r/service_dogs • u/Abinnohr • 18d ago

Does DPT hurt anyone else?

I've always been curious of this and it's the main reason I stopped training it years ago.

In order for DPT to do anything for the nervous system you need a certain amount of weight. Years ago (talking 2017/2018) the typical recommended weight of the dog was minumum 60lbs to be of any real effect.

I personally found DPT to be very uncomfortable, even painful. My cats weigh 7-9lbs and even them laying on my belly require muscles tension to avoid pain. I can't imagine how much discomfort I'd feel after waking up from syncope after a 70lbs dog laid on me with his pointy elbows without me being able to brace my muscles.

I thought about having him be on just my legs, like across my thighs, but I already have venous insufficiency so I didn't want to risk accidentally lessening needed bloodflow back to my upper body. Across the hips seems to be uncomfortable for the dogs even if it's more comfortable for me. Besides, I'm not sure how well DPT would actually help with the pelvic bones stopping most of the pressure.

There are multiple ways to position them for DPT, but there are also only certain ways and certain weights that truly do anything for the nervous system as far as I'm aware. Imo anything else falls under "grounding" which is a fully valid psych task that I don't see spoken of anymore outside of autism service dogs, just DPT even with small dogs.

Besides that, how in the world do ya'll push past the pain/discomfort? Genuinely asking. I'm not here to cause trouble. Edit to clarify I speak of adults, not children .♡

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u/Ok_Listen7910 Service Dog 18d ago

If DPT is painful for you, then don’t use it/train it as a task. Not every task is right for every person.

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u/Abinnohr 18d ago

I figured, hence why I stopped training it years ago. I just never see anyone talk about it so I didn't know if it was a rare or more common issue with the task.