How Dogs Can Calm Anxiety
A person suffering from anxiety attacks experience many risks, and it’s one of the reasons why it’s prudent to consider having a service dog or emotional support animal as a companion. The animal can keep the environment safer for the individual and below are some of the ways a dogs can calm anxiety:
1) Dogs can predict panic attacks
Because of their acute senses, dogs can recognize that a person is about to experience a panic or anxiety attack. If a service dog is trained to provide assistance for psychiatric disorders, it can intervene in the situation before any untoward incident happens. The pet will nudge or bark at his handler or owner even before the attacks happen, and they will not stop unless the handler listens.
2) Dogs have a calming and relaxing presence.
Even the ones that aren’t trained to be service dogs draw the same calming effect. A study has determined that a dog’s presence has some sort of healing effect. A person’s heart rate and blood pressure lowers whenever they are around dogs to either touch or keep the company.
Another study revealed that dogs can unleash happy hormones in a person, thus reducing stress levels that could trigger anxiety.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
3) Dogs ground you during an anxiety attack.
A person experiencing bouts of anxiety attacks could temporary lose focus as panic sets in, but a psychiatric service dog will keep him grounded, so that he can get a grip of his situation. Some service dogs are trained to facilitate deep pressure therapy, where the dogs can settle their body on the person’s chest to help him calm him down. Certain panic attacks can put the person at risk of hurting himself or damaging property, when this can be avoided or reduced with the dog’s presence.
4) Dogs alert your loved-one or other humans.
If a person is having an attack, a well-trained service dog can let another human know so that the matter can immediately be given attention. They can look for that person for help, or they can also be relied upon to find their master’s phone so that he can call for help.
About the Author: The writing team at Service Dog Certifications is made up of folks who really know their stuff when it comes to disability laws and assistance animals. Many of our writers and editors have service dogs themselves and share insights from their own experiences. All of us have a passion for disability rights and animals.
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I would love to have my dog with me as I have extreme anxiety. She naturally comes to me if she senses if I am upset or crying.
So, what kind of license would she need to have?
What other info do I need?
You do not need a license for either an emotional support animal or psychiatric service dog. The distinction between them is that ESAs do not need any specialized training, while PSDs are trained to perform specific tasks or jobs. Qualifying for an emotional support animal requires obtaining an ESA letter from a licensed healthcare professional. You do not need a letter for PSDs but many owners obtain PSD letters voluntarily. You can read more about ESAs and PSDs at these links:
https://www.servicedogcertifications.org/emotional-support-dog-certification-registration/
https://www.servicedogcertifications.org/psychiatric-service-dog/