Cocker Spaniels are dogs that are high in energy and fun-loving. They are always keen to learn and on the lookout to please their owners. Cocker spaniels can be a good service dog by picking the right puppy with service dog characteristics and being trained properly. These are the type of dogs that help people with psychiatric, developmental, or physical disabilities.

Here are 100 examples of service tasks that a cocker spaniel can perform.

Guiding Tasks

Guiding tasks are performed on a daily basis for blind or visually impaired people around any obstacle.

  1. Indicating curbs or barriers
  2. Indicating steps or stairs
  3. Guiding to an exit
  4. Guiding to a certain location
  5. Guiding home or to the car
  6. Finding an empty seat
  7. Finding handler
  8. Blocking from walking towards danger
  9. Guiding to the bathroom
  10. Avoiding moving vehicles
  11. Guiding towards escalators or elevators
  12. Refusing to proceed if not safe on a busy road or away from home
  13. Guiding towards a safe place
  14. Following a designated person
  15. Lead low around items that are hanging low

Mobility Assistance

Cocker Spaniel can perform a wide range of mobility assistance tasks, such as-

  1. Help handler with position changes, such as standing to sitting
  2. Pull blanket up when the handler is already in bed
  3. Pull off the blanket when the handler wants to get up
  4. Help handler with transfer from the Couch to Chair or vice versa
  5. Assist handler to get into the shower or bathtub
  6. Help handler to get in and out of the pool
  7. Help make the bed
  8. Bracing when handler loses balance
  9. Bracing to help fallen handler back on his/her feet
  10. Push buttons for opening the doors
  11. Offer momentum assistance
  12. Bracing when the handler is walking
  13. Pushing leaning handler back to the middle
  14. Nudging foot or hand back onto the chair rest
  15. Turning over a handler who has fallen and is unable to breathe on stomach or back
  16. Helping the handler sit up if he/she is slumped over
  17. Rolling the handler his/her side by pulling their cloth or nudging
  18. Helping put on a dog gear

Psychiatric Service Tasks

Psychiatric Service Tasks

In this case, the cocker spaniel will help people suffering from problems, such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. They are super vigilant about the safety of the handler.

  1. Getting self-care kit
  2. Giving medical reminders
  3. Applying teeth pressure gently to the forearm for interrupting dissociative episode
  4. Interrupting flashbacks
  5. Alarming the handler to strong emotions or an episode of rage
  6. Laying across the handler to offer deep pressure when he/she having panic attacks
  7. Stabilizing the handler’s daily routine
  8. Waking up the handler when he/she is having a nightmare
  9. Interrupting recurring self-harm
  10. Search for a house
  11. Offer a reality check to the handler so that he/she can verify hallucinations aren’t present

Getting Help Tasks

These tasks are mainly to get help for the handler.

  1. Alert a family  member
  2. Calling 911 from a dog-friendly phone
  3. Looking for a specific person for help
  4. Alerting a stranger for help
  5. Calling suicide helpline from a dog-friendly phone
  6. Calling on a pre-programmed number from a dog-friendly phone

General Service Tasks

General Service tasks are primarily for people with disabilities. A cocker spaniel as a service dog can be trained to do the following tasks.

  1. Opening and closing cabinets
  2. Opening and closing fridge
  3. Opening or closing drawers
  4. Retrieving dropped items
  5. Turning the lights on and off
  6. Dropping waste into the bin
  7. Carrying mail from the mailbox
  8. Retrieving named items, such as keys, or phone
  9. Putting items on the countertop
  10. Cleaning up trash on the floor
  11. Clearing a room
  12. Checking the house
  13. Watch the handler’s back
  14. Blocking approaching animals or person
  15. Closing washer or dryer with paws

Alerting to Noise Tasks

Cocker spaniels can alert handlers with hearing impairments to noises.

  1. Alerting to alarm
  2. Alerting to a ringing phone
  3. Alerting to smoke alarm
  4. Alerting to an unheard dropped item
  5. Alerting to announcements
  6. Alerting to an approaching vehicle
  7. Alerting to a child or another person yelling or crying
  8. Alerting to siren
  9. Alerting to certain trained environment sounds, like knocking, baby crying, alarms, and honking.
  10. Alerting to the doorbell or knocking

Medical Service Tasks

Medical Service Tasks

Medical service tasks can be of different forms. The disability of the person might affect their ability to remain safe in their daily life. A cocker spaniel can respond to specific commands, triggers, or events in the environment and perform a trained series of behaviors.

  1. Getting glucose kit from the fridge
  2. Bring the phone to the handler
  3. Take out laundry from the dryer or washer
  4. Pulling a wheelchair
  5. Licking or nuzzling a seizing handler to offer tactile interruption
  6. Laying across a seizing handler’s chest for reducing the seizure duration
  7. Getting medication for a specific spot
  8. Unloading groceries from the sack
  9. Alerting a caretaker to unconsciousness
  10. Alerting a handler about dropping or rising blood sugar
  11. Delivering a message from the handler to someone else
  12. Carrying bags from the medical store or paying for the items
  13. Draping along the handler’s body to help with temperature regulation
  14. Alerting to metabolic decline
  15. Alerting caretaker about lack of breathing

Carrying or Holding Tasks

These dogs can also perform some easy tasks like carrying and holding items for the handler.

  1. Carrying purse
  2. Carrying grocery bags from the store
  3. Bring a note from a person and deliver it
  4. Deliver money or credit card to the cashier
  5. Dragging items to a certain location
  6. Carrying items down or up the stairs
  7. Delivering items from the cashier to the handle

Other Tasks

Here are a few other tasks that they are known to perform.

  1. Burrow under the legs of an unconscious handler for increasing blood pressure
  2. Nudging an unconscious handler to a position of recovery
  3. Laying across the chest of the handler to clear lungs

The list isn’t comprehensive. However, it gives an idea about the tasks cocker spaniel service dogs can carry out.