Service dogs change people's lives. 

What are the benefits of having a dog?

Having a dog in the home has dozens of real, quantifiable, health benefits even when they're not trained:
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* lower cholesterol
* lower blood pressure
* lower triglyceride
* reduced stress levels
* reduced feelings of loneliness
* better mental health
* increased activity
* more opportunities for exercise
* more time spent outdoors (for dog owners especially)
* more opportunities for socialization

What are the benefits of having a service dog?

When trained correctly for service work, dogs can truly improve people's physical and mental well-being, and even save lives. A well-trained service dog can help struggling people achieve independence and success. A service dog can do something as small as build confidence for their owner and as big as alert them to an upcoming seizure. 

Service dogs can help raise the spirits of people in hospitals or elderly care facilities, they can help with focus and improve learning in schools, and can revolutionize an individual's independence in their home and out in the world. 
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Confidence, Independence, and Security are just a few things that service dogs and well-behaved dogs in general can provide for individuals. 

​Service Dog Orientations We Train 

Psychiatric Service Dogs (PSDs)

• Psychiatric Service Dogs (PSDs)- aid people with anxiety disorders, depression, bi-polar disorder, Agoraphobia, ADHD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD), Extreme Separation Anxiety, Emotional Behavioral Disorders (EBD), and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)  

Post Traumatic Stress Dogs (PTS or PTSD)

• Post Traumatic Stress Dogs (PTS or PTSD)-  aid individuals with Post Traumatic Stress or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or similarly manifested conditions

Mobility Dogs

• Mobility Dogs-aid any individuals with limited vision or limited mobility, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and spinal cord injuries

Hearing Dogs

• Hearing Dogs-aid individuals with impaired hearing or deafness

Emergency Medical Response/ Medical Alert Dogs

• Emergency Medical Response/ Medical Alert Dogs-also known as 'seizure dogs,' aid individuals at risk of seizure, whether caused by diabetes, epilepsy, or psychiatric disorders.  

​AUTISM SERVICE DOGS

These dog aid individuals of all ages on the autism spectrum ​​

Diabetic alert/ response dogs

These dogs are carefully trained using their noses to identify changes in diabetic individual's blood sugar. They can often accurately predict dangerous changes in a person's blood chemistry before the person and can alert the individual, bring medication, and assist in the event of a diabetic related emergency. 

Seizure alert/ response dogs

These dogs are trained, depending on the individual's unique need, to identify an oncoming seizure and to respond appropriately either to prevent a seizure or minimize the danger of a current seizure.

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OUr training approach

Heidi, a Psychiatric Service Dog with her handler.

Dog's Downtown provides a customized approach to service dog training. Every person is an individual with individual needs and we know that for a service dog to be successful, the training has to be individualized. We focus on training and certifying service dogs that will help their handlers and their handler's families to overcome unique, individual challenges faced in the home and out in the world.

We use balanced training and positive reinforcement methods to train and socialize service dogs to learn how to behave as helpful, good citizens in public and at home to help increase independence, confidence, and self-assurance in their handlers. Service dogs can improve the lives of people with physical, neurological, and psychiatric disabilities.

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Service Dog Information

Service Dogs 
- Are individually trained to perform tasks that mitigate their handler's disability
- Not encouraged to interact with other individuals when on duty 
​- Go everywhere with their handler
-Are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and must be allowed access to all public areas 
- Also protected by DOT's Air Carrier Access Act, DOJ/Fair Housing Act and Federal Rehabilitation Act which protect the rights of people with disabilities to be accompanied by the service animals