Here are some of the common terms you’ll come across when it comes to service dog training:
- Alert: A trained response where a dog signals a change or condition, such as rising anxiety or a medical need, prompting the handler to take action.
- Block: A positioning skill where a dog places their body between their handler and surrounding distractions, helping create physical space and a sense of calm in busy environments.
- Brace / Stabilize: A controlled support skill where a dog provides light, steady assistance to help with balance or transitions, taught carefully and used only when appropriate for the individual team.
- Check: A task where the dog investigates a space or room ahead of the handler and then returns, often used for confidence and reassurance.
- Cover: A positioning skill where the dog stays behind the handler to help create space and reduce anxiety or startle responses.
- DPT (Deep Pressure Therapy): Deep Pressure Therapy is a skill where a dog applies steady, gentle pressure to the body using their weight or positioning. This pressure can help calm the nervous system during moments of anxiety, stress, or emotional overwhelm.
- Fetch Help: A task where the dog seeks out another person or signals for assistance when needed.
- Follow: A task where the dog maintains a consistent position with the handler, adjusting pace and movement smoothly.
- Ground: A calming skill where a dog helps bring attention back to the present moment through contact, positioning, or learned behaviors that support emotional regulation.
- Guide / Lead: A trained behavior where the dog helps lead the handler to a specific location, exit, or safe space.
- Interrupt: A trained behavior where a dog gently breaks a pattern—such as rising anxiety or repetitive movement—by offering a nudge, touch, or other learned cue to help the handler refocus.
- Lean: A supportive behavior where a dog gently leans their body against their handler to provide steady, reassuring contact without full pressure.
- LPT (Light Pressure Therapy): Light Pressure Therapy uses softer, lighter contact to provide comfort and reassurance without full body weight. This might include resting a head, leaning gently, or placing paws in a way that helps the handler feel more settled and connected.
- Retrieve: A task in which a dog brings specific items—such as medication, a phone, or dropped objects—to their handler on cue.
- Settle: A calming skill where the dog relaxes in place for extended periods, supporting emotional regulation in quiet or waiting situations.
- Target: A learned behavior where the dog touches a hand, object, or body part on cue, often used as a foundation for other tasks.
- Wake: A task where the dog gently rouses the handler from sleep, nightmares, or dissociation.