When my girl first started researching service dogs, she struggled to find out how a Service Dog could help her. While she could find resources citing that a Service Dog could be used for Disability X, Y, or Z, those resources often failed to fully explain how a Service Dog could help that disability, particularly as far as what tasks the dog could learn to perform to mitigate the effects of the disability. Even now, a year after adopting me and over a year and a half after doing her initial research, my girl still learns new service dog tasks that she can teach me to help her.
So, I thought I would help new teams, those interested in owner-training and those considering if a Service Dog is the right choice for them, by posting a comprehensive list of every SD task I encounter. Listed with each task is a brief description of the task (if necessary) and how it can help certain disabilities, although the disabilities listed are by no means all the disabilities that a given task can alleviate.
Note that not all tasks are appropriate for all dogs. Mobility-related tasks, for example, requires a healthy dog that is within a certain height and weight ratio to its handler. The general rule of thumb for mobility tasks is:
– light mobility (e.g. counterbalancing, momentum pulling, even guide work) typically requires a dog 30% of your weight and height
– heavy mobility (e.g. bracing, anything with downward pressure on the dog) typically requires a dog 40% of your height and 50% of your weight
– a dog should be a minimum of 55 lbs. for wheelchair work
Please note that these numbers are by no means the absolute standard for any given dog: the ability to do mobility work depends on the individual dog itself. Mobility work should not be done before growth plates are closed (typically 18-24 months) and before hips and elbows are X-rayed and evaluated by a qualified veterinarian. Please consult your veterinarian to see if your individual dog is a good candidate for mobility work. Also, a fixed, rigid handle should be no more than 6″ in height.
Feel free to use this as a resource, and check back frequently, since I’ll be updating this as I keep finding new tasks!
- Medical Alert
- Disabilities that may benefit/what dogs can alert to: seizures, blood sugar rise/drop (e.g. T1 diabetes), rise/drop in blood pressure, elevation in heart rate, changes in breathing (e.g. oncoming panic attack), migraines, anxiety/rising cortisol levels, narcolepsy (onset of REM sleep attacks)
- Description: dog alerts the handler to a medical situation. Alerts can include pawing, nudging the handler, whining, barking, licking the handler, jumping on the handler, bringing the handler a designated item, and other behaviours.
- Medical Response
- Disabilities that may benefit: seizures, panic attacks, T1 diabetes, syncope/fainting, anaphylaxis/allergic reactions
- Seizures Response: licking to bring handler back to consciousness
- Call 911 (via K-9 rescue phone)
- Retrieve Emergency Medication (e.g. insulin, epipen, etc.)
- Bark for Help
- Finding Help/Finding a Specific Person
- Lead First Responders to Handler (inc. answering the door)
- Picking Up Dropped Items
- Disabilities that may benefit: use of a wheelchair, paralysis, dizzy spells/risk of syncope, fibromyalgia, joint issues/chronic pain
- Deep Pressure Therapy
- Disabilities that may benefit: panic attacks (grounding effect), chronic pain
- Description: dog lies on the handler in a way that places pressure (and body heat) on a specific part of the handler’s body
- Light Pressure Therapy
- Pressure Point Therapy
- Wheelchair Assistance
- Block/Cover
- Disabilities that may benefit: autism, PTSD, anxiety, RSD, fibromyalgia, ME/CFS
- Interruption/Redirection
- Disabilities that may benefit: trichotillomania, dermatillomania, autism (harmful stimming)
- Description: dog interrupts the handler’s behaviour and redirects their attention to something else
- Bracing
- Transfer from Wheelchair
- Opening/Closing Doors
- Momentum Pull
- Guidework
- Disabilities that may benefit: blindness (total or partial), dissociation, photophobia (e.g. from migraines)
- Navigating: around moving and stationary obstacles, potholes, low-hanging obstacles
- Intelligent disobedience: refuse a command to go forward in a potentially dangerous situation (e.g. oncoming traffic, sudden drop-off, etc.)
- Indicate changes in the environment: curbs, steps, edges, barriers, etc
- Find certain locations: entrances/exits, elevators, empty seat/bench/area, specified destination (e.g. hotel room), etc.
- Follow a designated person (e.g. a waitress to a restaurant table)
- Retrieval of a Named or Indicated Item
- Bring a beverage from a refrigerator/cupboard
- Balance Assistance
- Counterbalance
- Medication Reminder
- Tactile Stimulation
- Checking an Area for the Presence of People
- Disabilities that may benefit: PTSD
- Turning On/Off Lights
- Undressing the Handler
- Carry a Message (to a spouse, friend, stranger, etc.)
- Load/Unload Laundry
- Fetch Walker/Crutches/Cane/Wheelchair
- Carry an Item
- Task application examples: disposal of trash, bringing groceries into the house, carry mail inside the house
- Pay for Purchases
- Alert to Sounds
- Disabilities that may benefit: deafness or hearing impairment, autism, sensory processing disorders, being on a medication that makes you sleep through sounds
- “Alarm Clock”
- Examples of sounds to alert to: doorbell/knock on the front door, smoke alarm/fire alarm, someone calling the handler’s name, warning of an approaching vehicle (e.g. from behind the handler), alarm clock ringing, arrival of a bus, phone rings/beeps, sirens, vehicle honking, etc.
(post continually under construction)
Service Dog team etiquette
Don’t distract Service Dogs
Spoon Theory
Confused? See my terms and abbreviations
Kelsie Iris: Service Dog 
Allergen detection!
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