What is the difference between a Service Dog and a Therapy Dog?

Some people who have difficulty in their lives from disability or some other source will turn to animals for comfort, love, guidance, and support. A therapy dog is not restricted to only people who have health challenges. The main job of a therapy dog is to give love and be loved. These are dogs that reside in schools, hospices, retirement homes, personal residences, and nursing homes. Service dogs are intensely trained and function within the health niche to offer support for those who have specific disabilities.

This disability could mean anything from mental disorders diabetes, visually impaired or blind, and the hearing impaired. The dogs who provide these services to people must come from a more docile and temperamental breed. For example, Labradors, German shepherds, and golden retrievers are all excellent choices for a service dog. Service dogs are trained to help the person with tasks that may be too challenging for their impairment.

Service dogs and therapy dogs refer to some sets of dogs that really offer assistance to man, especially on issues related to health and emotions. However, service dogs are these dogs that provide full-time assistance or support for people with health issues. They can help even in your own homes, schools, nursing homes and etc. They can help to get remote, even change channels, help with your food, and much more.

These dogs help patients with diabetes, visual impairment, hearing, mental disorders, and many more. Service dogs are usually less aggressive and very low temperament. The dogs that are commonly used for this purpose the most are the German shepherd, Labrador retriever, and golden retriever. On the other hand, therapy dogs are known to offer emotional assistance or support to patients in the hospital, victims of natural disasters, nursing houses, hospices, and many more. Therapy dogs can also carry out the functions of service dogs sometimes, but they are not allowed to roam about.