I've had dogs all my life. However, I was not aware of canine caregivers until Ben & Michele of "Dogs in the News" podcast approached me. The idea was to create a shared episode to educate people about these dogs. After my conversation with Ben & Michele, I now want to get and train a dog to be a memory impaired communities caregiver!

How can a dog help someone with memory loss? That was my question as well. Surprisingly, there are lots of things a dog can do to help someone living with memory loss. Dogs are especially useful one on one with someone in the earlier stages of the disease.

One of the main things a dog can do is get their owner home.  They can also be trained to stay with their person if they refuse to leave, and bark to get attention for help. They can wear a GPS outfitted collar for easy tracking and can even prevent someone from leaving the home without them.

You'll hear in our conversation that canine caregivers can also be a benefit in a memory residence.  These highly trained dogs can help break repetitive behaviors which is common in the later stages of the disease. Dogs can give the residents a purpose, caring for their furry caregiver.  There are lots of ways dogs can be a huge help for people living with Alzheimer's or dementia.

After you listen to our podcast, be sure to check out Dogs in the News. I have also released a bonus episode where Ben starts talking about "brain stuff". You'll enjoy that bit of behind-the-scenes banter.

Another Fading Memories episode about Dogs

The New Breed of Service Dog: Canine Caregivers for People Living with Alzheimer's or dementia.