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Service Dogs for Elderly Adults: Everything a Caregiver Should Know
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If your senior loved one has a visual impairment, hearing loss, or other disability, you’ve likely looked into many ways to make their lives easier. For animal lovers, a service dog can provide assistance in ways that are wonderful and perhaps even a little unexpected. It’s important to remember that service dogs fulfill a specific task – their highly specialized training makes them much more than a typical household companion.
From training to costs to time commitments, many factors affect the decision to get a service dog. If you’re thinking about how to get a service dog for the elderly loved one in your life, read on to learn more about these incredible animals and the many benefits they offer.
A service dog can be any size or breed of dog that is trained to perform a specific task relating to a person’s disability, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The following are just a few examples of the types of tasks a service dog can help with:
The ADA sets important distinctions between service, therapy, and emotional support dogs. This makes sense when considering what these dogs are trained to do:
Emotional support dogs differ from service dogs in that they are not trained in specific tasks. Because of this, they are not considered a service dog under the ADA.
With many senior living communities offering pet-friendly options, you may also notice therapy dogs visiting assisted living residents. Therapy dogs and the elderly residents are a perfect match, with seniors experiencing benefits including decreased isolation and stress reduction. However, since therapy dogs work with many people, they do not fall under the category of a service dog.
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Like other dogs, service dogs provide many of the same benefits of dog ownership, including an increase in exercise as well as physiological benefits, such as stress reduction from petting a dog. Another surprising benefit for seniors includes a decreased reliance on health care services, with dog owners requiring fewer doctor appointments and fewer hospital visits, as noted in the Journal of Aging and Health.
As a caregiver, you’re likely looking for a service dog to make your loved one’s life easier, but there are benefits to caregivers as well. In addition to a loved one’s health concerns, caregivers often experience their own health problems and an increase in stress due to added responsibilities in their life.
Service dogs provide benefits for all. Emotional support, general family support, bonding, and trust that the dog will be there when the caregiver cannot are some of the top benefits of a service dog, according to a research study conducted by Purdue University.
Depending on the tasks your loved one needs help with, you’ll find numerous organizations throughout the country that can help a senior find a service dog:
It is worth noting that reputable organizations will expect recipients of a service dog to pay for the training costs, the care of the dog across its lifetime, and be capable of handling the dog and attending training sessions.
Service dogs can be expensive, with the National Service Dogs Registry citing an average cost of around $25,000. While this is certainly an investment, some organizations have grants and scholarships to help with costs. In addition to cost, many organizations have waitlists of up to three years, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Seniors living with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia can benefit greatly from a canine companion. Pet-therapy sessions alone can reduce agitation and promote social interaction in seniors, according to the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias.
Since owners need to be responsible for their dogs, you may be wondering if your loved one would qualify for a service dog. 4 Paws for Ability offers a team approach for caregivers and individuals with Alzheimer’s or dementia. They will train a service dog to follow a caregiver’s commands to help the individual with memory loss. These service dogs can also track a senior who is prone to wandering, assist with balance, and offer redirection when seniors become agitated.
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With benefits for your loved one as well as other family members, it’s easy to see the appeal of service dogs. Most importantly, they can help seniors maintain their independence through a unique, trust-based relationship.
Sources
U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. (2010). Service animals. ADA.gov.
Knight, S. & Edwards, V. (2008, June). In the company of wolves: The physical, social, and psychological benefits of dog ownership. Journal of Aging and Health.
Nieforth, L. O., Rodriguez, K. E., & O’Haire, M. E. (2021, June 2). Benefits and challenges of mobility and medical alert service dogs for caregivers of service dog recipients. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology.
Service Dog Certifications. The cost of a service dog.
Parenti, L., Wilson, M., Foreman, A. M., Wirth, O., & Meade, B. J. (2015). Selecting quality service dogs. The APDT Chronicle of the Dog.
Richeson, N.E. (2003, November 1). Effects of animal-assisted therapy on agitated behaviors and social interactions of older adults with dementia. American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias.
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