Service Dogs Can Help Veterans with PTSD – Growing Evidence Shows They May Reduce Anxiety in Practical Ways

Service Dogs Can Help Veterans with PTSD – Growing Evidence Shows They May Reduce Anxiety in Practical Ways

As many as 1 in 5 of the roughly 2.7 million Americans deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 are experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder.


PTSD, a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening traumatic event, is a complex condition and can be hard to treat. Our lab is studying whether service dogs can help these military veterans, who may also have depression and anxiety – and run an elevated risk of death by suicide – in addition to having PTSD.


We’ve been finding that once veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder get service dogs, they tend to feel less depressed and less anxious and miss work less frequently.


Complementing Other Forms of Treatment


The traditional treatments for PTSD, such as talk therapy and medication, do work for many veterans. But these approaches do not alleviate the symptoms for all veterans, so a growing number of them are seeking additional help from PTSD service dogs.


The nation’s estimated service veterans growing evidence shows reduce anxiety practical