The Different Conditions Therapy Dogs Help Treat

Human kind's best friends truly earn their names when they take on the mantle of therapy or service dogs. Sometimes people confuse the two, but service dogs are specifically trained to assist their disabled owners with certain tasks, whereas therapy dogs provide comfort and companionship to their owners or those in hospitals or long-term care facilities. Therapy dogs can be any size and shape. They must be even-tempered, friendly and patient. Interactions with therapy dogs have been shown to lessen the vast emotional weight that people might be experiencing. Just the sight of a therapy dog entering a space can spread smiles. Therapy dogs are especially helpful in the following circumstances.

Depression & Anxiety

Individuals often experience a lift when seeing a dog out and about; getting to pet and cuddle one is still better and owning one can help bring people back from the brink when it comes to depression and anxiety. Formal research is even showing that therapy animals are effective in the treatment of depression and anxiety. Often, those with either condition avoid contact with the outside world, whether out of stress or fear of what might happen. Both disorders involve negative internal talking to the self as well as emotional turmoil. Therapy dogs can help stop that vicious cycle of negativity by offering comforting companionship and granting their owners a sense of purpose. Even keeping plants has been found to give residents of senior care facilities a renewed purpose; how much better would it be to have a canine companion? Dogs offer complete and total acceptance, as well as unconditional love without any fear of judgment when a person who is depressed and anxious is at their lowest points.

Discover how therapy dogs can help seniors who need a little extra TLC next.