2 Kinds Of Medical Service Dogs

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When people think of service animals, they only tend to think of guide dogs for the blind. However, that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many other kinds of service animals out there and they can do all sorts of things. 

Cancer-Sniffing Dogs

One thing that medical service dogs can do is to help sniff out cancer. Generally, the dogs are trained to only sniff out one or two kinds of cancer. The way that they are trained is that they are given examples of the cancer they are being trained to smell. Once they are used to the way that cancer smells, then the animals will start to see various containers filled with a lot of different kinds of cells. Some will have the cancerous cells in them and others will have regular cells. When the dog finds the cancerous cells, they are given a reward as positive reinforcement. As that happens more and more, the dog will associate the cancer with good things, so they will eagerly look for that scent. 

Seizure Dogs

Another kind of medical service dog is a seizure dog. These dogs are paired with people who have seizure disorders. The dogs are trained to recognize the signs of an oncoming seizure. Then they alert their owners. That generally gives the owner enough time to sit down, lie down, or get somewhere safe. If the owner can't get someplace safe and the dog is large enough, the dog can act as a support for the owner if they were to fall. The owner can also lean on their dog so that the owner can safely get to the floor. After the dog has gone through its basic training, the owner and their new service animal will need time to train together. That will allow them to get used to each other, and to work on signals that will work between the owner and the dog. The new team will either go to a facility for medical alert service dog training or they will have a trainer come to them to help finish the training. 

Dogs are more than just man's best friend. They can be a tool that can help people have a better life. One way to do that is to train them to be medical service animals. There are a variety of jobs these dogs can do, and many of them save lives. 

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29 May 2019

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