Thread by @servicepupbasil

Awesome! Thanks for responding to our poll 🥰 It looks like most folks would like to learn more about the tasks and helpful things I’m trained to do for my momma as her multipurpose service dog! We’ll touch slightly on the other topics too. Thread incoming! #SundayServiceDogFacts

https://twitter.com/servicepupbasil/status/1355891447552217093

Ok here we go!🙂🐕‍🦺 I'm a multipurpose service dog, which means I combine tasks from the main service dog categories. Specifically, I do tasks from the medical alert, medical response, mobility, & psychiatric SD categories! In the future, I will also learn a bit of guide work 😄

Some basic things I do to help around the house or out & about include picking up things momma drops, finding things for her by name (keys, phone, meds), pushing accessible door buttons, opening and closing cabinets, drawers, and doors, and even opening the refrigerator for water

I can also go find something & bring it to her! So far I know how to find keys, phone, medications bag, and water bottle. Here's me finding her meds (she *hid* them to make it more fun!) Her pill case is in a bag to keep me safe in case they spill

Video description: a red golden retriever sits & looks at the camera, on a cue she gets up & searches for an object. She returns with a bag in her mouth that holds her handler's medications & med supplies. She wears a black service dog vest with white and mint green text.

I love to practice getting the water bottle out of the fridge, it's so fun! Video description: A golden retriever pulls on a black woven strap attached to the handle of a white refrigerator. Once it opens she pulls a water bottle out of the bottom shelf & brings it to her human

To make things easier for momma I also know how to get my vest and bring it to her, and to put my head through the front to get dressed for work! Video description: A person holds up a black service dog vest & a golden retriever puts her head through the front strap

I can open cabinets, doors, and drawers too! Video description: A golden retriever pulls on a woven black strap to open a white kitchen cabinet, then looks at the camera. With approval, she then pushes it closed with her snout

I also help with other fun things like laundry & putting recycling or trash in the bin. But let's move on to my medical alert task! I'm trained to smell if momma's heart rate gets too high. If she's sitting I put a paw on her leg to alert her, but if she's standing I stand too!

This is my most important type of task bc my alerts keep momma safe. The alert is 1 type of task but I also know how to do "medical response" - after an alert I make momma sit & I will lay on her lap. My weight brings her heart rate down! This is called deep pressure therapy

Deep pressure therapy (DPT) is 1 of the most common SD tasks bc it has many uses! It can calm a panic or anxiety attack, mitigate tachycardia (high heart rate), & even regulate blood pressure! I do DPT for momma for almost all of these things in different scenarios.

I can also use my "bring meds" and "bring water" (from the fridge) commands after I've done DPT so that momma can take her medications & recover safely. This allows her to rest, and means she can be alone without worry. I am her independence 🥰

I do other types of alerts too! Momma has confusing allergy reactions (MCAS) & sometimes doesn't realize she is getting hives. So I tell her if I notice her scratching her arms, legs, or face. And I make sure she can't ignore me! If she won't pay attention I get in her lap!!

Video description: A white woman wearing silver ring splints & black jeans scratches her knee. A red golden retriever stands nearby & notices the scratching, then steps in to nudge and lick the human's hands insistently.

I also alert if momma's knee is bouncing a lot, if she looks like she is spacing out (staring at one spot for a long time), or if she is making distressed noises. I go put my head in her lap to get her attention, and will crawl into her lap to put my face on her chest if needed

Video description: a person's legs are shown shaking & a service dog laying at the person's feet then gets up, paws at the person and lays her head flat in the person's lap. The weight of the pup's head makes the person's legs stop shaking.

I do these alerts because momma has cPTSD. I help her stay calm & I comfort her through the harder times. Eventually, I will learn to guide her to an exit and then to our home in case she has flashbacks or panic while out & about.

Those are most of my tasks and commands that we can think of right now! I do all these tasks & more at momma's work, when out doing errands, and at home! I am always vested if out of the house & you can read more about my LAB GEAR here:

https://twitter.com/servicepupbasil/status/1353378522715336706?s=20

If you have any questions for us please drop them below! We'll keep an eye on the thread for the afternoon :) Thanks so much for hanging out with us today & learning about my #ServiceDog tasks. Here's a bonus outtake of me doing my standing alert a little too enthusiastically 😂

Momma sort of messed up the thread a little, so you may have to click on the replies we put to each tweet to find the rest of the thread 🤦‍♀️Sorry about that! Momma needs better social media training, I better get the clicker & treatbag out again

Oops, we forgot a big category of tasks! I'm learning to do MOBILITY work for momma too. I won't start really training a lot on it until my joints finish growing (> 2 yrs old), but for now we work on the positions & motions I need to know without applying any body weight!

In this picture I'm practicing the safe position for a "Brace". I stand very still with my feet squared up under both my shoulders and hips. My head needs to be in line with my body and my feet must be even. I make my back rigid / flexed to bear weight safely

Momma puts her hand across my shoulders and says "brace" to cue me to do this position. I know to stay still. For now momma just balances her hand here while she gets up on her own, but once I'm grown up she will put a little bit of body weight on me so I can help her get up

I will use similar skills & a special mobility harness to help momma balance when she is standing & to give her a little extra momentum when she is walking! We will update on those things once it is safe for me to do them with body weight and not just practicing the positions :)

In this pic you can also see A TREAT ON THE GROUND & I'm not even going for it. I didn't try to get it because part of my training is learning that once a treat hits the floor it stops existing & human food is never for me. I only take treats that are brought right to my mouth!

My main dpt response is to mitigate momma’s tachycardia, which for her is a symptom of something called dysautonomia. That’s a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system, which controls heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, & more!

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