There are several types of assistance dogs, including:

Service Dogs: These dogs are specially trained to help people with disabilities other than visual or hearing impairments. Examples include psychiatric service dogs, mobility assistance dogs, and seizure response or medical response dogs.

Companion Dogs: These dogs provide companionship as pets and do not perform specific tasks. Any dog can be a Companion Dog, and many working types such as retrievers are enjoyed primarily for their friendly nature as a family pet.

Hearing Dogs: These dogs are trained to assist people who are deaf or hearing-impaired by alerting them to specific sounds such as a telephone, doorbell, fire alarm, or alarm clock.

Skilled Companion Dogs: These are Companion Dogs that are trained to work for a child or person with a disability under the guidance of a facilitator who helps provide care and training.

Mobility Assistance Dogs: These Service Dogs are trained to assist physically disabled individuals with tasks such as picking up objects, opening and closing doors, and operating light switches. Some larger-statured dogs can even pull individuals in wheelchairs.

Therapy Dogs: These dogs are trained to provide comfort and affection to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, and in stressful situations such as disaster areas.

What tasks can Service Dogs perform?
Service Dogs can perform normal obedience commands such as sit, down, stay, and come. They are also trained to perform tasks that are designed to make their owner’s life easier, such as pottying on command, picking things up and handing them over, pulling a wheelchair, opening a door, and many other commands that promote independence.

What traits are important for Service Dogs?
Desirable character traits for Service Dogs include good temperament or psychological make-up, good health including physical structure, biddability, and trainability. “Biddability” is the amount of “forgiveness” or “bend” a dog has, or their willingness to carry out the orders or wishes of another without protest.

What traits are important for Therapy Dogs?
The most important characteristic of a Therapy Dog is their temperament and lovingness. They must be friendly, patient, confident, gentle, and at ease in all situations. Therapy Dogs must enjoy human contact and be content to be petted and handled, sometimes clumsily or awkwardly. They should also be able to tolerate being lifted onto or climbing onto an individual’s lap or bed and sit or lie comfortably there. Many Therapy Dogs also enjoy performing small tricks for their audiences or playing structured games.

Can any dog become a Companion Dog?
Yes, any dog can become a Companion Dog, and many working types such as retrievers are enjoyed primarily for their friendly nature as a family pet. Mixed breed dogs can also make great Companion Dogs.

What is a Walker Dog?
A Walker Dog is a specialized type of Mobility Assistance Dog commonly used for Parkinson’s patients, post-injury recovery, and other disorders and conditions. These “living canes” can greatly assist a person with their gait and balance while walking. Also, if their handler falls, the dog may be trained to act as a brace to help regain position.