More than best friends… by Angela Rieck

Meg Daley Olmert makes us think about dogs differently. She published a book, Made for Each Other: The Biology of the Human-Animal Bond. She was recently interviewed by Val Cavalheri in the Talbot Spy (https://talbotspy.org/author-meg-daley-olmert-makes-the-case-that-man-and-dog-is-made-for-each-other/). The Spy article described Olmert’s groundbreaking book about the bond between dogs and humans. After 15 years of research she discovered that the bond between dogs and humans is, in fact, a brain chemistry-based (oxytocin) bond. What has come to be common knowledge, was revolutionary when she published it in 2009.

But Olmert’s book was only scratching the surface of our relationship with dogs. Dogs do more than provide love and comfort. Dogs serve us in many other ways:

Therapy or Facility dogs: A therapy dog provides comfort, emotional support, and affection to people in hospitals, schools, nursing homes, or disaster areas. It has been demonstrated that these visits reduce stress, anxiety, lower blood pressure, improve breathing, and reduce loneliness.

Mobility assistance dogs: These trained dogs assist people with physical disabilities in navigating their environment (e.g., open doors).

Guide dogs: Guide dogs are well known and have been working since 1780 (in Paris) and in the general population since the 1930’s. These dogs assist blind and low vision people navigate their environment.

Wheelchair assistance dogs: These dogs are trained to pull wheelchairs or retrieve items for wheelchair users. 

Psychiatric and mental health support service dogs: Trained dogs provide emotional and physical support for people with mental health challenges such as PTSD, night terrors, flashbacks, love, security, and purpose.

Autism service dogs: Dogs have been trained to help people with autism in social settings. Talking and reading to their dogs enables people on the spectrum to improve their communication skills. 

Emotional support: This has been misused so often that I dislike including this category, but there are many legitimate sufferers of PTSD, anxiety, and other disorders that dogs can remediate.

Hearing dogs: These dogs are trained to alert people who are deaf or hard of hearing. 

Seizure alert dogs: Seizure alert dogs are trained to anticipate seizures and alert their person. 

Diabetic alert dogs: Trained dogs can alert diabetics when their blood sugar levels are dangerously high or low. 

Allergy alert dogs: These dogs are able to alert people to food and environmental allergens. A close friend of mine is highly allergic to bee stings and had her dog trained to alert her to the presence of bees, wasps, or other stinging insects. 

Deep pressure therapy dogs: Trained dogs can provide deep-pressure therapy for people experiencing PTSD flashbacks, overstimulation, or acute anxiety. In this therapy, the dog leans on or lies down on its handler and the dog’s weight provides pressure that calms and soothes. Even chihuahuas have been trained as deep pressure therapy dogs, they have been trained to walk on their sufferer’s back.

Search/Rescue and Cadaver Dogs are bred and trained to provide assistance in finding criminals or victims of natural disasters or crimes.

Illegal substance detection. We frequently see dogs with the police who utilize their sense of smell to detect illegal objects such as drugs, firearms, and explosive devices.

But that’s not all, and when I spoke to Olmert, I was very excited about the work that she has been researching. Working with the Warrior Canine Connection (WCC) in Boyds, Maryland, Olmert has researched and demonstrated that even the act of training a dog to become a service dog can reduce PTSD and other psychiatric symptoms. 

The WCC program enables veterans who are suffering from war trauma such as PTSD, anxiety and other psychological injuries to take part in the training of service dogs. Participating veterans are responsible for teaching the dogs that the world is a safe place. By training these dogs, sufferers must evoke confidence in a situation that they are often fearful of. 

Positive reinforcement techniques are used, veterans are taught to praise and provide treats to their dogs when they experience a startling event, such as hearing a car backfire or a novel place. 

Training service dogs helps veterans move past their own trauma. Many veterans suffering from PTSD are emotionally numb, yet dog training requires them to demonstrate positive emotions to successfully teach their dogs. Veterans feel good that they are helping another veteran receive a trained service dog. 

In the WCC model, a single training of a service dog, which typically takes two years, can assist 60 people who are helping training and socializing the dog. 

But it is important to test if this theory works. In the study that Olmert directed, the veterans were given six 1-hour sessions working with a dog trainer. The researchers found that those who did service dog training had fewer emotional issues than the control group.

In other studies, veterans are allowed more time to train service dogs. Olmert provided me with two case studies of veterans suffering from PTSD and other psychological disorders who participated in a program of training service dogs.

Participant 1 (John) was a man who had been deployed in combat zones 11 times. He was married with five children, but after these deployments he suffered from PTSD. In the beginning, he was skeptical and didn’t see how assisting training a dog would help his condition. But it did. 

John reported. “On the fourth session, it suddenly dawned on me that the dog training demanded the same brain skills as the computer games—except in real life/ time. This training was helping me, I was helping Lundy [the dog he was training] become a service dog, and we were both working toward helping a Veteran in need. That’s when I started to take the program seriously.” 

He found that when exposing the dog to situations that made him anxious, he had to pretend not to be, so that the dog would follow necessary commands. He also learned about positive reinforcement training that is used in training service dogs. It didn’t take long for him to realize that by being calm for the dog, he was learning how to be calm for himself. His stuttering and speech anxiety improved dramatically. 

“…just having [the dog] at my side gave me a sense of confidence and pride. My speech really improved as I worked with Lundy and I found it was getting easier to talk to strangers. That was a real confidence builder for me.”

John reported that his reading and his sleeping improved when the dog stayed over (he was an inpatient) at the facility.

“I was also having a lot of trouble reading… I quickly found that I could read much more smoothly reading to Lundy.”

John experienced a substantial reduction in headaches, dizziness, migraines and depression. He also realized the benefit of positive reinforcement for his own children. 

“…the lessons learned from teaching Lundy translated back to my home and personal life. I am able to talk and laugh. My kids have their Dad back and my wife and I are doing much better. When my teenage daughter challenges me, I am able to think it through more logically and not just lose it. The OT, Speech, and other therapies were also good, but in the end, it was the dog training that helped me.”

The second case study, Bob, had a history of deployment-related PTSD accompanied by depression, risky behavior, suicidal ideation, and alcohol and drug addiction. 

Bob reported. “I have always loved and owned dogs and so was very happy to ‘get a dog fix.’ I like the idea of helping to train dogs for amputees and guys who need them. I felt the benefit of working with the dogs immediately. The positive energy generated during that first hour left me feeling much better.”

Despite challenges in the beginning, the positive reinforcement training given to dogs helped him change behavior.

“[We were taught] how to use positive and nurturing encouragement and praise to teach the dogs. It was not easy for me since I was depressed, but the SDI instructed us to fake the high-pitched, happy voice for the dog’s sake. I had used harsher, heavy-handed training methods on my own dogs. However, seeing how well these young dogs responded to our supportive friendly efforts and enthusiastic praise was very impressive. So, this has been a very refreshing and new way to learn how to train dogs.” 

As time went on, during his training sessions, he noticed that: “I was no longer faking my positive feelings when encouraging the dog’s efforts. I had begun to get through my weeks, just looking forward to these sessions. The ‘dog time’ was carrying me through my weekend too.”

Bob reported that learning positive reinforcement while training his dog: “… has helped me to experience empathy for my wife, my sons, others, and myself. Family members comment on how much more affectionate and present I am now. The way that I used to parent was harsh, focusing on the negative consequences of behavior…Now, I engage my children in conversation and try to identify with their issues; helping them visualize what they can work towards. It’s motivating—just like with the dogs. I am more connected with my family than I’ve ever been. My boys see the change and they are forgiving me for not being there for them in the past.”

“Of the programs offered to me, some were good and others were a waste of time. The service dog training program was the best. Training a service dog for a veteran is a huge service to provide. It gives me a tremendous sense of purpose and accomplishment.”

Training his service dog (who was also Lundy) has helped him with his addictions and his depression.

“I have just completed my first year of sobriety. My depression has lifted, and I feel connected to my family. I still struggle with pain and fatigue, but I feel much more positive. I am able to pace myself better and allow myself to take the time to rest and regain my emotional and physical strength. I am much more aware of what will trigger my arousal response and find that I can cope better when unexpected stressors occur. My frustration tolerance has significantly improved. My empathy and patience levels have also improved. I am better at setting healthy social boundaries and prioritizing time for my family. I’m really enjoying and committed to sharing my story and the healing lessons I’ve learned from the WCC with other wounded warriors. I am looking into pursuing a career as a Service Dog Instructor.”

Thank you, Meg, for giving me these stories. Animals can help us in so many ways, when we take time to listen.

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Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.