What Are Medical Alert Service Dogs And What They Do

By: Kathryn Anderson Updated: November 1, 2024

black dog sitting by the feet of its owner.

What are Health Disabilities that require Medical Alert?

Dogs play an essential role in our lives: they are our friends and daily companions. But for those with medical conditions, dogs can do much more. A trained service animal can save your life. Whether it’s by catching a whiff of nuts that could kill a person with a severe airborne allergy, detecting low blood sugar, or even recognizing heart abnormalities that could signal a heart attack, the incredibly sensitive canine sense of smell can work wonders.

Medical alert dogs can warn their owners about impending crisis situations in a variety of illnesses. These include diabetes, heart disease, airborne allergies, asthma, illnesses that cause dizziness or potential loss of consciousness when standing, and many others. And whether or not the animal detects the emergency in advance, they can provide a quick, targeted medical response unique to the individual’s needs. The Rover website has more details here

Common Treatments and Coping Mechanisms for Medical Alert Disabilities

The most common treatments for people with health disabilities that require medical alerts are technological devices. Medical Alert providers offer various devices for the home and on the go in the form of waterproof pendants, wrist bracelets, upgraded landline phones, and portable tracking modules. This website gives detailed information about the above discussed devices. 

As more and more people seek holistic alternatives when developing their treatment plans, the use of assistance animals such as psychiatric service dogs is becoming more commonplace.

To evolve with these times, CertaPet has made the process for this revolutionary service completely digital, not to mention easy to navigate. We provide a free, confidential screening test which takes less than 5 minutes to determine your candidacy. From there, you will be matched with a licensed mental health professional in your state and contacted to set up your tele-health appointment. The final step is our therapist’s recommendation, which includes a treatment plan with your particular service dog, and an official ESA letter if you qualify. 

And that’s all you will need to obtain either a psychiatric service dog or an emotional support animal, based on your situation. Whether you receive a therapy dog, emotional support animal, or any other type of service animal, you’ll be taking the safer, more beneficial route that only modern holistic alternatives can provide.

How Can Response Dogs Help Patients with Health Disabilities?

Decades of research support the use of service dogs in assisting individuals with physical disabilities. In recent decades, they have become popular companions for people with less visible ailments, such as mental illness, developmental disorders, and chronic pain. Any dog can boost key neurotransmitters like dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins, and serotonin, all of which are “essential to our sense of well-being.”

masked woman receiving a kiss from her dog.

Trained service animals, such as diabetic alert dogs, are able to go much further with the aid they provide. Extensive research shows how effective they can be in helping people with disabilities achieve greater independence, require less assistance from other people, and improve functioning in many areas–including physical, emotional, social, and economic.

Mental Health Benefits

Dogs are currently on the “cutting edge of science” helping to detect changes, alert to, and provide relief for many mental diseases and disorders including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, PTSD, seizures, and schizophrenia. 

Physical Health Benefits

Extensive research has been performed over many decades, in many countries, regarding the physical benefits of medical alert dogs, like diabetic alert dogs, and, at this point, they are undeniable and scientifically proven. 

The American Kennel Club dives deep into this topic here.

Specific Tasks Medical Alert Service Dogs Can Perform to Support Their Owner

The site AnythingPawsable has compiled a list of 100 tasks. Here are just a few:

  • Laying Across the Chest of a Seizing Handler to Help Reduce Duration of Seizure
  • Retrieving Glucose Kit From Fridge
  • Retrieving Medication From Designated Spot
  • Fetch a Beverage or Snack From Designated Spot
  • Bring Phone to Handler
  • Alerting Caretaker to Alarms from Medical Equipment
  • Alerting Handler to Low Blood Sugar

How to Get a Medical Alert Service Dog

little girl and her dog wearing masks on a couch.

In order to obtain a service dog, also known as response dogs, for Medical Alert you must receive a recommendation from a licensed mental health professional or a doctor. This ‘prescription’ takes the form of a letter, which will be written on your health professional’s letterhead and include their license number.

There are no limitations to the breed of dog you can use as your psychiatric service dog or therapy dog. Mobility service dogs can therefore either be chosen from a dog you already own, a dog you adopt from a shelter or rescue group, or a dog you receive from a service dog organization. Keep in mind, however, that the dog must be specially trained to perform certain tasks in order to be recognized as a service dog under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

CertaPet wants you to get a service animal as quickly as possible. And we know our services can do just that through our certified telemedicine evaluation and rapidly submitted recommendation letters. If you have additional questions, read these Healthline and Top Dog Tips articles.

How to Train a Medical Alert Service Dog

In the sections above, we touched on the different training methods of an emotional support assistance dog. Here are some more details, along with a supporting blog post, regarding the typical training of support, therapy, or service dogs.

There are two components of an effective training regimen for all service dogs. First, the General Public Access Test is performed to instill good manners in service animals, ensuring that they behave appropriately in public settings. The second step, the specialized task/work training is done, which satisfies the requirement of all PSDs to be able to perform a specific action that’s directly related to their handler’s disability.

No matter the underlying causes that require a medical alert, or how it affects which aspects of your life, this two step training process can not only create a service dog out of any dog but tailor their abilities to combat each and every symptom the handler may encounter.

The Best Medical Alert Service Dog Breeds

Any breed of dog could be transformed into a medical alert service dog or psychiatric service animal. It could be a dog you have owned for years or one you just picked up from a shelter or adoption agency. But, like with most things, there are a handful of dog breeds that are superiorly adept than the rest.

  1. German Shepherd
  2. Golden Retriever
  3. Samoyed
  4. Border Collie
  5. Irish Setter
  6. Poodle
  7. Labrador Retriever
  8. English Setter
  9. Gordon Setter
  10. Goldendoodle

The site Spruce Pets has more details here.

Conclusion

Are you interested in getting a psychiatric service dog?

Here at CertaPet, we can help. CertaPet is an online tele-health platform that improves access to mental health care in the U.S. with a focus on providing services to individuals who are seeking animal assisted interventions as part of their treatment plan.

We are currently coordinating with emotional support dog trainers who specialize in the service animal space and who will soon work in tandem with our network of licensed mental health professionals to make the process of getting and training a psychiatric service dog affordable, convenient, and hassle-free. 

We’ll have more information available soon about our Psychiatric Service Dog Training options. In the meantime, you can take our FREE pre-screening below to see if you qualify for a PSD!

FAQs

Can you have a service animal for Medical Alert?

Absolutely, yes. Service dogs, therapy dogs, and emotional support animals are trained to assist in the activities of daily living for those who have one or more physical and/or mental health conditions, including diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and Schizophrenia.

How do you qualify for a psychiatric service dog?

We have a fast, easy, and stress free way to determine just that. We start with a free screening, move on to a telemedicine evaluation from a licensed professional, and finish with a personalized plan and ESA letter of qualification.

What can a psychiatric service dog do?

Under the ADA, a service animal is defined as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability.  The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person’s disability.

Can I use any breed of dog as an emotional support animal or psychiatric service animal?

Any breed of dog can take to the psychiatric service training well and you can even use one you already own. However, there are particular breeds that excel in these kinds of emotional, stressful, and difficult situations.

How are support dogs trained?

Service dogs can be trained by you, the handler, or by you with the assistance of a certified trainer. A third option is to adopt a service animal from an accredited training organization for service dogs.

author avatar
Kathryn Anderson
CertaPet's Senior Marketing Associate/pet care advocate who works to develop new content for purrfect pet owners everywhere. Also a lover of coffee, corgis, and corny cat puns.

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