ASSISTANCE DOG is the generic "umbrella" term for dogs trained to assist people with disabilities to lead a more independent life.
Guide Dogs
Guide Dogs assist blind and visually impaired people by avoiding obstacles,
stopping at curbs and steps, and negotiating traffic. The harness and U-shaped
handle fosters communication between the dog and the blind partner. In
this partnership, the human's role is to provide directional commands, while
the dog's role is to insure the team's safety even if this requires disobeying
an unsafe command. Note: Circle Tail DOES NOT train guide dogs.
Service dogs assist people with disabilities other than
vision or hearing loss. Service dogs include the following types:
Mobility Assistance
These dogs may retrieve objects that are out of reach, pull wheelchairs,
open and close doors, turn light switches off and on and assist persons
with balance disorders by providing limited balance.
Seizure Response
These dogs are trained and placed to work with an individual who has Epilepsy or other seizure disorders. The dog is trained to perform a task or tasks which benefit the recipient by responding appropriately to seizure episodes.
Psychiatric Assistance
These dogs are trained to perform disability-related tasks which empower their disabled partners by increasing their safety, mobility and independence.
Hearing Dogs assist deaf and hard of hearing individuals by alerting them to a variety of household sounds such as a door knock or doorbell, alarm clock, oven buzzer, telephone, baby cry, name call or smoke alarm. Dogs are trained to make physical contact and lead their deaf or hard of hearing partners to the source of the sound.
