Mobility & physical
Retrieving dropped items, opening and closing doors, turning lights on and off, bracing for balance, pulling a manual wheelchair, providing support on stairs.
A task is a specific, trained action that mitigates a disability. Here are common examples. Individual tasks should be chosen with your health care providers.
Medical response
Fetching medication, alerting others, getting help or a phone, and, for some dogs, alerting to physiological changes. Alert tasks are the hardest to train and prove, so be cautious of any promises.
Psychiatric
Interrupting repetitive or self-harming behavior, deep pressure therapy during anxiety or panic, creating space in crowds, waking from nightmares, reminding about medication.
Hearing
Alerting to alarms, doorbells, phones and approaching sounds.
Autism support
Interrupting repetitive behaviors, providing grounding, helping prevent bolting with tethering (where appropriate), and supporting calm in public.
Seizure response
Staying with a person, activating alarms, retrieving help or medication. 'Seizure alert' (predicting a seizure) is not reliably trainable.
Task training basics
- Break the task into tiny steps
- Mark and reward the exact behavior
- Add a cue, then proof in different places
- Make sure the task directly mitigates your disability
- Keep notes or videos; they help if you're ever questioned
Questions?
See ADA service dog rules for how the law treats tasks.
This article is general information, not veterinary, legal or professional training advice. If your dog has a health or safety concern, contact your veterinarian or a qualified behavior professional.
Keep reading
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Compare the two routes to a service dog: control, cost, speed, waitlists and risks.
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What to do if a business challenges your service dog
Stay calm, answer the two permitted questions, know when a dog can be excluded, and how to file a complaint if you're wrongly denied access.
Read moreNeed a hand?
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