Anyway, the short version is that a service dog is specifically task-trained to mitigate the disabling symptomatology that a handler has from their PTSD. That is why the prescriber guidelines are so important, because that is the linkage with the schools that are going to provide the training and marry the team up and get them pointed in the right direction.
There are approximately 53 different things that a service dog can do for PTSD. The problem is that three to five of those things are going to be the major ones that a veteran is going to deal with on a daily basis, and that's where we have to focus our efforts.
You can't teach a dog 53 commands that he isn't going to use, because after a few months the dog won't respond and the handler won't remember. It is absolutely imperative that the medical professionals become involved in this particular prescribing process, because if not, what they're saying is, “We know you do this amazing stuff, so just go do it,” without medical oversight. That doesn't make sense.