As we age, we often find ourselves facing new challenges, including increasing difficulties with medical conditions, mobility, vision, and hearing. In many cases, these difficulties can be managed with proper medical treatment and interventions, such as walking aids, in order to let the elderly maintain their independence for as long as possible. Service dogs are often an essential part of supporting elderly individuals and helping them maintain independence and stay safe when living alone or with their partners.
Service dogs for the elderly can complete tasks on behalf of their owner and provide a variety of mobility and medical alert support. If you are considering adding a service dog to your treatment plan, or you have an elderly loved one who you think will benefit from a service dog, keep reading – our article tells you all about service dogs for the elderly.
What are Service Dogs?
Service dogs are dogs that are specifically trained to help make the day-to-day life of their owners better and alleviate the burden of a disability or other condition. These animals can help with different aspects of everyday life for their owner, from retrieving hard-to-reach items to physically supporting a person with impaired motor skills. They can also provide medical alerts to someone with an allergy or blood sugar condition, and they can guide their owners to safe and calm spaces as needed.
Service dogs undergo extensive training to help their owners. In most programs, the final part of training involves working with the service dog to build a bond and understand how to control them properly. This allows both the dog and owner to get used to working with each other, and it is an essential part of forming an effective service dog team.
How Do Service Dogs Help the Elderly?
A service dog can help the elderly in a variety of ways. However, the type of services will depend on the individual needs of the owner, and service dogs are generally trained to meet these specific and personal needs.
That being said, there are a few essential categories of service dogs that are able to help elderly individuals. We discuss these helpful service dogs below.
Guide Dogs
Vision problems are extremely common among the elderly. As we age, our eyes age with us, leading to conditions like presbyopia, glaucoma, and macular degeneration. Guide dogs are used to help people with visual impairments, by providing physical support when moving around, retrieving items, and warning their owner of any danger.
Hearing Dogs
Much like vision, hearing tends to get worse as we age. While not everyone will completely lose their hearing, many elderly people suffer severe hearing loss that can make it difficult to communicate and carry out daily tasks. Hearing dogs help those with hearing impairments by alerting their owner if the phone rings, something falls, someone is ringing the doorbell, or even if there is an intruder. These dogs are trained to know that barking is not an effective way to get their owner’s attention, so they will paw or otherwise make physical contact with their owner instead.
Mobility Assistance Dogs
Much like guide dogs, mobility assistance dogs help their owners get around. However, these dogs are specifically trained to assist people who cannot move freely on their own, like those in wheelchairs. Mobility assistance dogs can help open doors, retrieve hard-to-reach items, and get help if their owner has fallen down. They could also provide physical support and balance support to individuals who need a little extra help when standing and moving around.
Standards and Training for Service Dogs
While any dog can technically be a service dog, some essential qualities set good service dogs apart from well-trained pets. The following standards are vital for service dogs to thrive in their positions.
- Temperament – Service dogs must be well-tempered. This means that they are not quick to anger, and do not get stressed out easily. They should enjoy being touched and not react aggressively if an individual mishandles them. While some of these behaviors can be trained, dogs will need to be inherently calm to some degree.
- Social – Service dogs should be social and friendly. This is perhaps the most important requirement, as they will need to cheer people up when they need it the most. However, overly energetic dogs can be too rough with certain individuals, especially the elderly, so service dogs must be social, but not overly enthusiastic.
- Adaptable– Service dogs will need to adapt to various environments. Sometimes they may need to provide support while there is a lot of noise going on, and other times they may need to help patients in cramped living spaces. In any case, they will need to be comfortable, no matter the setting. An uncomfortable dog might become shy or even aggressive, which could cause unnecessary risk.
Of course, service dogs for the elderly should also be strong enough to guide their owners or support them; they may also need to provide balance support or deep pressure therapy. However, if an elderly individual does not need this kind of mobility support, but needs medical alert services instead, a smaller dog could be a suitable service animal.
How to Get a Service Dog
Adding a service dog to your life can seem overwhelming at first, as there are several different criteria that a service dog owner must meet. In general, you will need to meet with your doctor or a mental healthcare provider licensed in your state to get their approval for your service animal. Your disability or condition must present daily challenges that a service dog can directly help with; your animal will be trained to complete tasks to mitigate the challenges you face. Although formal documentation is not required by the ADA, it can help make getting public access easier.
The owner of the service animal must also need to be able to physically and financially care for the service dog, in addition to having a stable home environment. All owners are required to be a part of their dog’s final training, and they must be able to reliably and consistently give the commands they need help with to their service dog.
How Much Does A Service Dog Cost?
Service dogs can be quite expensive, and it’s important to be aware of the average cost of a service dog before you consider getting one. These animals are very highly trained, and this process of training a dog from puppyhood can be costly. On average, you can expect the upfront cost of a service dog to be anywhere from $15,000 to $30,000.
However, there are plenty of organizations that work with individuals in need to provide low-cost and no-cost service dogs. You can research local and national organizations to find out if you are eligible for these programs.
Can Your Dog Become a Service Animal?
If you already own a dog that is well-behaved and has the qualities of a good service animal, they can potentially become your service animal. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service animals are defined as any animal that has been trained to complete disability-related tasks for its owner. There are no required registrations, training courses, or paperwork that must be completed before your dog is considered a legally recognized service animal.
That being said, it’s essential that you adhere to state service animal laws and that your dog is well-mannered and focused on their service dog work when in public. Badly behaved service dogs risk being denied access to public and private spaces.
What If You Don’t Qualify For A Service Dog?
Individuals who don’t qualify for a service dog may still be able to adopt an animal companion that helps them deal with the symptoms of a mental health condition or disability. These animals are called emotional support animals (ESA), and they can be just as valuable to the elderly as service dogs. ESAs can be any kind of animal, though dogs and cats are the most common and likely the easiest for elderly individuals to take care of.
With the support of their ESA’s comfort and companionship, elderly individuals may develop a routine, have increased social interactions, and find support in cuddles with their furry friend.
How Do I Get an Emotional Support Animal?
If you or an elderly loved one wants to add an emotional support animal to their life, you will need to take the first steps by speaking with a mental healthcare provider licensed in your state. Your provider will listen to your concerns and diagnosis, evaluating your need for an emotional support animal and your ability to take care of one. Once you are approved, they will write you an ESA letter.
Your official ESA letter will adhere to state laws and state your need for a support animal. You can then use this letter to request housing accommodations to live alongside your ESA regardless of any pet rules or breed restrictions that a housing unit has in place.
Service Dogs for the Elderly – Essential Companions
Service dogs for the elderly are valuable and helpful companions that play vital roles in helping individuals maintain their independence and stay safe when living alone or with their partners. These highly trained companions can perform tasks that help the elderly progress through their days much easier, and they provide loving support when needed. If you think that an elderly loved one in your life would benefit from an ESA, speak to them and their doctor to determine the best next steps.