Post by Dog goes to College on Feb 11, 2013 17:01:37 GMT -7
Tasks are what makes a dog a service dog under the ADA, so understanding the difference between a task and anything else a dog is trained to do is crucial.
Tasks are not something that can be defined with a set list because they vary dramatically from service dog team to service dog team. The basic definition is that they are work a service dog does to mitigate their handler's disability. What exactly mitigates the handlers disability, of course, depends on what the handler's disability is. For example, teaching a dog to open a door is a task if the handler is in a wheelchair or otherwise restricted in opening the door themselves, but not a task for me, a handler of a diabetic alert service dog who can open a door myself just fine. It becomes a task even for me, though, if it's chained to a third party alert- my dog opens the door to tell my boyfriend my blood glucose is dropping fast and I need to be attended to.
So no single action can be defined as being a task 100% of the time. There are a few things that the ADA specifically states are never considered a task. Emotional support, companionship, and other untrained things inherent of being a dog are not considered tasks. Behaviors that are not trained- such as a dog packing medical supplies- also do not count as tasks because tasks are only trained behaviors.
There are lots of different tasks and lots of different ways of accomplishing similar behaviors to mitigate a disability, so please use this board to share what you've learned and what you'd like to learn about these helping behaviors.
Tasks are not something that can be defined with a set list because they vary dramatically from service dog team to service dog team. The basic definition is that they are work a service dog does to mitigate their handler's disability. What exactly mitigates the handlers disability, of course, depends on what the handler's disability is. For example, teaching a dog to open a door is a task if the handler is in a wheelchair or otherwise restricted in opening the door themselves, but not a task for me, a handler of a diabetic alert service dog who can open a door myself just fine. It becomes a task even for me, though, if it's chained to a third party alert- my dog opens the door to tell my boyfriend my blood glucose is dropping fast and I need to be attended to.
So no single action can be defined as being a task 100% of the time. There are a few things that the ADA specifically states are never considered a task. Emotional support, companionship, and other untrained things inherent of being a dog are not considered tasks. Behaviors that are not trained- such as a dog packing medical supplies- also do not count as tasks because tasks are only trained behaviors.
There are lots of different tasks and lots of different ways of accomplishing similar behaviors to mitigate a disability, so please use this board to share what you've learned and what you'd like to learn about these helping behaviors.