost 100% of the handlers said that they made more friends and were more social as a result of their service dog (this is an incredibly high result).
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Training Familes
During the six to twelve months of service dog training, we train the handler and/or family as well as the dog. If possible, we set up monthly meetings so we can teach the handler how to give cues correctly and handle the dog in public places. If we’re not able to set up monthly meetings with the handler because a) you’re not local, and your schedule doesn’t allow it, or b) you aren’t local, and their disability prevents you from traveling, we have occasionally made exceptions where we travel to the handler.
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Travel with a Service Dog
Info on flying, taking a bus/subway, or traveling by car with a service dog.
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History of Service Dogs
If you are specifically looking for the history of US dog laws, the short answer is that in the United States, service dogs weren't legally recognized until the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990.
The following is a chapter in our award-winning book, "Service Dogs: The Rescue and Training of Heroes." History.com even used our chapter in the creation of their short page about the history of service dogs!
Have you ever wondered why dogs and people have such a special connection? The answer may be that, in many ways, we can think of the history of dogs as the history of people..
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Service Dog Training Style
At Pawsitivity, we use the same method that both the U.S. Army working dog program (above) and Guide Dogs for the Blind uses:
"All of the dog training is based on positive reward or feedback" -- U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.[1]
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Service Dog Laws
Beginner:
A service dog can be any breed. (Read more about breeds.)
The owner has to have a disability (physical or psychiatric), as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
If you are looking for more information on psychiatric service dogs, go here.
Note: These guidelines are over-simplified. For more detail, see the advanced section beneath this box.
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Service Dog Breeds
Many of the dogs we work with are rescue dogs. The number one question we get asked from the public is, “What breeds to you use as service dogs?”
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