Lots of folks are asking me about my Parkinson’s Medical Service Dogs. Please read through this whole series to get a firm idea as to what it is to own a Parkinson’s disease Service Dog (PD SD). I’m a Parkinson person in Virginia, and I’m a state lobbyist for Parkinson’s medical laws and AKC/ADA service dogs. I’m also a lobbyist for research, an ADA writer, and a senior Michael J. Fox speaker and advisor for UVA P4P for the past seven years. I’m writing today to educate others on owning a medical service dog.
Benefits of a service dog
People with Parkinson’s can benefit greatly from a therapy dog for company and mental support, especially those with advanced PDor for folks with more serious medical PD issues. Medical dog ownership can provide a mandatory opportunity for exerciseseveral times a day as well as companionship, and a dog can perform helpful duties to help assist and alleviate the common symptoms of reduced strength, and with depression. They can also be trained to assist Parkinson’s patients with several types of daily activities.
My service dog is Maia and she is an AKC, smooth coated German Sheppard trained for my Parkinson’s needs. Maia and I have gone through a long arduous one year private medical training program together for my Parkinson’s needs. Currently, we are being studied by a private PD group on our relationship and how the larger breed, now at 70 pounds, helps me. One year into it and we are doing wonderfully. As my Parkinson’s needs progress, I will grow with my specialized medical dog service needs (Note: This is my second Medical service dog. My first dog was Maggie, a smaller Lab/Border collie mix scent dog. This wonderful dog gave me nine years of service and is now retired living with me and helps training with Maia).
Maia is learning as a task dog to address my needs as my PD changes. I may become mobility-impaired with my PD in time, so Maia will help me with wheel chair needs. I, along with private donations, pay for training and care of Maia. We are always finding proper ways for others with Parkinson’s can benefit in ownership of this sort of a medical dog early on with Parkinson’s. A medical service dog or a therapy dog will make a big difference and I’ll explain their differences below. Many service medical dogs today I’ve found are for more advanced Parkinson’s needs.
My gentle female Shepard
Maia is a perfect temperament and size for a medical Parkinson’s service dog. Maia was trained at first as a therapy task dog then quickly skilled up at the age of nine months to be a medical service dog for a gentleman in a wheel chair with PD. Maia was then qualified and tested to become a medical service dog after she was used as a PD therapy dog and then a PD medical service dog during her second year. After her owner passed away, I qualified for Maia to be my Parkinson’s medical dog and she was donated to me. She has had very good training and is my gentle female Shepard. Please know she is just trained especially for my medical PD specialized needs, along with a private group doing research with Mlee Parkinson’s group, my organization. I work closely with a private group with medical and therapy rescue dogs in order to find the perfect dogs to help others in the future to own a SD with PD. So perhaps the future of folks with Parkinson needs and service dog are easier to own. Lots of training and time goes into a service dog. This private organization has former training since Maia’s birth. They are a new program and NOT public yet. We strongly suggest looking into your state’s service dog programs for a dog for your needs.
https://parkinsonsdisease.net/story/maia-living-pd/
Part 2:
Choosing a dog requires careful consideration to make sure you and your future canine companion can meet each other’s mental and physical needs. Keep in mind that puppies may be cute and fun at the animal shelter, but once at home they will require lots of house-breaking and much basic training. Someone with Parkinson’s needs to be very careful not to trip; a rambunctious puppy is likely to be a hazard for tripping. A good choice is a one to two year old dog that is not skittish. Some key characteristics include:
Behavior
- Calm demeanor and not easily frightened
- Smart learner breed
- Able to go in public areas easily and listen to commands
- In public must have four paws on the ground at all times
- Good around both young children and adults, other pets in public
- Consider other animals in the home with a service dog
- Be sure to care for your Service or Therapy dog. You have to walk, feed, groom, meet their medical needs, and be sure they are a well behaved dog if you’re mobility-impaired.
- Your dog must behave with good manners always, show good training behavior always in public. That’s means no jumping up, barking, snap at others, licking, begging and be able to get away from aggressive persons or other dogs without confrontation.
- No yelling at the dog to do things
Training and care
- Has mastered basic training (sit, stay, come, no, heel, etc.)
- Be trained to go in or on public areas and transportation
- Have all proper vet continued care and all training papers
- The team should always be like the dog is not there always; good training shows
- Voice commands must be met quickly and quietly
- The dog should know not to pull on the lead
- Has gone through AKC training for therapy skills or medical service dog skills, meet the federal ADA laws
- Be certified by the state license trainers and given certificate AKC as a service dog (Note: As of 2015, the State of Florida and Michigan require Service dog certificate by law living in said state. Four other state as of 2016 are now asking to have the same laws: VA, MO, NJ, NY
- International laws require proper certificates and medical letters
- Be able to listen to commands and do them easy with out any distractions
- Can the dog listen to a task command and do it
Your needs
- Is an appropriate size for Parkinson’s needs
- It is also wise to consider the characteristics of your home as they relate to the dog. For example, some dogs drool, which could cause hazardous slippery patches on a wood or laminate floor
- Consider all weather conditions to work well with you
- Be able to assist in safety of PD person needs
Before choosing your dog, please consider what your current needs are and what you expect your long-term needs to be. Do you see your dog as always being only a Therapy or a Medical Service need dog? As your Parkinson’s changes over time, will you want to expand your dog’s training to that of a Service Dog? Are you or anyone in the home allergic to dogs? Have you spoken to your Parkinson’s medical team about owning and training for a PD service dog on your own? Can you afford the cost of training as your PD changes, your walk changes, voice command changes and your health care changes with the animal? You may want to consider working with a certified trainer for the life of the dog and getting a Service Dog right from the beginning.
Please think fairly and think hard before putting on any fake therapy or fake service vests on any dog stating it is a medical or therapy dog; it is not legal. In the court of law, you can get charged for this. This is not fair to others that have taken the careful time and gone through properly trained and certified service medical dog programs. Please note that TOO many house hold pets with fake service, therapy dogs vest on are out there today, with poor training or no training at all causing issues and harm. Do not take the chance!
In the last part of this series, I will speak about other special considerations to think about before owning a service dog for Parkinson’s.
https://parkinsonsdisease.net/story/maia-living-pd-pt-2/
Part 3
Maia dog is not a pet, nor cared for as a house pet. All her care, training, and needs have to be met for a medical service dog, as well as American and international travel certifications. It is the owner/handler of the dog who has the full legal responsibility that all these needs are met. Having a medical service dog can be costly––up to $19,000 or much more to own and train throughout the years. Most medical service dogs can go under home owner’s insurance to protect the service dog (SD) in case of loss or damage to the service dog. Please note a big mishap in America is folks think they can train once and call a dog a service dog. No! Yes, it is very expensive but well worth it. Even for folks training with a trainer on their own, it is expensive but well worth the cost to you and the dog for safety and your PD needs. This is an on going cost as the medical training for the dog and owner is very important. Grants, loans, and fundraising all can be written and be used for the cost, training and purchase of a service dog has to be done right. As a person with Parkinson’s your doctors, physical therapist, and movement specialist will all have to be involved in order to see if you are continually able to care for and handle the medical or service dog.
Please note that a medically proven therapy, task or medical service dog cost can be tax deductible with food, vet cost. Check your state on the facts.
Large responsibility
Additionally, service dogs should not be pet, called out to, or distracted from their work. DO NOT distract a service animal ever, out of respect for the handler’s medical needs and dog alertness. Maia and I have been through private training to see if I could handle Maia in public. Both dog and owner are doing great. We learn from each other, our surroundings and all weather environmental conditions. Most service dog organizations both public and private ask for criminal background checks, medical background checks, and financial needs. It is an extensive process but an important process legally and for your needs and safety.
Having a medical service dog is a large responsibility and costly. Along with all her training, the dog’s health care and service certificates have to be up to date constantly. Additionally, US and international certification for travel and insurance also have to be up to date. Currently, Maia and I are in an AKC training program in VA to help keep up all of our skills with a private AKC trainer. The intense training will help Maia to carefully assist me with walking gait, ground hazards for walking/running, sleep disorders, temp adjustments, seizure, stroke awareness, depression, medicine alerts and so much more.
Know your state laws
Insurance, state, and federal legal issues can and DO happen with lack of certification and bad training with fake untrained dogs. It is a big problem and we do not recommend anyone to go out on your own without proper training. It takes many years to train a dog, not a few classes and lots of time, especially with Parkinson’s. With travel and within public areas, interaction with other people, kids and with other animals, and events in public, an untrained dog can get picked out fast and it does show in public. Most fake or untrained dogs can get out of hand fast, and can hurt you or others around you. You can be fined or charged by federal law if an out of control fake service dog hurts others in public. Please note that therapy dogs can be denied access to certain places by law. But a true medical service dog has all access. See your state laws on this issue.
https://parkinsonsdisease.net/story/maia-living-pd-pt-3/
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