* All Sniffspot articles are reviewed by certified trainers for quality, please see bottom of article for details *
If you struggle with depression, panic attacks, or other forms of anxiety, you might have noticed that being around your dog helps you feel more calm. Just spending time with a friend's canine companion—or volunteering at a local shelter or rescue—can have an impact on your mental state. A wide range of people report the soothing effects of petting, playing, or simply sitting in the same room as their pets!
Maybe you’ve wondered what it would take to get an official service dog to help treat your anxiety. (You're in good company: Over 610,000 individuals with disabilities are teamed up with a service dog who helps them navigate public spaces.)
How do you decide if you need a service dog—or if other medical equipment and interventions will fit your lifestyle best? What should you look for in your assistance animal’s temperament? And what's the process to train specific psychiatric tasks to help your anxiety?
Below we break down everything you need to know to get started.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), anyone in the United States with a diagnosed disability is eligible for a service dog. The organization defines an individual with a disability as “a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.”
Training and caring for a service dog can come with a variety of financial, logistical, and emotional costs. Because of this, not everyone who lives with a psychiatric or physical disability is the right fit for an assistance animal—but many people are!
Service dogs have helped millions of people with disabilities manage their medical conditions to achieve greater health, confidence, and freedom in their daily lives.
If you:
you might be a great candidate for a task-trained service dog.
A service animal is defined as a dog (or, fun fact of the day, miniature horse) that has been individually trained to help their handler navigate the world. They're called "service" animals because they provide services—specific tasks—for their disabled owners as part of larger treatment plans.
Psychiatric service dogs are officially considered “medical equipment." The tasks a service dog performs must be directly related to their handler’s disability in order for them to be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Because of these stipulations, not all dogs who improve their owners’ quality of life by helping with anxiety symptoms can be considered legal service dogs.
The ADA says “[we] make a distinction between psychiatric service animals and emotional support animals. If the dog has been trained to sense that an anxiety attack is about to happen and take a specific action to help avoid the attack or lessen its impact, that would qualify as a service animal. However, if the dog’s mere presence provides comfort, that would not be considered a service animal under the ADA.”
What this means is that emotional support, therapy, and companion animals are not protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. That doesn’t mean they’re not wonderful—they absolutely are! But ESAs and therapy dogs do not have public access rights to visit non-pet-friendly places with their owners, like indoor restaurants and grocery stores. (The only exception is housing: Emotional support animals are allowed to live with their handlers regardless of dog or breed restrictions.)
Emotional support dogs and therapy dogs can become legal service animals if they go through designated task training to help one specific handler, who then becomes a service dog owner. Once their training is complete, they will be welcome in public spaces.
Service dogs work alongside individuals living with a huge range of disabilities. There is no single diagnosis or experience they're best for! That said, some common conditions you might train a service animal for are:
This might seem counterintuitive, but it’s actually best if your service dog isn’t naturally worried about your anxiety.
While it can be sweet to watch an animal sense your unease and try to make things better, it can also be a sign that they’re uncomfortable! Your service dog will spend hours each day working for you in a range of environments. You want their tasks to be fun and rewarding—not driven by their own worry.
The best service dog candidates are emotionally stable and nonreactive. They shouldn’t be overwhelmed by your panic attacks—they don't see you as a vulnerable person—and are instead able to eagerly work through a range of situations.
Any dog breed can be a psychiatric service dog. Since these assistance animals provide tasks to help with mental rather than physical health, there are no stipulations about their size (like there might be for service dogs helping with mobility issues—larger breeds are better able to keep their handlers steady on their feet).
Many individuals with disabilities and professional service dog organizations gravitate towards one of the "Fab Four" breeds: Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Standard Poodles, and Collies. Others love their German Shepherds (they're known as one of the most versatile dogs for good reason). You should focus more on your service dog candidate's overall temperament than their breed alone. Whether a Bernese Mountain Dog or a Bichon Frise, the right canine companion will be confident, alert, and eager to work with you.
Before training your dog to be an anxiety service animal, you need to make sure they’ll be able to handle a variety of public environments in your everyday lives while paying attention to you. While this article dives into task training (how to teach your dog the specific services they’ll need to perform to mitigate your disability) it’s important to build strong public access skills, too.
Service dogs need to be able to:
You can train these behaviors on your own or reach out to a professional service dog trainer for expert guidance. (Alternatively, you can apply for a facility dog who has been raised and trained by a service dog organization.)
Know that service dogs are expected to handle a lot—and it's normal for some canines to struggle with the pressure. Atlas Assistance Dogs reports that more than half of service dog candidates do not complete their training
You’ve decided you’re a good fit for a service dog. You understand the importance of your working animal having a stable, solid temperament. Now for the details: Let’s take a look at how to choose the tasks you want your dog to perform and what methods you can use to teach them! Here's to the start of your training journey.
It’s important to prioritize the services that will have the greatest impact on your life. Everyone’s disability, surrounding environment, and personal preferences differ.
Some common anxiety service dog tasks include:
If you think of something that isn’t on this list, it can still be a valid service animal task so long as it directly mitigates your psychiatric condition or disability.
Once you’ve decided what tasks you want your service dog to learn, it’s time to start teaching them. You’ll need to put in hours of training to polish their skills (or consider sending them to a designated service dog training program).
In the early stages, this process will look a lot like teaching your pet any other basic cue:
When your dog consistently does their tasks on your visual or verbal cue, it’s time to associate those behaviors with your anxiety symptoms! It’s great for your pet to be able to listen to what you say—simply having a “nudge” or “light switch” verbal cue can be a great help—but in the middle of a panic attack, you won’t be able to give them direction. It’s important your service dog can act on their own when needed to keep you safe.
This all might sound complicated, but don’t worry. It’s essentially the same process as adding a new verbal cue to a behavior your dog already knows! Instead of associating your dog’s task with a specific word, though, you’re now going to associate it with a certain anxiety symptom.
These symptoms might include:
And so on. Pick the things you struggle with most—through these daily tasks, your service dog will have the biggest impact on your life.
Follow these steps to pair your new learned behavior stimulus (whatever anxiety symptom you’ve chosen) with your dog’s already-known hand or verbal signal.
Dogs often struggle to generalize behaviors. This means they might be able to follow cues in a familiar environment but still struggle to perform out and about.
Since your service dog needs to work in every environment you visit, however, it’s imperative that you spend time proofing their variety of tasks. Here are some tips:
Service dog training can be overwhelming, especially if you’re trying to do it all on your own. Feeling stuck? Not sure how to troubleshoot new issues that are cropping up? Don’t worry: A professional trainer can make a world of difference!
Some canine professionals and training organizations even specialize in assistance animals. Many of these coaches are also service dog owners themselves, so they understand details from both a trainer and handler perspective. That means they can provide feedback on everything from public access behavior to specific tasks!
Professional training lessons can get expensive—but it’s a worthy investment to make sure your service dog is ready to act as medical equipment out in the world. If the cost of in-person private training is prohibitive, you might consider group classes, virtual sessions, or online content as well.
There is so much misinformation out there, we want to make sure we only provide the highest quality information to our community. We have all of our articles reviewed by qualified, positive-only trainers.
This is the trainer that reviewed this article:
Brittany L. Fulton, CTC
Founder and Trainer, Dances with Dogs, Silver Spring, MD, www.dancesdogs.com - Certified in Training and Counseling (CTC), The Academy for Dog Trainers
Traveling with your dog can be a rewarding experience, but what do you do when adventure calls you to a place that’s a bit too far for a drive? If you're a pet-owner who want to jetset with your pup, then you’ll want to find the best dog-friendly airlines.
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Discover the Pembroke Welsh Corgi, a breed celebrated for its friendly and affectionate nature. Recognized as a small dog, Pembroke Welsh Corgis have their origins in Wales, where they were initially bred for herding cattle, sheep, and horses starting in the 10th century.
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* All Sniffspot articles are reviewed by certified trainers for quality, please see bottom of article for details *
Does your dog destroy every toy you give them? Is your house littered with remnants of fabric and stuffing of all different sizes? Are you tired of investing in “indestructible” toys only for your pup to still dismantle—or worse, get bored of—them in just a few days?
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* All Sniffspot articles are reviewed by certified trainers for quality, please see bottom of article for details *
Many dogs have gotten a bad reputation over the years for being "dangerous breeds." Rottweilers are among them. Like pit bulls and other large, blocky-headed types of dogs, these powerful and beautiful animals are often assumed to be aggressive.
Your dog is reactive. They’ll see another dog, person, or other stimulus in the environment (like a car or bike) while out on a walk and suddenly go crazy at the end of their leash. The barking, lunging, and growling feels embarrassing for you — and it’s clear that your pup isn’t having a great time either.
Does your dog display reactivity to other pets or people? Maybe they’re a new rescue pup and are still settling into your home. Or they were sick growing up, so you missed their critical socialization period. Possibly they’ve had a bad experience after being raised as a normal puppy.
Do you have a reactive dog or suspect you may have one? You’re not alone!
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Ellen is the host of Country Pasture Getaway, one of Sniffspot's most popular sniff spots. She has taken the time to write up the lessons she has learned about how to be a great sniff spot host.
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Fran is the host of Ranch Setting, one of Sniffspot's most popular spots. She has taken the time to write up the lessons she has learned about how to be a great Sniffspot host.
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