A service dog helps combat the daily symptoms of PTSD. Service dogs are trained to pick up stress signals and intervene with the owner to shift the focus back to a positive environment. A companion offers those suffering from PTSD a new outlook on life and sets up responsibilities that make daily activities easier to accomplish.For veteran Erick Scott, he knows all too well what it’s like to suffer from PTSD. He joined the Army National Guard, and the last thing his father told him was to make sure all of his guys came back from Iraq.
And when that didn’t happen, the survivor’s guilt set in. That’s where Gumbo comes into the picture. The service dog was paired up with Erick when the doctors diagnosed him with PTSD. And right in the middle of this interview, the veteran becomes a bit agitated when talking about the entire process. The dog senses this and reacts to calm his owner down in the way he was trained to do. It’s truly an incredible thing to witness.
HOW A PTSD SERVICE DOG CAN HELP A service dog will help improve the quality of life and the extent of daily activities for someone suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. The pains of PTSD can restrict someone from going outside or doing the daily activities that are necessary to live a healthy and active life.
PTSD SERVICE DOG TRAINING The training process that Operation Overwatch service dogs go through prepares them to pick up on the acute signals that someone suffering from PTSD gives. We will give them experience dealing with different scenarios of someone having a flashback or going through the severe anxiety attack. Not every serviceman and servicewomen reacts the same to a dog intervening. That is why we will have therapists will work with you or your loved one individually to identify the best way for a dog to mitigate.