June is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month. This month and every month, we at Guardian Angels are committed to fighting the stigma around PTSD and providing our unwavering help and support to all those battling this invisible disability.
Approximately 72% of all our service dog recipients suffer from PTSD. We specifically train our dogs to mitigate its debilitating effects, and we have a long track record of success. Here is what one of our recipients had to say:
“Immediately after being paired with Cobalt, I noticed positive changes. I became more sociable and less withdrawn, I was no longer afraid of going to the grocery store or mall, I became more physically active, regained a positive outlook on life, my depression subsided enough to allow me to stop taking medication, and the night terrors stopped,” said Matt.
Yet one of the most frequently asked questions we receive is, “How do service dogs help with PTSD?” A medical service dog can be incredibly effective in mitigating PTSD’s effects by recognizing triggers, reducing anxiety, and enhancing social integration, among many other benefits.
How Guardian Angels Trains Service Dogs to Respond to PTSD
At Guardian Angels, we train our service dogs using scent samples provided by their future recipients. These samples help the dogs learn to recognize the specific chemical changes that occur in the recipient’s body during an anxiety attack or other PTSD-related event. This training enables the dogs to respond early, often before the recipient even realizes what’s happening.
Our dogs are taught to perform a variety of support tasks that directly address these challenges. For instance, they can detect when a recipient is experiencing a nightmare and intervene by waking them before it escalates, allowing the person to regain calm and return to sleep more easily.
Service dogs also play a preventative role in managing triggers. One key example is shielding, a non-aggressive, trained behavior where the dog positions its body between the recipient and others in a crowded space. This physical barrier offers both space and a sense of control, which can reduce stress and prevent overstimulation.
In addition to performing critical mental and physical support tasks, having a service dog by their side often gives recipients the confidence to face daily life with greater independence. For many, this new sense of stability can be a stepping stone toward rebuilding relationships and forming new connections, important steps in living with and managing their disability.
Your support makes our work possible. Every donation helps us train and pair more service dogs with individuals who truly need them. Please consider giving today!
Have questions about our service dogs? We’re happy to help. Contact us today to learn more.
