It’s often simpler than you might imagine to teach your dog to recognize and respond to your anxiety, depression, flashbacks, dissociative states, or other psychiatric issues. This article will explore two effective methods for training service dogs to detect and react to human anxiety, techniques that can be adapted for various psychiatric or other episodes. Understanding How To Train A Dog To Help With Anxiety can significantly enhance daily life for individuals seeking support.
Within the service dog community, there’s been some discussion about the distinction between an “alert” and a “response.” For the purpose of this guide, we’ll align with the US Department of Justice’s focus on two key elements: the dog’s recognition of an issue and its subsequent response in a way that mitigates the handler’s disability. Therefore, our focus will be on practical steps to train your service dog to recognize and respond to your anxiety, providing invaluable assistance. Just as consistency is key in general dog training, such as how to train a dog to stay in a kennel, it is paramount in specialized assistance training.
The two primary methods used for training dogs to recognize and respond to anxiety are “association with anxiety” and “responding to tells.” Both approaches leverage your dog’s natural abilities and their bond with you to develop life-changing support behaviors.
Method One: Association with Anxiety
The initial step in this method is to teach your dog to recognize a shift in your behavior or state from your typical baseline. When you notice yourself becoming anxious or experiencing a panic attack, begin immediately (even with a young puppy as early as 8 weeks old) by calling your dog over and giving them highly palatable special treats while you are experiencing these issues. If your dog is more motivated by tug toys, praise, or gentle scratches, use whatever rewards them most effectively. With consistent repetition, your dogs will soon begin to notice your periods of heightened anxiety and come to you proactively, without being called.
The next stage involves training the specific behavior you want your dog to perform. Many dogs will spontaneously offer behaviors when they perceive your anxiety. For instance, one dog, Ollie, initially offered barking, which exacerbated the anxiety, requiring a change in behavior. Another, Hestia, naturally offered focused, persistent licking, which was an acceptable and helpful response. The crucial point here is that the desired behavior should directly mitigate your disability. This could be as simple as an anxiety notification, prompting you to perform breathing exercises or take medication, or a more direct action from your dog to help alleviate the anxiety.
Consider what behavior would be most beneficial for you. This might include a lick, a gentle nudge, a touch, placing paws up on you, or even spinning in circles – anything that effectively supports you as a team. Initially, train this desired behavior separately, without associating it with anxiety, until your dog performs it reliably on command. Then, each time you experience anxiety and your dog approaches, delay giving treats until you ask for the specific behavior, and they successfully perform it. Continue to ask for and reward this behavior repeatedly throughout your episode, ensuring not to overdo it to the point of boredom.
If your dog offers an undesirable behavior, as Ollie did with barking, changing it is straightforward. When your dog approaches during an anxiety episode, anticipate their offered (undesirable) behavior. Before they start it, ask for your preferred behavior and reward that immediately. If they do offer the inappropriate behavior, ignore it, then calmly ask for the preferred behavior and reward it when performed. By consistently not rewarding the undesirable behavior, it will gradually diminish, while the consistently rewarded preferred behavior will become more frequent. This is similar to strategies used for training a dog not to jump up on visitors, where unwanted actions are replaced with desired ones through positive reinforcement.
As your dog begins to associate your anxiety with the desired behavior and subsequent rewards, you will notice them not only coming to you but also performing the behavior proactively to receive treats. When this happens, give them a “jackpot” – a rapid succession of many treats accompanied by lavish praise. This strongly reinforces the desired response.
A woman and her service dog, a short-clipped gray Standard Poodle, share a moment in a hotel meeting room. The dog takes a treat from her hand, reinforcing their bond and training.
For individuals whose anxiety gradually builds before becoming overwhelming, and who may not notice its onset without conscious effort, a dog’s early warning can be invaluable. To train for this, you need a system to ensure your dog’s behavior accurately tracks your rising anxiety, rather than independent actions.
Begin by keeping a log. Every time your dog approaches and performs the trained behavior, regardless of your perceived anxiety level at that moment, reward them and note it in your log. Immediately afterward, conduct a self-check: monitor your breathing, heart rate, and reflect on your thoughts and feelings. This helps you verify if you were indeed experiencing anxiety.
Also, record the time and context in your log whenever you recognize anxiety symptoms, irrespective of whether your dog reacted. This dual log (dog’s behavior and your anxiety levels) is critical for determining if your dog is genuinely picking up on your anxiety or if their behavior is random. The log can also help identify any lag time between your dog’s alert and your verifiable anxiety. This type of consistent tracking is a cornerstone of effective dog training, akin to tracking progress when learning how to stop puppies from pulling on leash.
Once you’ve established whether a lag time exists and its typical duration, perform a self-check before rewarding your dog when they offer the behavior. If you can confirm anxiety, reward generously. If a lag time is present and you cannot verify significant anxiety immediately, you will need to extend the reward process. Gradually delay the reward by a few seconds at a time, building up to your usual lag time between your dog’s advance warning and your verifiable anxiety. Reward only when you detect your anxiety issue. If you reach the expected lag time without verifiable anxiety, do not reward. This refinement teaches your dog that they are rewarded specifically for recognizing and responding to your anxiety. Both Ollie and Hestia quickly mastered this training, reliably recognizing and responding to anxiety by 6–7 months old. Initially, they only alerted to major anxiety but gradually began picking up on subtle cues.
These subtle cues are likely physiological signals picked up from your body, such as changes in cortisol levels, heart rate, breathing patterns, or other chemical shifts that may have a discernible scent to a dog.
Method Two: Responding to Tells
The second training method focuses on “tells,” which are noticeable behaviors you exhibit when entering an anxious state. This method can be a powerful alternative or complement to the first, especially when you need your dog to alert you from a distance, as the association method often requires proximity.
Engage friends and family to help identify your unique “tells.” For example, some individuals might rub their hands on their legs in a circular motion when anxious, even before a full-blown panic attack. Tells can be various actions: a particular breathing pattern, a frequently repeated phrase, a specific body movement, or any consistent physical manifestation of anxiety.
The first step is to train the desired response behavior (e.g., a nudge or a lick) independently, without associating it with your tell, until your dog performs it reliably on a standard cue.
Next, you introduce your “tell” as the new cue. This isn’t a vocal command but your specific anxiety behavior. Perform your tell (e.g., rubbing your legs), and immediately after, give the old, established cue for the desired behavior, then reward. Repeat this sequence consistently. Gradually, introduce a short pause between performing your tell and giving the old cue. This space encourages your dog to connect your tell directly with the desired behavior. Dogs are quick to grasp that the new cue (your tell) signifies the same action as the old verbal cue. Jackpot your dog when they perform the desired behavior solely in response to your tell, and repeat to solidify this connection.
A woman smiles while holding a small white and black dog with wide-set eyes and a smushed face through a brick passage. The slightly plump puppy gazes goofily at the camera, its mouth ajar, radiating contentment.
For instance, if your tell is rubbing your legs, you would rub your legs, wait a second, then give the old cue word for jumping up on your chest (if that’s the desired behavior). Gradually extend and vary the time between the new and old cues, allowing your dog a few seconds to process what you’re asking. Dogs will quickly learn that your tell is a direct prompt for the trained response.
Context and Considerations
It’s not essential to pinpoint the exact signals your dog is recognizing during the “association with anxiety” training. It could be the scent of stress hormones, a change in your voice, altered movement patterns, or other subtle physiological shifts. This flexibility allows the dog to identify whatever reliable signal works best for them. However, a limitation is that training must occur during actual anxiety episodes. Dogs also don’t generalize perfectly, so if you need your dog to assist you in various environments, extend the training to those different contexts as you progress. This principle is also important when trying to achieve consistency, for instance, in whether can a dog be indoor and outdoor potty trained, requiring training in both settings.
Training a response to “tells” can be applied to any recognizable behavior you can simulate. If you need your dog to assist you if you fall or become catatonic, you can safely pretend these situations are occurring and train your dog to react reliably in diverse settings. A friend or family member can be invaluable in this process, rewarding the correct behavior with a treat placed on you when you are “incapacitated.” This method is more targeted and allows for training outside of actual symptom experience, which is particularly helpful for rare symptoms or if training is difficult while symptomatic. This adaptability of training methods is key to achieving reliable assistance, just as understanding environmental factors is crucial for topics like getting your dog to pee outside.
By combining these two methods, you can effectively train your dog to reliably recognize and respond to nearly any psychiatric or other issue for which you need an alert or assistance. As always, it is highly recommended to review your training progress with a professional dog trainer. Their expertise can help you avoid common training pitfalls and fine-tune any challenges that are more easily identified by an objective third party. Happy training!
