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Diabetes Alert Dog
A diabetic alert dog is an assistance dog trained to detect high (hyperglycemia) or low (hypoglycemia) levels of blood sugar in humans with diabetes and alert their owners to dangerous changes in blood glucose levels. This allows their owners to take steps to return their blood sugar to normal, such as using glucose tablets, sugar, and carbohydrate-rich food. The dog can prompt a human to take insulin. When owners with diabetes begin to experience hypoglycemia, the detection dogs perform a predetermined task (e.g. bark, lay down, sit) to inform the person. Dogs may be directly smelling something related to the abnormal glucose concentration or may be reacting to the owner's symptoms which are caused by hypoglycemia, such as sweating or shaking. History The first dog trained to detect hypoglycemia was a Californian dog called Armstrong in 2003. In 2009, a dog named Tinker from Durham City became the first self-taught British assistance dog to be officially registered for a type 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guide Dog
Guide dogs (colloquially known in the US as seeing-eye dogs) are assistance dogs trained to lead blind or visually impaired people around obstacles. Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are red–green colour blind and incapable of interpreting street signs. The human does the directing, based on skills acquired through previous mobility training. The handler might be likened to an aircraft's navigator, who must know how to get from one place to another, and the dog is the pilot, who gets them there safely. In several countries guide dogs, along with most other service and hearing dogs, are exempt from regulations against the presence of animals in places such as restaurants and public transportation. History References to service animals date at least as far back as the mid-16th century. The second line of the popular verse alphabet "A was an Archer" is most commonly "B was a Blind-man/Led by a dog". In Elizabeth Barrett Browning's 19th-cent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assistance Dogs
Assistance is an act of helping behavior. Assistance may also refer to: Types of help * Aid, in international relations, a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another * Assistance dog, a dog trained to aid or assist a person with a disability * Consular assistance, help and advice provided by the diplomatic agents of a country to citizens of that country who are living or traveling overseas * Development assistance, financial aid given to support the development of developing countries * Directory assistance, a phone service used to find out a specific telephone number and/or address * Financial assistance (other), multiple forms * General Assistance, in the United States, welfare programs that benefit adults without dependents * Humanitarian assistance, material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes * Judicial assistance, admittance and enforcement of a judicial order by a court from one jurisdiction to a court in another ju ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Therapy Dog
A therapy dog is a dog that is trained to provide affection, comfort and support to people, often in settings such as hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, libraries, hospices, or disaster areas. In contrast to assistance dogs, which are trained to assist specific patients with their day-to-day physical needs, therapy dogs are trained to interact with all kinds of people, not just their handlers. History Dogs have been utilized as a therapeutic resource by many medical professionals over the last few centuries. In the late 1800s, Florence Nightingale observed that small pets helped reduce anxiety and improve recovery in children and adults living in psychiatric institutions. Sigmund Freud began using his own pet dog to improve communication with his psychiatric patients in the 1930s. More recently, Elaine Smith established the first therapy dog organization in 1976 after observing positive effects of dogs on hospital patients during her work as a registered nur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Service Animal
Various definitions exist for a service animal. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines the term as "dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities". Dogs are the most common service animals, having assisted people since at least 1927. Regulations regarding service animals vary by region. For example, in Japan, regulations outline standards of training and certification for service animals. In the United States, service animals are generally allowed in areas of public accommodation, even where pets are generally forbidden. Other laws like the US Fair Housing Act and the US Air Carrier Access Act recognize the role of an animal in assisting a disabled owner. Various laws and policies may define "service animal" more expansively, but often do not recognize or specially accommodate emotional support animals. Definitions The international assistance animal community has categorized three types of assistance animals: # Guide animals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seizure Response Dog
A seizure response dog (SRD) (also known as seizure dog) is a dog demonstrating specific assisting behaviour during or immediately after a person's epileptic seizure or other seizure. When reliably trained such dogs can serve as service dogs for people with epilepsy. Tasks for seizure dogs may include, but are not limited to: * Find someone to help * Activate an emergency response system * Stimulate a person to help them "wake up" after a seizure * Use body weight to keep the person in a specific position * Act as a brace to help the person up * Retrieve a phone or medication * Physically remove the patient from an unsafe situation (i.e. middle of a street) A dog demonstrating specific behaviour ''prior'' to a person's epileptic seizure is also referred to as ''seizure alert dog'' (SAD). Reports suggest that some dogs can be trained to anticipate epileptic seizures. However, this ability has been questioned. Seizure response and seizure alerting behaviour may spontaneously deve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychiatric Service Dog
A psychiatric assistance dog or psychiatric service dog is a sub-category of assistance dog trained to assist their handler with a psychiatric disability or a mental disability, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.Service Dog Central - Psychiatric Service Dogs Retrieved on August 17, 2007. A psychiatric assistance dog can assist their handler by providing a safe presence that grounds them; the dog may perhaps lean on the person to provide a calming pressure. Training 
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Mobility Assistance Dog
A mobility assistance dog or mobility service dog is a dog trained to assist a physically disabled person who has mobility issues, such as poor balance or being a non-ambulatory wheelchair user. Roles include "providing balance and stability" picking up and carrying objects, pulling wheelchairs, opening and closing doors, and operating light switches."Commonly Asked Questions about Service Animals in Places of Business" U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. Mobility assistance dogs can have significant positive impacts on the lives of their handlers. Some larger-statured dogs with sound joints are trained to pull individuals in wheelchairs, and wear a type of harness specifically designed for p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medical Response Dog
A medical response dog is a assistance dog trained to assist an individual who has a medical disability. Typically, they are dogs whose job does not handle primarily epilepsy or psychiatric-based conditions, though some seizure response dogs or psychiatric service dogs may also be referred to as medical response. Many medical response dogs "alert" their handlers to conditions before they occur. For example, diabetes alert dogs partnered with diabetic persons may be trained to detect when the handler's blood sugar becomes too high or low. In addition to or in the absence of this training, medical response dogs are also often trained skills to help in their handlers' symptoms, such as bringing medications or a telephone, providing bracing and other mobility assistance, or any other number of tasks. Many medical response dogs may be trained by an organization or by their handler. Like all assistance dogs, they must be of a particular work-loving personality and be properly sociali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hearing Dog
A hearing dog is a type of assistance dog specifically selected and trained to assist people who are deaf or hard of hearing by alerting their handler to important sounds, such as doorbells, smoke alarms, ringing telephones, or alarm clocks. They may also work outside the home, alerting their handler to sounds such as sirens, forklifts, and a person calling the handler's name. Training Dogs that may become hearing dogs are tested for proper temperament, sound reactivity, and willingness to work. After passing initial screenings, they are trained in basic obedience and exposed to things they will face in public areas, such as elevators, shopping carts, and different types of people. Only after that period of socializing are they considered to be fully trained in sound alerting. Hearing dogs may be trained professionally in as little as three months, though many are trained for at least a year. Generally, training involves getting the dog to recognize a particular sound and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emotional Support Animal
An emotional support animal (ESA) is an animal that provides relief to individuals with "psychiatric disability through companionship." Emotional support animals may be any type of pet (not just, e.g., dogs), and are not recognized as service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act. While service animals are trained to perform specific tasks such as helping a blind person navigate, an emotional support animal doesn't require any formal training to assist with the mitigation of mental health symptoms. Any animal that provides support, comfort, or aid, to an individual through companionship, unconditional positive regard, and affection may be regarded as an emotional support animal. In the United States, people with psychiatric disabilities who own an emotional support animal may be exempt from federal housing and travel rules. To receive these exemptions, the handler must meet the federal definition of disabled, and the emotional support animal must help alleviate the sy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assistance Dog
In general, an assistance dog, known as a service dog in the United States, is a dog trained to aid or assist an individual with a disability. Many are trained by an assistance dog organization, or by their handler, often with the help of a professional trainer. Terminology 'Assistance dog' is the internationally established term for a dog that provides assistance to a disabled person, and is task-trained to help mitigate the handler's disability. Assistance Dogs International, an international network of assistance dog providers across the globe, notes that there is some variability of terminology in different states, particularly within the United States. They are working to establish consistent global terminology, and note that 'assistance dog' is the term adopted by organizations who train and provide assistance dogs, and the disabled people who partner with assistance dogs. Distinctive features For a dog to be considered an assistance dog, they must meet the following cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
