{"id":442,"date":"2015-04-16T14:45:33","date_gmt":"2015-04-16T13:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/?p=442"},"modified":"2025-02-11T11:27:55","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T11:27:55","slug":"labradors-as-service-dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelabradorsite.com\/labradors-as-service-dogs\/","title":{"rendered":"Labradors As Service Dogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Labradors have a long tradition of working as service dogs.<\/p>\n

In recent years\u00a0these roles have become increasingly diversified.<\/p>\n

From his origins as a hunting dog, the Labrador Retriever has arguably emerged as one of the most able, intelligent and useful animals ever to work with their human companions.<\/p>\n

Let’s take a\u00a0look at some of the roles that Labradors now play in enhancing and protecting the lives of people\u00a0across the globe.<\/p>\n

Assistance Dogs for the disabled<\/h2>\n

We are all familiar with the Labrador\u2019s role in working as a guide for people with impaired sight.<\/p>\n

And most of us are familiar with the work of the international charity \u2018Guide Dogs\u2019, previously known as The Guide Dogs for The Blind Association.<\/p>\n

A number of different breeds of dog are trained as Guide Dogs, but overall the Labrador is by far the most popular.<\/p>\n

Guide dogs play a vital role in supporting blind people, by allowing them to have more access to their community and live a more independent life.<\/p>\n

Less well known, but equally important, are a range of other services performed by Labradors on behalf of people with other disabilities.<\/p>\n

We liked the news story of service dog Rita who spent time recently with twelve year old Mikaela Buhr from Iowa.<\/p>\n

Mikaela has a genetic disorder which causes bone and joint problems making some physical activities difficult or painful.<\/p>\n

Dogs like Rita can help\u00a0with many daily tasks which cause difficulties for disabled people.\u00a0\u00a0 Rita was trained by Canine Assistants\u00a0 a charity in Georgia USA.<\/p>\n

Here in the UK assistance dogs for physically disabled children and adults, are trained by \u2018Dogs for the Disabled\u2019\u00a0 a registered charity based in Oxfordshire<\/p>\n

Dogs for the Disabled also train assistance dogs for families with a child with autism.\u00a0 Do check out their website which features some stunning labradors.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the cool things that trained assistance dogs can do:<\/p>\n