Service dogs
There are already more and more countries and regions have realized the importance of service dogs, China has also begun to support the participation of guide dogs in public places such as subways. And according to research, service dogs not only help their owners with specific behaviors. Service dogs can also help the owner and his family gain emotional, psychological and social benefits. It may be that animals distract people from paying attention to disabilities and bring positive attention to their owners and their families.
1. Service dogs help their owners socialize. The effectiveness of service dogs can be seen from the following examples. A group of disabled children often go to a busy shopping mall. Sometimes they wear service dogs, sometimes they don't. Whenever a service dog is brought along, the children will receive friendlier treatment from passers-by. The appearance of dogs seems to break the barriers that sometimes exist between people, and gives people a neutral topic and enhances the ability to integrate into the community.
2. Service dogs help their owners establish a positive attitude. This can be seen from another experiment. This experiment divided 48 people who had used wheelchairs for at least two years into two groups, with each group matched with people of different ages, genders and disability levels. One group of people were equipped with assistance dogs at the beginning of the experiment, while the other group was equipped with assistance dogs after a year of the original experiment. In both cases, once the experimental subjects received a help dog, their level of dependence on others decreased significantly, whereas the control group did not experience this change during the waiting period. At the same time, as their dependence on others increases, their self-esteem strengthens and their emotional state changes. People who own help dogs are also more likely to maintain a working position.
Even so, raising an animal is a lifelong responsibility for the owner, and the decision must be made by the disabled person himself. And service dogs must be trained as needed and integrated into their living habits.
The technology of training service dogs is currently advanced in the United States, but other countries are also beginning to realize the significance of training high-quality service dogs, and many regions have also begun actions. However, because it started relatively late and the demand is relatively large, demand still exceeds supply in many areas, especially in China. We hope to change the prejudice against service dogs and allow them to better integrate into life.
</p>
</p>