A few questions about service dog tasks

[xmandiex]

I hope I chose the right area, I've been poking through the forum trying to figure out where I could put this.

As it stands, as soon as I have a solid diagnosis I'm going to ask for a prescription for an ESD, but I've been considering whether or not my ESD would qualify as a service dog as there are several tasks I am sure would really help me through the day and I'm curious to see if what the dog would help me with would be acceptable.

For one thing I'm hypoglycemic, and not very good at controlling my sugar. I'm prone to forget to take a glucose tablet when I wake up, and often misplace the bottle. Since I frequently fail to eat breakfast, as I'm usually sick to my stomach when I first get up, this really isn't a good thing and I'm often confused, dizzy and nauseas within minutes. I've been reading that some dogs can be trained to sense when sugar drops, and alert their handler, which would be so, so helpful. I'd rather be given an alert before the effects are felt, as by the time I realize I need to eat something I'm already shaking and stumbling. It would also be very handy to have a dog to brace against when I get dizzy - I have dizzy spells a lot, sometimes even when my sugar is normal.

Additionally, I have chronic Colitis, I have since I was about seven. The attacks tend to hit me very suddenly, often when I'm in public, and very rarely am I in a situation where I'm prepared. So having a dog trained to either alert me to the approach of an attack so I know that I need to stay home for the day, or to alert me that I need to leave a place where there is no bathroom - or to give me a way to escape a situation gracefully when I need to go to the bathroom... all would be incredibly helpful. In addition, at home where my mom has our two dogs, when I have an attack my border collie can sometimes be convinced to sit with me, and having a warm furry body to press my face to is so incredibly comforting I can't even explain it. The amount of pain that comes with an attack of colitis has put me on the ground in tears before, and on occasion I've been reduced to having to shuffle bent over.

The other issues are moreso mental, and haven't been fully diagnosed yet - I have to meet with the therapist I finally got up the nerve to go to a few times before then. The preliminary diagnosis is bipolar with some pretty severe anxiety issues. I'm really prone to panic attacks in new places, around new people, around large groups of people, around loud noises, loud people... really anything that is uncomfortable tends to grow on itself rapidly and suddenly I'm trying to think of a way to escape. I know some people have trained their dogs to "whine" when they sense a panic attack, to give the handler a way to leave a situation without anyone realizing it's the human's own panic causing it. I think that would be wonderfully helpful - even just having the dog there as a sort of buffer, to keep people out of my space and to even be a "conversation starter" to give me the chance to warm up a little to new people so my "NEW PERSON" panic can start to fade... would be wonderful.

I also get really panicked alone in my room at night; if I hear a sound I have to get up and examine my room (all closets, shadows, under the table, etc) to be sure there isn't someone in there with me even though technically there's no way someone could be. Going in to my room, or any room at all, makes me anxious for fear that someone is waiting to harm me, and often I am too afraid to step into the room even far enough to hit the light switch. I know there are people with PTSD that train their dogs to do room checks and turn on lights and that is definitely something that would help my anxiety about the possibility of someone waiting for me in a room (an illogical fear... I'm fairly sure no one has EVER been in a dark room waiting for me).

So that was REALLY long, I'm sorry. I'm just wondering if what I would use the dog for makes sense? Would those be service tasks, or moreso ESD tasks still?

Thanks for the help!
-Mandie

[Kirsten]

Tasks are supposed to be something your disability prevents you from doing for yourself.  If it's just useful or helpful, or not directly caused by your disability, then it is a bonus.  So reminding you to take your pills would only be a task for you if your disability prevented you from remembering on your own using ordinary devices like wrist alarms or talking pill boxes.

You can't really train an alert.  Dogs either do them naturally or they don't.  You can train signals, like hearing dogs signal when they hear a knock at the door.  The difference is that in order to train a signal you have to be able to control and detect the thing you want the dog to signal.  Blood testing can notify you when your blood sugar is low and it's time to cue the dog.  I'm not familiar with colitis, so the question is whether there is some indicator that a human can detect so they know when to cue the dog?

Here's how signals basically work.  First you train the signal behavior and put it on cue.  It might be "poke," meaning the dog pokes you in the leg with his nose.  Get that solid so the dog responds to the "poke" cue reliably.  Then wait until that event you want them to signal occurs.  At that moment cue the poke and reinforce.  What you are actually doing is transferring the cue for poke to the signal you want the dog to respond to.  It's actually the same thing as changing a command word.  You pair the two cues together for a while, new cue first then old cue.  Then when you think the dog has it, you hesitate between the two cues to see if the dog anticipates.  If he does and responds without the second (old established) cue, then you jackpot (reinforce heavily).  If not you just keep on repeating a few more times before you try again.

You never want to teach your dog to vocalize as a signal.  That can legitimately get you kicked out of public accommodations.  They mustn't disturb others by their behavior.  Again, you'll have to identify what body signals you give off that indicate you are starting a panic attack.  Close friends and family can probably tell you what these signals are.

Conversation starting would be emotional support, not a task.

Also be aware that tasks needed only at home don't justify taking a dog for public access.  For example, your medication reminders would only happen at home.  There is no conceivable need for the dog to do that at the grocery store, hence no need for public accommodation because of that task.  The same is true of room checks of your own room at home.

Instead of thinking about tasks others have, focus on what you cannot do for yourself because of your disability.  Ask yourself what a human helper, or better a helpful robot, might do to assist you in overcoming whatever barrier is keeping you from doing those things.  Finally, ask whether a dog can be trained to do those things the robot might do.  The purpose of using this analogy is to help you to remove emotional support from the equation.  Friendly robots don't tend to give emotional support.  It's fine to get that from your dog, but remember it doesn't justify the dog as a service animal.  It doesn't count as a task, even if it is a trained on cue like licking on command or sitting in your lap.

[Kirsten]

ESDs don't need any tasks.  Their purpose is to give unconditional positive regard and affection.  Dogs do that naturally.  If you teach them tasks that's fine, but it isn't what makes them ESDs, your severe mental illness is what does that.

[Kirsten]

Note:  there is no such thing as an alert for a panic attack.  There is no way for a dog to predict these things.  The best you can do is get the dog to signal when you start to panic, even if it is before you realize yourself you are doing it.  The people who claim their dogs alert to panic attacks typically mean their dog gets upset when they do.  That's mental illness on the dog's part, not a task.  I know a person who's dog "alerts" to her panic attacks by vomiting.  I feel so sorry for that dog, being under that kind of stress all the time.

Example:  you have a morbid fear of red cars.  You turn the corner and there is a red car.  Your chest tightens and you can't breathe.  Now how could the dog have predicted you would see a red car when you turned the corner?  He can't.  What he can do is recognize you're not breathing and react to that. 

Panic attacks are reactions to things in the environment or thoughts in the mind.  They are not caused by the body, but by the mind.

[xmandiex]

Thank you very much for replying so quickly, I didn't expect anyone else to be up... but I suppose since this IS a forum with a lot of people who have the same issues as I do I shouldn't be too surprised that there are other insomniacs lol.

Colitis is a severe bowel malfunction, essentially. I know when an attack is going to start I tend to spend a lot of time doubled over, I think I touch my stomach more, I wonder if I can teach my dog to react to an subconscious cue like that?

I suppose having the dog there during a colitis attack would be more ESD - although anyone who has had colitis (I think someone here mentioned they have it as well) would likely agree that having an animal there to physically support you while you're in the beginning of an attack and after the energy drain of a full attack... probably the most useful thing in the world. The cuddling during, I suppose, would be more ESD than anything but the physical support and possibly finding a way to train an alert would be really helpful. That and help with my anxiety would probably be the main reasons I'd need to take my dog out with me - I am way too good at putting myself in a place where there is no bathroom, not realizing that I've been showing the pre-attack signs all day. Nooootttt fun.

I think I'm using the wrong words... what you're saying makes perfect sense, and that's how I thought it would be, I think I'm just using the wrong phrases. With the panic attacks I was figuring more along what you're saying "whoops, I recognize symptoms, now to get her out of this situation" not so much -psychic power-.

I am just really afraid of being considered one of the "fake SD" owners, I don't want anyone to feel that I'm trying to work the system. I would absolutely not have one of those nasty misbehaved dogs - even if my dog never left the house I would never allow it to be so poorly trained. That's a good thing about having a Border Collie from the age of eight; I know my training lol. I just don't want to feel guilty for taking my dog out with me... and I am certainly nervous about if for some insane reason I wind up in court - trying to explain to a judge what's wrong with me...

[Spectrum]

I know when an attack is going to start I tend to spend a lot of time doubled over, I think I touch my stomach more, I wonder if I can teach my dog to react to an subconscious cue like that?

I would think it would be possible, if there's a certain thing you do before an attack.  For example, when I zone out, there are two specific stims that I typically do, and I plan on training my dog to respond to those stims by nudging me to "bring me back" so to speak. Of course, if those stims change (as they do on occasion) then he'd have to be re-trained to respond to the new stims. Similarly, I have early warning signs before I have a full-blown meltdown.  If I could train him to respond to those to help me realize I'm approaching a meltdown, that's be great.  I have to do some more self-study to figure out exactly what I can identify and use for that - I almost wish I'd have a couple meltdowns  so I could figure it out, but at the same time I'm glad I haven't had any in a couple months. It sure beats having them almost daily!

[Roxie]

I could be wrong - but I don't think colitis is a disability... unless tremendously advanced. I also don't think there is any way for your dog to be trained to mitigate your diagnosis, or predict anything with it.

As I understand it, one must have a disability to have public access with a Service Dog. Do you have a disabiity? What do you want your dog to do (a task) to help with your disability?

To me it sounds that you just might benefit from an ESD.

BTW:    

Roxie and Tay

[Spectrum]

I am just really afraid of being considered one of the "fake SD" owners, I don't want anyone to feel that I'm trying to work the system. I would absolutely not have one of those nasty misbehaved dogs - even if my dog never left the house I would never allow it to be so poorly trained. That's a good thing about having a Border Collie from the age of eight; I know my training lol. I just don't want to feel guilty for taking my dog out with me... and I am certainly nervous about if for some insane reason I wind up in court - trying to explain to a judge what's wrong with me...

I have similar fears, which is why I'm trying to take it slow and learn everything I possibly can (though I do love learning, especially when I'm learning about one of my perseverations ).  I figure once he's an ESA (if he becomes one), that will mean my doctor views me as disabled (which is one of my biggest concerns at the moment).  From there, I can gauge how well he fits the definition of a "service dog" before taking him anywhere, if he ever gets to the point of being a service dog. 

[xmandiex]

 I don't know if Colitis is considered a disability... although as far as I recall a disability is something that reduces overall quality of life and functionality during day-to-day life - am I way off base? If I'm on then my Colitis is a major disability for me. I've missed a ton of school and work due to it - simply being unable to stand to go to class, unable to support my own weight, is incredibly frustrating. Malnutration ties into Colitis, which I have, which makes me weak a LOT... which really doesn't help my depression in any way. It's like almost constantly having a semi-sharp knife shoved into ones stomach ... and when you're REALLY lucky the pain covers most of the body and even on occasion likes to shift directly from Colitis into Neuralgia.

It's a blasty-blast.

Oh, and thank you for the welcome! 


That's a good idea, Spectrum, I suppose I shouldn't fuss over going to the SD step until I get the ESD step done lol. 

[Roxie]

Your dog will fit the definition only if you are a qualified person with a disability, and you require a task trained Service Dog to mitigate your disability in public access.

Roxie and Tay

[xmandiex]

"Qualified person with a disability" can you explain that a little bit further, if you don't mind? I'm not quite sure what it means.

For the task training I've looked over the lists available and I see multiple tasks that would help with just my Colitis, not to mention the hypoglycemia and anxiety, so task-training I would be able to do. We've actually task-trained our Border Collie - during an attack and during hypoG I'm often incapable of standing to get something I've dropped, and bending over tends to give me vertigo, so my Collie is trained that when something drops she picks it right back up and hands it to whomever dropped it. At first it was just cute, and now that she's been doing it for a couple of years I've realized how wonderfully helpful that is (oddly enough she trained herself to do it... trained herself to pick up her bowl and bring it to whomever is doing dishes, too XD).

Wow I'm a rambly person I'm also realizing I'm getting tired so if that has nothing to do with ANYTHING I'm sorry. I can't recall what I was originally trying to say so if there's something unnecessary...yeah.

Something about tasks... and them being something I can train... er... okay. I should do the bed thing.

Thanks again for all of this information, I didn't expect to get so many informative answers so quickly!

[xmandiex]

Ah -- and according to The Almighty Google Colitis is a disability and you can file for disability benefits based on it.

... I did not know that, actually. lol

[Roxie]

A person who is disabled under the criteria of the ADA and who also is qualified for the protection of the ADA is a qualified person with a disabilty.

A service dog (or other animal) must be individually trained to perform tasks that are of benefit to that person and mitigate the impairment on which the disability is based.

Roxie and Tay

[bj2circeleb]

to be considered disabled by the ADA a person must be unable to perform activities of daily living. in order for a dog to be considered a service dog the dog must be trained to assist with these activities of daily living.

I would be very very cautious of anything you find on the web about tasks that you could use. Especially in regards to tasks for PSD, most of the tasks mentioned are not real tasks, and they would never stand up in court. The DOJ, has specifically said that most of thoese things are not tasks.

Remember disability is a legal definition and not a medical one, although you do need to know that you have the full support of your medical team should you ever end up in court as they are going to be crucial in testifying on your behalf.

If you suffer from anxiety you need to really consider whether a service dog will actually help or hinder your condition. Access disputes are a part of life and if you cannot cope with that you will only make your condition worse. In terms of wanting a dog to give you and excuse to leave, this is not a task, and is only going to make your condition worse. What happens is that people say, you cannot leave the dog is alerting to something, something must be wrong with you. This is going to be useless in helping you to get out of a situation. You do not need to train a dog to do anything for this, you simply say, I think the dog needs to go potty, i think I left something in the car, I need to call someone, etc,etc, etc. Excuses are a dime a dozen and teaching a dog to paw or whine or command is simply not a task and does nothing to help an individual with a condition.

[xmandiex]

A good point, thank you.

I was looking at the site that's been mentioned here a few times now and which, of course, escapes me now. O-o; It has that nice list of what's considered a task. It's really very interesting. I suppose I don't need to worry about whether or not my dog could qualify as an SD quite yet...I'm still months away from even asking for the prescription. I was just curious to see what the definition covers.

Thank you again!