PTSD service dogs are specific dogs that go through complete training to take care of people who have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) problems. People who have developed the disorder can benefit significantly from the services of these dogs, and recent researches have shown that the care and attention of the dogs result in speedy recovery of the patient and also reduce the dependency of the patient on medical treatment. A person with PTSD deals with various psychological problems and emotional instability, and the dogs have the training to help the people in such state and ease the discomfort and psychological dilemma of the patient. The PTSD service dogs can tag along with patients suffering from anxiety problems, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other forms of general anxiety and mood swings.
The service dogs follow a specific set of protocols and are for a particular purpose of patient care, and they can be allowed to a person only after a doctors approval as these dogs are expensive. However, for patient care, these services may come for free or carry a nominal fee. If a person has PTSD, he can get many benefits with the assistance of a PTSD service dog.
The dog will encourage the person to indulge in many healthy activities, such as walking, going out to parks, and helps the person to come back to routine life. The dogs are useful at detecting the behavior and mood of the person and can act to bring the person out of the depression phase. People who take services of these dogs have noticed a better attitude and ability to overcome depression.
Some people have a higher level of psychological issues and suffer from a condition of hyper-vigilance where the demand more personal space and cannot cope with interacting with people, especially the general public. The dogs have the training to work with such patients and make sure they keep a physical barrier so that the public is at a safe distance from the patient and the patient feels comfortable while doing routine tasks.
The dogs can detect sudden mood swings and anxiety of an individual. They can react to such sudden mood swings and bring the person back to normalcy. They can divert the attention of the individual by letting the patient pet them or to play with them. In short, the dogs will reinforce the person positive thoughts and move them to positive activities. The dogs have the training to nudge, or calm the person when they are severely agitated or in a state of depression.
Although health facility offers these dogs for services, however, the wait list is long, and usually, people cannot wait for so long to get these services. The best thing to do is to enlist yourself to the dog’s assistance and get on the waiting list. One can also go for private health facilities for these dogs; however, they can get expensive. The individual must look for financial assistance programs offered by the medical facilities to get the dog services at a nominal fee.
All in all, a person can significantly benefit from the skills, attitude, and ethics of these animals. They will take care of the person and be by their side when they are facing emotional disorders. These dogs also can detect all types of situation and react accordingly to soothe and calm the person. It is in the best interest of the person with psychological problems to look out for these service dogs as they can help them to recover fast and also encourage them to engage in healthy and positive activities.
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