PSD task or emotional support?

[Sunkala Joy van Veen]

It doesn't necessarily have to be a task trained through tracking.  Doing it as you asked.  Start with only one store.  Begin by going in the store only a few feet, then giving your exit command and bringing the dog to the exit and rewarding.  Repeat until the dog returns promptly to the exit.  Then increase distance within the store before giving the exit command.  Once the dog gets the hang of it in one store, do the same in other stores.  You will find that you need few repetitions.  Eventually any store you enter the dog can return you to the exit on command.

Dogs with better memorization skills are good about always bringing you back to the same doors you came in by.  Dogs who learn best through problem solving may grasp that an exit is an exit and take to either the nearest exit; or if really thinking, to the exit nearest your vehicle.  Unfortunately, if your disability is one that either leaves you easily confused, spatially disoriented, etc.  Going out a different exit than the one you came in through, while more efficient; might not be the best choice.  GSDs tend to look for shortcuts and efficiency.  But they can quickly learn to go to the right exit if you insist.

[latopla]

So this is more a reply to the very original question as opposed to where it has strayed. 

One of the tasks my dog does is what I call "Cover Me."  When I am anxious or feeling threatened by a person, he moves in front of me and either stands or sits between me and that person.  It is completely not aggressive, I've had people ask to pet him (and sometimes not ask) while he is doing this and he just maintains his position.  It allows me to maintain my personal space.  The issue I have is that I get very paranoid when I am around strangers in public.  I constantly believe that someone has the intention of harming me, kidnapping me, or stealing from me.  I also have a difficult time interpreting the expressions on people's faces and/or their body language.  Often, this means I cannot figure out if they are friendly or have ill-intentions.  Because of my paranoia, I tend to assume they have ill-intentions or are trying to pick on me.  So...Sheriff "Covering Me" allows me to better gauge the person from a comfortable distance so that I can interact with them. 

Before Sheriff was trained and when I was still often psychotic, I was extremely paranoid of police officers, even though I have never done anything to break the law...not even a traffic ticket.  However, I was once psychotic and my parents called the police because I walked out of their house with the intention to walk about 5 miles back to my apartment (my mom wouldn't let me drive and had taken my keys away) and it was night time.  Therefore, they called the police.  I was highly paranoid and anxious and had no clue what the officer intended to do when he finally arrived.  I was somewhat cooperative until he began mentioning that he thought I should go to the hospital and get checked out.  At that point I panicked and started trying to get away.  Luckily, the officer knew that I was not in a good place mentally and somehow regained my trust quickly enough that he was able to trick me into allowing him to pat me down.  He then, quickly but gently, got my arms behind my back and before I was aware...I was handcuffed.  The situation could have been A LOT worse.

If I had use of my service dog back then, I wouldn't have had such an issue.  I have been confronted by officers since then (not for the same things but they still make me paranoid) but Sheriff's presence causes me to remain calm and cooperate with the officer.  This works in any other confrontational situation...maybe not confrontational...any situation in which I feel is threatening (regardless of the reality of the situation).  Sheriff allows me to maintain my personal space and I am given time to assess the situation and learn what the person wants or needs from me...and I am less likely to react from the paranoia.  Again, Sheriff is not trained to attack but the way that he placed himself in between me and another person gives me the time I need to analyze the situation and act more appropriately instead of allowing panic or paranoia to rule my reactions.

He also does the "Cover Me" task in reverse by turning and sitting the opposite direction that I am facing when I am standing still.  It makes me feel safer because I assume someone would be less likely to approach me when a dog appears to be "watching my back."

I don't know how legitimate these tasks are.  They are trained and as Kirsten said, they address a disability involved in my ability to think.  Also I saw a statement in which a DOJ spokesperson stated that they do generally regard anxiety as a disability...and this task partially addresses anxiety and also addresses my schizophrenia.  Both of these affect my thinking and reasoning abilities.  So yeah...not sure if this information and examples help but I just thought I would add them.  Sorry if it was a bit off topic...today has been a day of rather disorganized thinking.

[susan]

Thank you for your responses k1maplewd and Sunkala Joy van Veen. I wasn't aware that a dog would be able to generalize finding the exits to different stores. Thank you too latopla, I have had issues with paranoia too (schizoaffective disorder)  although my issues were more about thinking people were following me, though my meds have taken care of that. The reason I want to teach a buffer or boundary task is more related to my social anxiety and panic. I just can't handle people getting too close to me.

[Kirsten]

Anxiety in itself is not a disability.  Anxiety that substantially limits a person's ability to function is.  Three quarters of all people with a mental illness diagnosis are not disabled by their mental illness.  One quarter are.  Compare this to vision impairment.  Most people with a vision impairment are not disabled by it.  They simply wear glasses and get along perfectly fine.  A person who is blind is disabled.  So it's not the diagnosis but a matter of degree that determines whether or not a given condition is a disability.

[susan]

Thank you for your input Kirsten. I have no idea if I would be I would be considered disabled under the ADA. I do believe that I am limited in my ability to think but I am not sure if it would be considered a substantial limitation, I often can not remember what year it is, I forget how old I am, I zone out and walk in front of cars at intersections as soon as I see the light changes, in a panic I have tried to unlock someones SUV thinking it was my truck although except for the color they looked nothing alike, etc. However I am pretty sure I would be considered disabled under CA law given the fact that CA includes major life activities broadly including physical, mental, social, and working and that the standard is only that it makes the activity difficult not substantially limiting. I am trying to get an answer from my doctor as to whether or not he feels I would be considered disabled under the ADA but he is reluctant to give me an answer, I believe in part because he doesn't believe in PSD's. I'm not trying to take advantage of the system, I only want to be able to live independantly.

[Keldrena]

Can you tell your doctor you need to know for schooling? A large amount of the documentation that enabled me to qualify for SSI were things I had needed for school.

ETA: I know someone doesn't have to qualify for SSI or SSDI to be disabled.

[Sunkala Joy van Veen]

The task you call covering is often termed blocking.  Whether it is a legitimate task depends on whether your need for blocking is for a disability.  Remember, a task must mitigate a disability.  If t does, then it would be a legitimate task.

[Kirsten]

If you are uncertain about whether a given condition disables you, your best resource is your own doctor.  Discuss it with him/her and ask whether they believe the limitations you face because of your impairment substantially limit your ability to perform major life activities such as caring for oneself, performing manual activities, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working.  This list is not all-inclusive but is meant to describe what sort of activity would be considered a major life activity.  Grocery shopping, for example, is not a major life activity, but an inability to walk which prevents a person from grocery shopping would be a major life activity.  An inability to leave the house is not a major life activity, but not being able to think because of anxiety caused by agrophobia in the face of leaving the house, is a major life activity.  Thinking is along the same lines as "learning."  Whether it is actually disabling depends on the extent to which the major life activity is impacted.  So a substantial inability to think would be a disability, but absent-mindedness would not.

[susan]

Under CA state law wouldn't grocery shopping be considered a "social activity"?
I took this directly from leginfo.ca.gov under CA Code 12926
(C) "Major life activities" shall be broadly construed and shall
include physical, mental, and social activities and working.

[cowlypso]

Perhaps under CA law...  But for the rest of the country, the ADA prevails.  The rule of thumb is whichever law (state or federal) that gives greater protection is the one that is followed.  So in CA, the state law gives greater protection.  But in any other state without such special provisions, grocery shopping does not qualify under the ADA.

[Kirsten]

CA's definition of disability is more broad than the ADA.  If you qualify under CA law but not the ADA it would mean 2 things.

1.  You could not travel out of state of California and have your animal recognized as a service animal.
2.  You must comply with the rest of the CA statutes regarding service animals, which I believe includes getting a special license.

If you qualify under the ADA, you would have the same rights in all states, not just California, and you would not be required to have the special license.