PSD task or emotional support?

[susan]

Hi,
I was wondering if training a dog to be a buffer in crowded situations would be a legitimate task for a PSD or be considered emotional support? I'm refering to having the dog trained to do a down stay between me and others, or train him to repeatedly circle around me in a crowded store so that others wouldn't be able to enter my personal space. I suffer from severe panic disorder and schizoaffective disorder and am unable to go into crowded places by myself which makes it impossible for me to do my own grocery shopping.

Thanks,
Susan

[Kirsten]

Grocery shopping is not a major life activity.  From 28 CFR 36.104, "The phrase major life activities means functions such as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working."

So unpack it.  On it's most basic level, what prevents a person with severe social anxiety (with panic attacks) from shopping?  At the root you will find a major life activity, I promise. 

I'll do this one as an example, but this really is something that should be discussed (unpacked) with a qualified therapist.  During a panic attack thoughts become very rapid and tend to spiral into greater and greater distortions.  Even if a person has been taught techniques for controlling panic attacks (visual imagery, breathing or grounding exercises, etc.), they may be unable to recall them or even if recalled to actually implement them.  Thinking is a major life activity.  The primary substantial limitation in a major life activity with a severe panic disorder is a loss of ability to think.  We're not talking about forgetting where you put your glasses, but thinking on its most basic level.  One example:
Inability to recognize danger such as an oncoming car or misreading a police officer as dangerous and disobeying their instructions.  These are examples of thinking so impaired it can get you killed.  Somewhere between, "I can't find my glasses" and "I can't recognize danger" is a line that marks a "substantial" limitation.  I can't tell you exactly where that line lies, just give you an example on either side of it.  Only a judge can determine where the line actually lies.

So assuming we have a disability that substantially limits the person's ability to think, the next question is, how does the proposed task mitigate the inability to think?  I really am going to let you guys work through this one on your own (or with a therapist).  It's more of an explanation than I want to address.

1.  substantial limitation in major life activity
2.  mitigating task to overcome limitation
3.  is this task trained?

Cover all three and you've got a task.

See also Storms v Fred Meyer Stores http://www.servicedogcentral.org/content/node/197

The next question is whether that function alone would make a good case that a dog is a service dog.  The answer is, "no," because the task is weak (difficult to prove it is intentionally trained in court).  Please note:  I define tasks as strong (easy to prove and legitimate), weak (legitimate, but difficult to prove), bonus (easy to prove but wouldn't qualify as a task).  This has nothing whatever to do with how beneficial a trained behavior might be, just with how strong I think it is as evidence in court.

A person with an anxiety impairment so severe as to substantially limit the person's ability to think would need many other kinds of help as well.  The grounding task, for one.  Guiding when disoriented.  Finding a person or place by name.  It goes on.

A final note:  if you're going to teach a boundary task (maintaining a boundary around a person), this is the correct way to do it.  The dog should never confront people who get close.  That encourages aggression in the dog and can be unnecessarily confrontational with the public.  Circling or blocking with a side are non-confrontational and will not encourage aggression in a dog.

[susan]

Thanks for the response Kirsten. Would it matter that I live in the state of California? In California according to Government Code 12926 a mental condition that makes a major life activity "difficult" is considered a disabling condition. "Major life activities" shall be broadly construed and shall include physical, mental, and social activities and working." Service dogs are specified in California law for both physical and mental conditions (Civil Code 54). 
Also in the case that you cited didn't the court rule that "Brandy" was a service dog due to her circling her owner to relieve her anxiety. I misworded what I meant by the task I was trying to describe, what you described was what I was trying to say (the dog in a stay with its back to the person, not guarding me). Would having someone video tape the training of this behavior and video taping the dog demonstrating it in a public location help with proving it a trained task?
Also can you please describe how a dog could provide "grounding" for a person with panic disorder without it being considered an emotional support task? I'm new to this and just don't quite understand.
Unfortunately on medicaid it is very hard in my state to get access to a therapist right now, I get 15 minutes a month with my Pdoc for medication only. They even canceled my group sessions due to budget cuts, so I'm kind of on my own with this. My mom is getting older and should she become unable to do our grocery shopping I have no idea how I will buy food for us. I'm already on meds for panic strong enough that if I ever get into an accident, I can possibly be charged with DUI, and am still unable to go into crowded places without panicing.

Thanks
Susan

[bj2circeleb]

Kirsten will be able to answer this better, but my question is how will this task help you. If the dog is doing a down stay how will that enable you to do the grocery shopping. If a dog is circling you how will that allow you to do the grocery shopping. How do you intend to train the task and what will be the cue for the dog to do it. If you can command the dog to do it, then why not command the dog to do something more useful. As someone with severe panic disorder I fail to see how such a thing would help me to do my grocery shopping. It would simply stop me in my tracks and keep me in a place that I am already finding too overwhelming. But everyone experiences panic, and all other psych conditions differently and it is only you who knows what stops you from doing something and unfortunately finding a good therapist is really the only way to go. Others on here may have some ideas of how to do that, as I am in Australia that is not something I can comment on.

Just my two cents worth.

[responsiblek9]

 
Ok one way a dog can ground a person and not be an ESA task.

One way is to train the dog "EXIT" this allows the person to leave the area calmly from  where they panicked and go to a quieter place outside the store to regroup. This allows the handler to go outside to calm down and then go back in to continue shopping .

You can also teach a dog to find bathrooms instead of exits. This allows the handler time to calm down and do what they have been taught to relax and refocus,( examples: breathing exercises, tactile biofeedback reorientation skills, counting exercises, Environment awareness exercises like the color memorization and repeating back the number and name of colors seen in the room or area with eyes closed).
Whatever skills the handler had been taught by proffessionals to use to calm themselves .
The dog takes them to a quieter area where it is possible  for the handler do these mental exercises without distractions  . That is one way of helping  the handler reground and reorient themselves.

Another factor used to ground is having the dog lead out ( on the task of "Exit" ) .
Physical  action of moving often helps one regain control because one is doing something to regain control. The dog  helps the handler not freeze and spiral in the panic by leading out when told to .
 then the handler sometimes just by moving will get more grounded in  that they are doing something to remove themselves from the overstimulation of where they were previously that was a trigger.


Ok other varieties of grounding.
 Some of these relate to PTSD or issues with hallucination problems. fear itself can be a hallucination of sorts also.

Ok grounding for a person with a fear of something hazardous around the corner. The dog is taught to  be slightly  ahead so they can look around a corner before the handler goes around that corner. If someone is there the dog swings wide to allow for navigating around whatever is there OR the dog stops and waits for directions of what next to do if there is someone around that corner . That  is up to the trainer to teach. 
Personally i teach mine to pause , look, and then swing wide. 
 
Another example of grounding.
 Fear of walking into a dark house. You stand at the door and send the dog inside to go turn on the lights inside before you enter the house. You can SEE that there is no one there ( being grounded into the here and now that NO one is there) as the dog turns on a light in each room and then comes back to you at the front door.

Training a dog to alert to fire and smoke

This too is a type of grounding use
 The handler may smell this ( from a memory , flashback ,  hallucination , or TBI issue) but they know this well trained demonstratably reliable  smoke alert dog is trained to alert to smoke or fire. So by the dog doing nothing  the handler is assured there is NO fire or smoke.
 This is one of the things where by inaction the dog is actually telling you something is NOT there.

Grounding is so much more than just petting a dog to stay in the here and now or to calm down .
They can be taught Multitudes of things specific to that particular person's disability to mitigate  and ground the handler into the here and now.   

Also can you please describe how a dog could provide "grounding" for a person with panic disorder without it being considered an emotional support task? Thanks
Susan

[susan]

I guess what I was trying to describe was like in line in the grocery store if I had my dog do a down stay behind me, then people would not crowd so close behind me. People crowding me causes me a lot of anxiety, which can lead to panic. As far as circling me, it would be when there were people on all sides of me. I have no idea of how I could train that with a shopping cart but with a handheld basket the dog could be verbally cued to "circle", going around me once then turning around and going the other way around so I wouldn't get tangled in the leash. There are also other tasks that I would like to train my dog to do such as remind me to take my meds, but I know that wouldn't hold up since thats only at home.
Thank you responsiblek9 for the explanation on grounding, finding an exit or bathroom in a large crowded store like Costco would be especially helpful if I were having a panic attack. Would that be how I described the task though if someone questioned what tasks he is trained to perform?

Thanks
Susan

[springingpups]

You can also teach a dog to find bathrooms instead of exits.

Please note that this does not mean the dog will take you to the CORRECT bathroom!  Once, when I was out with Grady, I cued him to take me into the bathroom.  I ended up in the men's bathroom!  Didn't even notice until I was out since I just ran in there to wash my hands.  Now I make sure to stop before going in and make sure that it's the right one.   

[responsiblek9]

 
You describe it as  "the dog is trained to lead you to a quiet safe place" . I tell them something Like an exit .   Dont have to describe exactly where other places the dog is taught to take one to, as in bathroom. 

[bj2circeleb]

My dog has been trained to find various places, also by name, but she has also been taught my specific physical cues that I am spirally into a really high panic state, like clench fists and the like, and when I display those she automatically begins to lead me to the closest exit. This is what I need. By the time I become aware of the situation I am often already too out of control. But this did mean working with a long term therapist who knew those cues and could help the trainer to train them. Having said that my therapist is still better at picking up the cues than Brooke is, because some of what she picks up are so suttle she could not and still cannot really describe it, let alone get me to do them on command so the dog can be trained. While the dog is a godsend, she will never be as good as my therapist.

[Spectrum]

So unpack it.  On it's most basic level, what prevents a person with severe social anxiety (with panic attacks) from shopping?  At the root you will find a major life activity, I promise.

I just wanted to say thank you for explaining that concept. I've always struggled with it, but now it's so much more clear 

[Kirsten]

Unpacking is a technique from cognitive behavioral therapy.  You identify thought patterns that are causing difficulty and "unpack" them to get down to the root.  Like dandelions, thought distortions are best tackled at the root.  Unpacking thought distortions can result in significant discomfort.  There is no substitute for work with a good therapist both for guidance in the unpacking and for help cleaning up the debris afterward.  If you are interested in pursuing this technique, approach your health care provider for information on "thought logging."  It is a powerful tool.

[susan]

Just wanted to say that I found a reputable breeder in my area that also trains service dogs for both the physically and mentally disabled so in a few years after my other dogs pass, if I still need a service dog she can help me with determining my needs and pick a pup or dog that is suitable and either help me train it or train it herself. I also found out that the local humane organization in my area has started a training program for both psychiatric and physical disabilities with rescue dog, but am unsure of the wait time or how hard it is to get into their program (although that would be basically a free program).

[hopesclan]

I also found out that the local humane organization in my area has started a training program for both psychiatric and physical disabilities with rescue dog, but am unsure of the wait time or how hard it is to get into their program (although that would be basically a free program).

I just wanted to suggest waiting and observing this program out for a bit before signing up to get a dog from them.  I'm not saying that the service will be poor, but there have been past programs like this that started up, handed out emotionally and/or pysically unstable dogs that lacked the proper training and then did not provide the support necessay for the trainer or dog.  Then they were shut down and PWD was left with an unmanageable dog with all sorts of issues... more problem than help.  This one might be different, but just be careful... meet some of the dogs and talk to individuals who were already trained by them.  Remember a PSD needs to be the most emotionally sound.

I am glad you are finding connections, though.

[susan]

I don't want to be a pest and this is something I will probably not be able to do for a few years as I have 4 dogs now (2 young, 2 old) but could someone who has trained their dog to find the exit of a store or a restroom briefly explain the concept of training it? Would it be need to be taught as a tracking skill or would teaching the dog to lead me to the exit of all the stores that I would plan to go to (by starting near the exit and gradually moving further away) be enough? I could get by with just being able to do my own grocery shopping and maybe going to a few of the local stores (Target, Walmart, Costco, HomeDepot) thats why I ask. I'm not sure that the humane society trainers or the individual who I found that trains service dogs for the physically and mentally disabled would know how to train a dog a tracking skill if that is whats required. I also have been hitting a wall with my psychiatrist so I printed up all the info I could from the ADA site and the State and he said it will take him several months to go through it all but he may assign me to a case manager to explore it further and then he or she could report back to him and they could decide together whether or not to recommend a service dog for me.

[k1maplewd]

1st when I have a very very young puppy (age 8-12wks) I do 3 very short sessions of 3 reps each on 3 different days in 3 different places of 'baby tracking'.  After this point I may leave any tracking stuff for months to years even, but I set the early foundation when they are puppies.

A person who is a tracking judge and dogs SAR work with her dogs taught me to do this and I find it does make a difference in the dog's ability to pick up trained tracking stuff more easily down the road.

In the puppy tracking sessions, I take 3-5 items, and stick hot dogs or other yummy treats in the articles.  I try to use a variety of items- cloth, leather, plastic, metal.  I then set very short straight tracks on the 1st 2 tracks and on the 3rd a 90' turn.  I let the tracks age various times- the 1st just a few minutes, the 2nd 5-10min and the 3rd 15-20min.   I have a starting article, a finish article and articles along the track at 1st every few feet then slightly longer.  No track is longer than I would say 50'.

I do tracks on grass, dirt, pavement, rocks, etc.  A variety of places and surfaces.

I then take out my puppy, put a tracking harness on him and encourage him to find the 1st article.  At the 1st article we party and I feed him OUT OF the article.  Then we go along the track, me encouraging him to 'find it'.  At the next article we party and I feed him OUT OF the article.  etc, until the last article. 

Then I put my puppy away for about 10-15 min and we do the 2nd track.  Same deal as the 1st.  Then I put him away for another 10-15min and we do the 3rd track.  By the 1st session of the 3rd track he has majority of time figured out this new game and is actively reading scent trying to find those articles. 

A few days later I will do the 2nd session in a new place.  Then a few days later a 3rd session in another new place.

That is how I start my puppies to get them keen on tracking the way I want. 

When I decide I want to do more formal tracking stuff (not necessarily SAR or TD work but more for my disability such as finding various places, exit doors, various people by name, etc)  I start with simple things.  I usually start with 'home', 'car' and one of the people I spend lots of time with.  I make things super easy.  And I am actually teaching the dog to back track (not the right word but I can't think of the right word ATM), as I want the dog to go from the finish point back to the start point.  ie I want him to take me from where we ended up back to the house or car or this person.  In real competition tracking this is a big no-no.  They don't want dogs to back track.  So we walk from the house aways, then I turn and encourage the dog to "let's go home!" and as we are walking I praise and encourage for "going home!"  Once we get to the porch, I reward and praise.  Then we do it over and over again making it harder and harder until I can be anywhere and my dog will be able to take us "home".  I do that with the car and with people we spend a lot of time with. 

Also as we go along the dog starts to understand he is supposed to smell these things out, and begins to be able to find them without us having to back track, he begins to more air scent and track things that way.  I do the same thing with exit doors, start with back tracking, then go until he is searching for the 'outside air' scent to find an exit door.

just what I have done and found works for my dogs.