Location for The Smart Dog Country: South Africa Province: KwaZulu-Natal City / Town: Durban Street Address: 4A Valley Road Gillits Info for The Smart Dog Service Type Animal Training Service Brief description of service Animal-Assisted Therapy: is a therapeutic intervention that incorporates animals, such as horses, dogs, cats, pigs, and birds, into the treatment plan. It is used to enhance and complement the benefits of traditional therapy. When it’s used Animal-assisted therapy can be a useful intervention for individuals or groups. A meta-analysis of 49 studies reporting on animal-assisted therapy found positive outcomes and overall improved emotional well-being in those with autism, medical conditions, or behavioral issues. Another review of randomized, controlled studies found that animal-assisted therapy can be helpful for those battling illnesses like depression, schizophrenia, or addiction. Anyone who dislikes or fears animals or is allergic to them is not a likely candidate for this particular intervention. What to Expect Depending on the nature of your therapy and the type of animal involved, you may keep a dog, cat, or other pet at home and at your side throughout the day for emotional support, or you might learn to care for a therapy dog at a training school. You and your therapist may discuss your animal while you are working with it, or you may set aside another time to talk about your experiences. If you are in a hospital, school, nursing home, rehabilitation center, or another type of community center, you may not have a relationship with a psychotherapist, but a volunteer with a trained therapy pet might visit you. We Train in four main fields: Autism Assistance Hearing Assistance Mobility Assistance Psychiatric Service Dogs Seizure Alert Dogs Autism Assistance-Autism Assistance Dogs are not only a living miracle to the affected child, but also to the entire family. These special dogs are trained to assist the child, and the parents of the child, in a variety of ways. Hearing Assistance-Hearing dogs enable those who are deaf or hard of hearing to be more aware of their surroundings. These dogs can accompany their disabled handler into public settings and will naturally give off sound cues to the handler. For example, if the dog looks to his left the handler will know there is an auditory signal coming from that direction, which prompts the handler to look to their left to see if it is something they should respond to. Hearing dogs are also trained to purposefully alert their handler to certain sounds in the home. These dogs are trained to paw at their handler’s leg when the smoke alarm goes off, the doorbell rings, the microwave dings, or the teakettle whistles. Our dogs are trained on a case-by-case basis for the specific sounds each recipient will need to be alerted to. These dogs can be a small or large breed, as size is not a factor. Mobility Assistance-A mobility Assistance Dog enables its recipient to be more mobile whether they are in a wheelchair, or use a walker, cane, or crutches. These dogs allow their handler to be more independent in day-to-day life. Little Angels will not only train mobility assistance dogs for adults, but also for children who demonstrate the ability to remain consistent with training exercises and are able to communicate clearly to the dog. Psychiatric Service Dogs– The Smart Dog strongly believes in assisting those with psychiatric disabilities. While this is a disability that is often overlooked, it is a condition that can be even more detrimental than some challenges which are strictly physical. The trainers and volunteers of The Smart Dog work diligently to place dogs with our soldiers, as well as civilians who suffer from similar forms of PTSD, and other psychiatric conditions such as severe anxiety and depressive disorders. Seizure Alert Dogs-Our dogs are also trained to assist after a seizure. This is often referred to as “seizure response” training. The dogs are trained to locate and retrieve a phone for their handler to call for help if needed, or even to dial a specialized assistance dog phone, which allows the dog to call for help by pressing a button. This means the dog can call for help even if the affected party is unconscious. Dogs are also trained to help brace of balance their handler for stability after a seizure, retrieve medication, provide deep pressure therapy, or in certain cases recipients will ask that the dog be trained to retrieve a family member in another room. Our Services cater for Dogs Cost for The Smart Dog - Subject to Change R50 000 per dog Contact for The Smart Dog Cell phone: 0812704672 Website: https://thesmartdog.co.za/ Contact The Smart Dog Social for The Smart Dog
