Borzoi as Psychiatric Service Animals
By Alicia Miller, Lundr Farm
Introduction
Although it is not well known, borzoi can and do make excellent service animals. Just like any other breed, not every
borzoi or even most borzoi can be a highly trained service animal. There are however, different levels of service animal
needed so more than the rare few do qualify and are needed.
Right now there are thousands of service members coming back from war with PTSD and traumatic brain injuries that
can cause everything from seizures, to emotional and behavioral problems. Unfortunately, pills and talk therapy will only
do so much. Recent studies suggest that a properly trained dog works better to alleviate symptoms more than pills and
talk therapy combined.
Types of Dog Needed;
Emotional Support Animals and Service Animals
Dogs to treat HYPERVIGILANCE alone (ESA);
This is the lowest level of training needed in a service dog. Veterans that have been in an urban warfare setting,
especially those that have been injured, have a problem with hyper vigilance. Now that they are home from the war, they
can not relax. They are still subconsciously expecting an attack from any direction. This leads to these veterans seeking
homes or jobs in the country, if they can work at all. Drugs are not effective in treating this disorder and talk therapy is
not very successful either.
The type of dog needed for this person is large enough to provide the illusion of security, while being gentle in actual
temperament. The ideal dog is aloof or not interested in anyone but their owner, but highly visually oriented and
watchful. The dog needs to learn only basic dog manners and roughly 5 commands like “watch my back”.
Sounds simple right? So is the dog considered a service animal with such low needs? No, it is considered an Emotional
Support Animal but that does not make its work any less needed.
The person with hyper vigilance is always straining their senses to see or hear a threat coming. They sleep with knives
and guns, they wake at the slightest noise. They have panic attacks or flash backs if something pops up on them
unexpectedly and the lack of sleep, social support and money usually lead to a cycle of depression and possible
suicide. The dogs change all that.
The person suffering this problem knows that a dog has better eyesight, sense of smell, hearing and general alertness
than any human can hope to possess. They also need a large dog, knowing that other people will perceive an animal
with ‘stopping power‘, but this MUST be an illusion. A working breed such as rotties and GSD will typically pick up on
their owner’s emotional turmoil and become threatening and hyper vigilant themselves. The dog selected for this must
be independent enough to form its own emotional state regardless of its owner’s. The only other thing that is needed is
for the dog to allow petting and seek touch - only from their owner, so that the owner can reassure himself. If they are a
‘dog person’ they quickly trust that an aloof dog bonded to them will alert to any threat before they could hope to notice
it themselves. They sleep at night and will put the weapons on the nightstand or near the bed instead of in it, trusting
their dog to give them time to respond to a threat.
Dogs working with people with hyper vigilance allow them to reenter society. They can once again be in crowds, go to a
job with many people working there or even working with the public. They no longer need sleeping pills, drugs or alcohol
in order to get to sleep and they no longer walk around and sleep surrounded by an arsenal.
Ideal dog; Aloof to most people, independent, stable, calm, non-reactive temperament, large size, ability to learn to sit,
down, stay (on leash), walk quietly through crowds, and appear to be watching people when outside the home. Learning
to bark on command, or act like they have to go pee at a subtle signal to allow their owner to leave an uncomfortable
situation a plus.
Dogs needed for this task; HUNDREDS
Dogs to treat PTSD and TBI with or without seizures
This is the next step up for dogs needing training. All of the above characteristics are still ideal, but there are additional
tasks that the animal may be trained for. For those that have panic attacks that trigger seizures, a larger dogs are
needed to help brace or pin them. Dogs can learn to alert to the onset of a panic attack or flashback just the same as
they learn to alert to seizures.
Training Form
Dogs ideal for this task have the same sort of temperament as above, but with a higher working ability or drive to please.
This dogs can be trained for many associated tasks from deep pressure stimulation to release seritonin to bringing
medicine, to calling 911, to searching the room, to getting help to opening doors. It all depends on what the person
needs. Please look at our training list to see the more common trained tasks. Yes, these dogs that have public access
training and have at least 4 medically oriented tasks are considered service dogs.
Each person has specific needs and a specific dog would be trained with their participation to suit their veteran's
challenges
By Alicia Miller, Lundr Farm
Introduction
Although it is not well known, borzoi can and do make excellent service animals. Just like any other breed, not every
borzoi or even most borzoi can be a highly trained service animal. There are however, different levels of service animal
needed so more than the rare few do qualify and are needed.
Right now there are thousands of service members coming back from war with PTSD and traumatic brain injuries that
can cause everything from seizures, to emotional and behavioral problems. Unfortunately, pills and talk therapy will only
do so much. Recent studies suggest that a properly trained dog works better to alleviate symptoms more than pills and
talk therapy combined.
Types of Dog Needed;
Emotional Support Animals and Service Animals
Dogs to treat HYPERVIGILANCE alone (ESA);
This is the lowest level of training needed in a service dog. Veterans that have been in an urban warfare setting,
especially those that have been injured, have a problem with hyper vigilance. Now that they are home from the war, they
can not relax. They are still subconsciously expecting an attack from any direction. This leads to these veterans seeking
homes or jobs in the country, if they can work at all. Drugs are not effective in treating this disorder and talk therapy is
not very successful either.
The type of dog needed for this person is large enough to provide the illusion of security, while being gentle in actual
temperament. The ideal dog is aloof or not interested in anyone but their owner, but highly visually oriented and
watchful. The dog needs to learn only basic dog manners and roughly 5 commands like “watch my back”.
Sounds simple right? So is the dog considered a service animal with such low needs? No, it is considered an Emotional
Support Animal but that does not make its work any less needed.
The person with hyper vigilance is always straining their senses to see or hear a threat coming. They sleep with knives
and guns, they wake at the slightest noise. They have panic attacks or flash backs if something pops up on them
unexpectedly and the lack of sleep, social support and money usually lead to a cycle of depression and possible
suicide. The dogs change all that.
The person suffering this problem knows that a dog has better eyesight, sense of smell, hearing and general alertness
than any human can hope to possess. They also need a large dog, knowing that other people will perceive an animal
with ‘stopping power‘, but this MUST be an illusion. A working breed such as rotties and GSD will typically pick up on
their owner’s emotional turmoil and become threatening and hyper vigilant themselves. The dog selected for this must
be independent enough to form its own emotional state regardless of its owner’s. The only other thing that is needed is
for the dog to allow petting and seek touch - only from their owner, so that the owner can reassure himself. If they are a
‘dog person’ they quickly trust that an aloof dog bonded to them will alert to any threat before they could hope to notice
it themselves. They sleep at night and will put the weapons on the nightstand or near the bed instead of in it, trusting
their dog to give them time to respond to a threat.
Dogs working with people with hyper vigilance allow them to reenter society. They can once again be in crowds, go to a
job with many people working there or even working with the public. They no longer need sleeping pills, drugs or alcohol
in order to get to sleep and they no longer walk around and sleep surrounded by an arsenal.
Ideal dog; Aloof to most people, independent, stable, calm, non-reactive temperament, large size, ability to learn to sit,
down, stay (on leash), walk quietly through crowds, and appear to be watching people when outside the home. Learning
to bark on command, or act like they have to go pee at a subtle signal to allow their owner to leave an uncomfortable
situation a plus.
Dogs needed for this task; HUNDREDS
Dogs to treat PTSD and TBI with or without seizures
This is the next step up for dogs needing training. All of the above characteristics are still ideal, but there are additional
tasks that the animal may be trained for. For those that have panic attacks that trigger seizures, a larger dogs are
needed to help brace or pin them. Dogs can learn to alert to the onset of a panic attack or flashback just the same as
they learn to alert to seizures.
Training Form
Dogs ideal for this task have the same sort of temperament as above, but with a higher working ability or drive to please.
This dogs can be trained for many associated tasks from deep pressure stimulation to release seritonin to bringing
medicine, to calling 911, to searching the room, to getting help to opening doors. It all depends on what the person
needs. Please look at our training list to see the more common trained tasks. Yes, these dogs that have public access
training and have at least 4 medically oriented tasks are considered service dogs.
Each person has specific needs and a specific dog would be trained with their participation to suit their veteran's
challenges
