PTSD Assistance Dogs
Bipolar Disorder
Anxiety
Severe Depression
Panic Attacks
Phobias
Obsessive Compulsive Disorders

These dogs are trained to:
  • Accompany the veteran into stores, restaurants, buses, trains, air planes, work and any other public places that the vet may need to go.
  • Allow the veteran to remain calm by preventing people from crowding into their personal space.
  • Dog is trained to "watch."  This takes the place of the veteran having to watch his back; a common urge that many combat veterans share.  The dog is trained to alert by touching the person or moving.
  • They provide reality checks for visual and auditory hallucinations. 
  • Psychiatric Service Dogs often alert to obsessive-compulsive behaviors by "pawing" individuals who may not realize what they are doing.  Thereby distracting them from the behavior.
  • The dogs carry prescriptions and medical information in their vests, remind their partners to take medications, give them reason to get out of bed and leave the house, and provide constant non-judgmental, loving presence, because the Service Dog is with their partner 24/7.
  • Anxiety and panic attacks are also helpd by Psychiatric Service Dogs through tactile stimulation.  When a client is extremely nervous and upset, they are encouraged to run their hands through the dog's fur and massage the dog's entire body.  Through these tactile experiences, clients learn to relive their symptoms.  This technique works particularly well in times of stress. 
  • PTSD clients partnering with Psychiatric Service Dogs is that the presence of the dog often distracts them from focusing on their own fears and worries.  Instead, they must focus on the dog, its behavior, its safety and its care.
  • The presence of these dogs relieves isolation and encourages social interaction.  People are fascinated by the work of these dogs and constantly ask questions.  This urges the client to become more comfortable dealing with strangers. 
  • Watching behind the veteran by calmly preventing anyone by rushing up behind him and surprising him.  (The dog is never aggressive towards people but just provides a barrier and alerts the vet to people who may be approaching from behind).
  • Provide a reassuring presence for the vet y anticipating his needs both at home and outside in public.

Other Possible Tasks

  • Getting the phone in an emergency
  • Calling 911 on a K-9 Rescue Phone
  • Barking for help
  • Providing Balance Support
  • Retrieving needed or dropped articles
  • Opening the refrigerator to bring food or drink
  • Alerting to others in medical emergencies
  • Finding the car in a crowded parking lot
  • Leading the client to safety
  • Jump up and push the light switch on.
  • Help the veteran undress by pulling socks off his feet
  • Open refrigerator door and pull bagged lunches out and bring to the disabled veteran
  • Bring rining telephone to the person

VA Office of Inspector General

Administration July 7, 2010
Audit of Guide and Service Dog Program

Mountain Home VA Medical Center

Symptoms of PTSD Include:

  • Anger and irritability.
  • Startle responses to sudden noises or movements.
  • Extreme anxiety and panic attacks.
  • Depression.
  • Social withdrawal and self isolation.
  • Nightmares and sleep disturbance (nightmares are often flashbacks to combat and are experienced as very real).

How do Psychiatric Service Dogs Help Veterans with PTSD?

Many people ask this question, including the psychiatrists who treat these patients before they are willing to write a prescription for this specially trained type of dog.

Specifically, behavioral goals are set by the veteran and dog trainer who is helping the vet learn how to use the dog. This is where the certifying organizations come in such as, Golden Kimba Service Dogs or NEADS, both mentioned above.

After the dogs receive their training at Puppies Behind Bars or elsewhere, they are shipped to the certifying organizations such as Golden Kimba Service Dogs, etc, where they meet their new trainer who completes what was started in training. The dog is exposed to public places as much as possible to prepare them for life in the outside world with the veteran.

One or two weeks later, the veteran arrives and meets his or her dog. From then onward, they work with the trainer to learn everything that is needed to form a powerful bond between dog and veteran and to live in the outside world. Depending on the behavioral goals of the veteran, and that depends on the nature of the symptoms, the veteran learns to use his dog to help him function with a minimum of interference from those symptoms.

One of the challenges faced by the veteran is helping his family understand that the dog is not their pet but is his ally and helper in the world. That is why family is encouraged to accompany the veteran in this part of the training. For example, no one in the family is to walk and feed the dog. Also, the dog is Never to be left at home for any reason. Even when visiting the doctor and the psychiatrist the dog is to accompany the veteran. All of this is easier for family to understand and accept if they are present at training, can ask questions and learn about both the dog and PTSD. While I cannot report any scientific studies done to measure the effectiveness of these dogs in reducing PTSD for veterans I am able to state that Golden Kimba Service Dogs has seen these people make remarkable gains in the way they live their lives after they return home with their dog.

Psychiatric service dogs help veterans over come their social isolation in the following way:

Because the service dog needs to be walked several times per day, the veteran is forced to be outside and in public. The dog must wear an identifying cape with the training company logo on it and the vet wears a picture of ID of himself and the dog. While the purpose of the cape and ID are not designed to attract public attention, this attention happens to the benefit of the vet who is forced to answer questions of well meaning people who want to learn about the dog. In working with the trainer and the dog, in public, the veteran learns how to answer questions and deal with a curious public.

Many veterans with these dogs have reported that their anxieties and fears have been greatly reduced as a result of having the dog with them at all times. In fact, several of them reported that when they suddenly awaken at night due to a having a nightmare or hearing a noise in the house, feel relieved and calm when they realize their dog is perfectly calm and quiet. After all, if the nightmare were real, or if there were an intruder in the house, the dog would be barking and agitated.

Funding: