Dogs of War Episode 5

Watching Dogs of War on A&E, with Ron and Sabot. First episode I have watched, so I don’t know if tasks are shown in different episodes.

In a lot of ways, it’s heartbreaking, because the idea of the program is that the vet, with PTSD and anxiety, is given an untrained dog, and works to get the dog public access ready. Getting a dog out enough to get the training time it needs when the handler has PTSD and is avoiding going places for fear of triggering the PTSD is really freaking hard.

When faced with going out, the idea of declaring his disability is too much for Ron, and causes a panic attack. He tries going to church (one of the few places he could legally be thrown out of), and while no one says anything or appears to notice them, Ron thinks everyone is staring at him, and he bails on his wife.

Not all disabilities do better with a public use service dog. Not all handlers are meant to owner-train. I really wonder what would have happened if Ron had been partnered with an already trained dog, who reacted to his anxiety with deep pressure, or distracted him from their very first meeting. Sabot looks to be very well behaved, but does not, as of the trip to the church, have a default task response to Ron’s stress levels. Nor did I see any sort of response once they were home.

Psychiatric service dogs need to do more than just be there. Not only is it the law that a dog do work or tasks (and being there for comfort does not count under federal law), but if the dog does nothing, it is generally useless for anxiety. By drawing attention the dog can provoke and exacerbate the psychiatric symptoms. A trained dog can be a lifesaver, no doubt in my mind, but the dog has to do more than just be there to be useful. Tasks allow dogs to be an amazing source of help. Emotional Support Animals (animals for comfort, who do not do tasks) not only don’t have public access, but are not as effective for helping a handler deal with stress and anxiety.



Additionally, I know that gut-churning fear of disclosing a hidden disability. I had it the first times Duncan and I went into stores where pets were not allowed. If you’ve been able to hide your disability, having the dog at your side feels like a giant neon sign over your head that blinks on and off “Look! I’m broken! I can’t do this alone!” It is a hard mental hurdle to get over, after the time and effort I put into doing all I could to “pass” for normal. After a while, I realized I would always be disabled, and Duncan could help make life easier. I still have moments with Keeper (usually when her puppy brain bubbles up again), where I feel stress and shame about using a dog. Thankfully, with almost 8 years of experience being a SD handler, those times are short, and they payoffs are well worth the moments of stress. If I were starting out now, after the wreck, with the physical issues and the PTSD and anxiety, I don’t know if I could do it.


Ron- “Almost a feeling of failure that I didn’t just suck it up and move on.”
I know that feeling, too. If I tried harder, if I did more, if I wanted it bad enough and believed all the positive thinking mantras, I could magic myself better. And if I could have magicked myself better, then I would have made it work, and I would have been able to move on past my PTSD and Strider would have worked for me (or so I kept telling myself).

The thing is, I wasn’t ready. This is why I go to therapy. The changes in my brain are not things I chose. The disabilities before the car crash were not things I chose. I want it bad enough, there just isn’t enough medical knowledge to get me there… yet.

And that’s why I use a dog to bridge the gap between what I want to do, and what I can do.


I keep coming back to thinking that if there were program trained PTSD dogs, that could handle Ron’s stress and help him out from the word go, where he never had to take it threshold by threshold (bring home dog, adjust, start going pet friendly places, adjust, start going to no-pets places, stress out), and if he were to do it with a class of 5 or 10 other people and a trainer to normalize the behavior of “go out with dog at side,” that it would be easier. He’d still have his own demons and the drinking to conquer, but the dog wouldn’t be adding as much stress to his life.

Also, Sabot’s separation anxiety is not a desirable quality in a SD. People get sick. Dogs get sick. Being able to calmly spend time away from the handler (even in a kennel environment) is a good thing.


Watching Ron try to deal with the loss of Sabot and move forward- yes, another prospect, another shot of hope helps so much. I did this with Strider and Keeper. There was only so much closure on knowing Strider was doing well with his breeder, and then doing well with his new home. The real sense of relief was once I was sure Keeper would work out. I could move on when I had hope, and not have the fear of him washing and the failure to work out as a team as my most recent memory.

I do think Ron chose the right dog to make his second try with- Blue Sky is the sort of stable, adaptable animal that should be considered for SD public work. A lot of less stable dogs bring their handlers a lot of joy and relief from their disabilities, but those dogs may fall to pieces in public. That doesn’t make their help at home is less valuable, it just means that few dogs are meant for public work.

I hope Ron and Blue go on to be a good team, but again, I don’t see any task training, and I continue to wonder what might have happened if he had started with a task trained dog and a better support network to ease him into the culture of service dog handler. Dogs don’t fix everything, but they shouldn’t be adding to the stress and distress of their handler.

Paws and Stripes looks to have their heart in the right place, but I wish there were programs, especially military-budget funded programs, so that our veterans didn't have to try to tackle their disabilities, their demons, and the rigors of training a service dog. It's a lot of stress even when you're mentally sound, and the potential for things to go haywire with the stress of owner-training and PTSD jumps considerably. I've been there, and my heart hurt watching Ron unable to go out with Sabot because of the anxiety about being watched. I hope he and Blue Sky are able to face the world together, as there is little in this world so freeing and affirming as knowing there's someone who is always there, always willing to help, and who won't judge you.