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(JD) · Aug 24, 2009, 07:13 PM

I still cry over losing Figaro.
Yes, a service dog can be trained for many varied tasks to cover different disabilities.

Caleb was originally trained to alert me to sirens and doorbells etc. He moved on to learning to open doors and pick things up for me, and has also learned to "lap up" or "paw up" putting his front half of body on my lap and demanding hug and petting when I am upset or my pain is increasing. That helps me to calm, and also to realize I'm pushing my limits. My T is writing up the letter that affirms his task accomplishments, and then I will also put that patch on Caleb's stuff: PTSD Service dog. (Something else he does for me in that realm is to "Find Out." When I become disoriented, he can find any exit to where we came in a great help!)

I have found that a good basic trainer, who has trained dogs for years, can take the list of things you need and help you with it. I'm taking Caleb to the Pet Smart trainer soon, and see if he can help with Caleb's return to "sniffing" everything and body that goes by him...a bad habit that isn't acceptable imo. He stopped for a bit, so I don't know why he picked it back up...but I don't know how to untrain him. I hope that trainer does (should be in a book somewhere lol.)