Learning to Help: Freedom’s Step-by-Step Anxiety Response Training

Hi friends,

Freedom and I are working toward something that reaches beyond our daily walks and runs. I’m preparing to teach her a specific service-dog task: recognize an early sign of my anxiety, notify me, guide me to a designated quiet spot, and provide deep pressure therapy once I’m seated.

That is our training goal. Freedom is a service dog in training, and I’ll be building this process one small step at a time.

As an Army veteran, this work is personal to me. It also gives our Paws of War fundraiser special meaning. We’re supporting an organization whose programs include rescuing animals and training service dogs to help veterans and first responders.

What I want Freedom to learn

The finished sequence will look like this:

Notice my early anxiety cue → give me a nose touch → lead me to our designated spot when I acknowledge her → wait while I sit → provide pressure on cue.

Deep Pressure Therapy

Deep pressure therapy, often called DPT in the service-dog community, involves a dog using comfortable body contact and weight to help with symptoms such as anxiety or disengagement. The position and usefulness vary from person to person.

For us, the goal is a calm, purposeful response that helps me pause and ground myself.

Step 1: Identify my early anxiety cue

Before I can teach Freedom what to notice, I need to identify something observable that I do when anxiety begins.

That might be rubbing my hands together, repeatedly rubbing my thighs, or another particular movement. I’ll choose one sign that actually occurs with my anxiety and rarely happens when I’m calm.

Freedom will initially be learning to recognize that specific movement. I won’t assume she can automatically sense every episode or detect anxiety before any signs appear. Training a response to a person’s body language is one practical starting point.

Step 2: Set up our practice space

I’ll start in a quiet room with:

Small treats Freedom enjoys.

A nonslip mat beside a stable, comfortable seat.

Enough supported space for her to settle beside me.

A familiar reward marker: “Yes!”

Our sessions will be short—about two to five minutes—with breaks as needed. We’ll practice while I’m calm, so we can both concentrate on learning.

Step 3: Practice a gentle nose touch

Freedom already knows TOUCH, so we have a foundation to build on.

I’ll hold my hand near my side and say “Touch.” When her nose makes contact, I’ll say “Yes” and reward her.

We’ll practice while I’m sitting and standing. Gradually, I’ll make my hand position more natural so she doesn’t need a big gesture from me.

That nose touch will become her way of getting my attention.

Step 4: Teach “Safe spot”

At first, our safe spot will be one specific place at home: the mat beside my chosen seat.

I’ll start a few steps away, walk with Freedom to the mat, and reward her for arriving. Once that becomes familiar, I’ll say “Safe spot” just before we move.

Over time, I’ll reduce my directional help and let her move slightly ahead while I follow. Then we’ll practice from farther away and from different rooms.

She’ll be learning to guide me to a known destination. She won’t be pulling me or supporting my weight.

Step 5: Teach her to wait while I sit

Reaching the spot is only part of the job.

Once we arrive, I’ll ask Freedom to sit or lie down on her mat and reward her while I take my seat. I want her to learn that she waits until I’m ready before moving into the pressure position.

We’ll practice this transition on its own until it feels comfortable and familiar.

Step 6: Introduce comfortable contact

With Freedom beside me on a supported surface, I’ll use a treat to guide her toward my thigh and reward a voluntary chin rest.

If comfortable for both of us, I’ll gradually shape a position with her front body resting across my thighs and the rest of her body supported beside me. Her familiar DOWN cue can help once she is positioned comfortably.

I won’t pull her into place or hold her there. She needs to be willing and relaxed.

Before practicing sustained body weight, I’ll check appropriate positioning with my healthcare provider. Pressure should not restrict breathing or cause pain, and I’ll avoid weight on my neck, chest, abdomen, or sensitive joints.

Step 7: Teach “Off” right away

After just a second or two of contact, I’ll say “Off,” guide Freedom onto the space beside me, and reward her there.

Moving off is part of the task, too. And if she needs to leave before I give that cue, she can. I won’t restrain her.

Step 8: Add the word “Pressure”

Once Freedom willingly settles into our chosen position, I’ll say “Pressure” immediately before the familiar hand signal.

I’ll reward her for settling, then gradually reduce the guiding gesture. Eventually, the treat will come after the behavior rather than being something she has to follow into position.

We’ll build duration slowly: a second or two, then a few seconds longer, with easy repetitions mixed in. There is no magic number we need to reach. Comfort and usefulness matter more than a stopwatch.

Step 9: Practice going to the spot and providing pressure

Now I can connect these pieces:

I say “Safe spot.”

Freedom guides me to the mat.

She waits while I sit.

I say “Pressure.”

She settles into comfortable contact.

I say “Off” when we finish.

At first, I’ll reward reaching the spot and providing pressure separately. She doesn’t need to master the whole sequence at once.

Step 10: Connect my anxiety cue to her nose touch

This is where the recognition training begins.

While calm, I’ll briefly imitate the early anxiety movement I identified. Immediately afterward, I’ll say “Touch,” then reward her nose touch.

With repetition, I’ll add a short pause between the movement and the spoken cue. If she touches me after seeing the movement alone, I’ll reward that success. If she needs help, I’ll give the familiar “Touch” cue.

This method connects a new signal—my body language—to a response she already knows. I will not deliberately trigger a panic attack or hyperventilate for practice.

Step 11: Bring the entire task together

Our complete practice sequence will be:

My early anxiety sign → Freedom’s nose touch → my acknowledgment and “Safe spot” → our walk to the mat → I sit → “Pressure” → “Off.”

Keeping “Safe spot” as my acknowledgment gives me a chance to get ready to move. I want calm guidance, not a sudden tug.

As Freedom becomes more consistent, I can gradually reduce extra prompts without rushing her.

Step 12: Track progress and practice in different settings

I’ll keep a simple record:

⬜ Did she notice the chosen cue without a verbal prompt?

⬜ Did she give a clear nose touch?

⬜ Did she guide me to the designated spot?

⬜ Did she wait while I sat?

⬜ Did she settle comfortably and move off when asked?

⬜ Were there missed responses or touches when I wasn’t anxious?

I’ll also reward ordinary calm behavior. Every movement I make should not become a reason for her to notify me.

We’ll gradually practice in different rooms, from different positions, and around mild distractions. A nose touch will be a reminder to check how I feel—not proof that an anxiety episode is happening. Recording both successful and mistaken responses helps assess what she is actually learning.

Step 13: Build toward real-life use

When the sequence is familiar, I can use the cues during manageable, naturally occurring anxiety. Asking Freedom for help is useful even if she hasn’t noticed the sign herself.

New locations will require more practice. I’ll select and rehearse an appropriate destination rather than assume she knows which place is safe. Independent exit finding is an additional skill I would work on with a qualified, reward-based service-dog trainer.

Throughout training, I’ll watch her comfort as well as my own. Repeated turning away, stiffness, lip licking, or attempts to leave mean we need to pause and reassess.

This is my training plan, not a claim that Freedom has already mastered the task. It also represents one part of service-dog preparation; dependable behavior around people, dogs, and everyday distractions takes its own work.

Why we’re raising money for Paws of War

Working toward this task makes the time, patience, and support behind service-dog training especially meaningful to me.

Paws of War supports veterans, active military members, and first responders through programs that include service-dog training, companion-animal adoption, and animal rescue. Our fundraiser is a way to help support that work.

If you’re able to donate, thank you. If you can share our fundraising page with someone who might be interested, thank you for that, too.

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Have a happy and healthy tail-wagging day,

Pam and Freedom