Alzheimer’s Care

Pet therapy helps individuals afflicted by various disabilities and diseases.  It has been shown that Alzheimer’s patients and those affected by other forms of dementia benefit greatly from having a pet. Pets, especially dogs, can be a calming presence for those affected by dementia.  Having a dog also can help seniors with dementia stay active by getting them out to take their dog for a walk.  Dogs also help those suffering from dementia stay connected by offering social interaction with people who stop to pet or interact with their dog. Dogs can also simply offer a source of great enjoyment for individuals dealing with dementia.  Additionally, dementia patients have demonstrated a greater appetite after a visit from a dog.  With all these potential benefits, dogs can be a significant part of a senior care strategy.

Recently, significant strides have been made to have dogs do even more. Dogs are being trained to remind a person to take medicine and eat, and to lead a person with dementia back home. Although limited in number, there are approximately six dogs in the world trained to do these kinds of tasks through two different projects – one in Israel and one in Germany – and even more dogs are being trained.  Trained dogs like these could one day give seniors affected by Alzheimer’s greater independence and provide additional peace of mind to family members concerned about their relative completing basic, but important, daily tasks.

This type of training is the most demanding type of service dog training.  Only select dogs will be able to carry out this level of training and service. These types of Alzheimer’s dog’s main responsibilities would be to bring their human companion home in the event they are lost or to attract help by barking when necessary.  Thus, dementia assistance dogs are chosen carefully based on if they are capable of assisting without being given commands and if they are able to adapt what they have learned to different situations and in different settings. Dementia service dogs must also be able to handle the significant mood changes that individuals with dementia often suffer.

Dementia care patients and their families have seen highly positive results from these early studies.  Hopefully this promising research will one day make this type of senior care service available to dementia patients across the world.

Golden Heart Senior Care of Dayton, OH provides home care to the following cities:
Beavercreek, Bellbrook, Brookville, Centerville, Clayton, Dayton, Eaton, Englewood, Enon, Farmersville, Franklin, Germantown, Huber Heights, Kettering, Lebanon, Lewisburg, Mason, Miami Township, Miamisburg, Middletown, Monroe, Moraine, New Carlisle, Oakwood, Riverside, Springboro, Springfield, Sugarcreek Township, Sugarcreek, Tipp City, Troy, Union, Vandalia, Washington Township, Waynesville, West Carrollton, West Chester, West Milton, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Xenia, & Yellow Springs, Ohio