I’m not sure if this is the right category for this question…
A little over a year ago I was diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder. My psych has tried multiple different combinations of meds + therapy. I’m better than where I started, but normal life is still mostly impossible. Over this past year I have dropped out of college and left my job. I don’t leave my house often because of intrusive homicidal thoughts, hallucinations and anxiety of being around people.
Recently, I have started taking my dog with me places. I live in a really dog friendly city, so a lot of stores allow me to bring her with me. I have found that when I’m out with her, I’m calmer and more focused on her than the things around me. My mother recently brought up having her as a service dog because she says the difference in me is night and day.
I’ve talked with my psych, and he agrees that I can benefit from her as a service dog. So I’ve started training her to different tasks that will mitigate my symptoms. We’ve been doing this for about 3 months now.
She blocks in front of me to keep people from getting too close to me. She brings me my medications and water. She does deep pressure therapy when I start to spiral because of anxiety, and she interrupts me when I begin getting fidgety or when I try to self harm.
I’m finally feeling like I can get back to normal life because of her.
Does anyone else here have a service dog? And if so, would you mind sharing what kinds of tasks they do to help you out? I’m totally new to the world of service dogs.
Wow. Sounds like a really good thing your doing and more power to you!
Pets are great for schizophrenics. Really are but I’m a cat person. What you are suggesting and doing is so much broader than that and I wish you well!
I’d ask you if your able to put together a program or training schedule to help others and go from there. You may be a pioneer my friend and that is so cool!
Your doing well. I’m sure there’s others here who are interested in your approach!
Not a huge fan of service dogs. Highly allergic to dogs and constantly have horrible allergic reactions these days because pet owners take the damn things everywhere now.
You are on the right track. But it’s really expensive to get a dog certified and trained. Sounds like you are half way there so you might save yourself some money.
Sherlock is my service dog in training. He was just 8 weeks old when he came to live with me. Now at 15 months he goes with me every where I go.
He also blocks in front of me and cover behind me. He is learning to remind me to take my meds. When my anxiety start to go up, he distract me and gives me something else to focus on. When my diabetes becomes worst, he can learn to tell me if my blood sugar is high or low. There is a one button phone that has a prearranged phone number and message. That I’m looking into getting. That he will be able to use, if I get stung by a wasp and lose consciousness. Yes a wasp can kill me.
Not all the people you meet in public will understand the service dog laws. So prepare yourself by knowing the laws where you live. If you live in the U.S.A. look up ada.gov. I carry a card with me that has the laws on it and the ada.gov web address on it.
Good luck with your service dog. And may you and your dog have a long and happy partnership together.
@shutterbug That is just wrong. The restaurant should have kick her out. I’m not sure of the Canadian laws. But when I go out to eat Sherlock lays under the table at my feet. He gets no food, treats or water when I’m there.
I’ve been doing a lot of research on ADA and Texas laws, and I feel like I’m finally getting a grasp on all of it. For the past two weeks, my dog Super Nova has been going everywhere with me. I’m amazed at how natural she makes it seem, and I feel so much better when she’s around. I can finally go to the grocery store for the first time in years. Granted, I can’t spend more than 5 minutes but I’m still considering that as progress!
How did you start training Sherlock to distract you when your anxiety goes u? I’ve been playing around with teaching this to Super Nova but I’m at a loss of where to begin.
That’s terrible. I would assume that there’s no way that dog was an actual service dog. So sorry that happened to you. I can’t imagine being allergic to dogs.
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