It’s common these days that we can now see dogs who wear a vest with the words “Service Dog” printed on them. Videos posted on social media are also circulating throughout the internet world because of how they are so adorable and how they assist their owners. The world is gradually learning how service dogs play a vital role in helping their owners ease their anxiety.
With these being said, how can one have a service dog? Are there any qualifications? How can a service dog be of help? In what way can they ease off your anxiety? What would be the difference between a service dog to any other emotional support animal?
If you’ve got the same questions, keep reading this article as we provide you the ultimate guide to getting a service dog.
What is a Service Dog?
A service dog is a dog that is trained to perform tasks that are disability-related for an owner with a disability. The ADA protects service dogs so their owners can bring their service dogs anywhere legally and be exempted from typical pet policies.
What differentiates service dogs from any other emotional support animal is their training. A service dog’s job goes beyond emotional comfort alone.
Being an anxious person can make daily living a struggle. Besides psychiatric and emotional challenges, having physical disabilities can be challenging too, and having someone to stay by your side during this trying times can make things bearable.
A service dog is beyond the definition of “assistance animal,” it’s having someone to care, guide, and push you to continue to achieve a quality life.
How Can a Service Dog Help with Anxiety?
We all know how dogs are just affectionate and sensitive to their owner’s body language. They are very friendly and protective as well. Service dogs who are trained to help their owners with anxiety can provide a wide range of services.
In general, the most common categories of service dogs are guide dogs, hearing dogs, seizure response dogs, diabetic alert dogs, mobility assistance dogs, allergy detection dogs, autism support dogs, and psychiatric support dogs. We’ll focus on discussing psychiatric service dogs as they are the relevant category type of service dogs for people with anxiety.
Service dogs can provide their owners with the most common ways of easing anxiety, such as fetching water, medication, or an item that can comfort their owners.
These dogs can also bring their owners’ phone during anxiety attacks to call a friend or even therapists, alert someone nearby that their owner is experiencing an attack, keep strangers distanced to provide their owners space, distracting their owners to calm them from an anxiety attack, comfort their owners using physical contact and deep pressure therapy.
How Can One Have a Service Dog?
For starters, one should have a recommendation letter from a licensed mental health professional or a licensed medical doctor. The recommendation should be proof that the anxiety you have is considered severe or debilitating in nature.
However, suppose you have anxiety that is diagnosed as mild and can’t meet the severity level to have a service dog. In that case, you can still be qualified to have an emotional support animal. While emotional support animals are not trained to assist you with your disability, their presence can still provide you comfort and warmth.
Dog Breeds Best for Anxiety
When considering getting a dog to help you with your anxiety, here are some dog breeds that are well suited for anxiety as they are well-known for their affection, loyalty, intelligence, and temperament. You may want to consider having a Labrador retriever, Golden retriever, German Shepherd, Boxer, Pomeranian, Poodle, Pug, Greyhound, Corgi, Great Dane, or a Shih Tzu.
Now having to consider what to choose among the breeds mentioned above may be a little overwhelming. But take it one step at a time. You can start by deciding what size you would want to have. The size of your pet is vital as this can determine what services they can provide and if they can be brought anywhere easily.
As we have mentioned earlier, service dogs are exempted from those typical pet policies. However, bringing a larger dog can be challenging compared to bringing a smaller one from place to place.
Where to Get a Service Dog?
Once you have been provided with a recommendation letter proving that your anxiety is severe, you are now qualified to have a psychiatric service dog. The next step would be to obtain your actual service dog! But where exactly can you get one?
Well, the fastest and easiest to have one is to find a program that professionally trains service dogs and gets from them. You can also work with a professional dog training company that would help you train your fur baby.
However, you may find this process difficult, especially if you don’t have any experience when it comes to training dogs yet. Your dog also needs to qualify for a test named the Public Access Test (PAT) for him to be in any public space with you.
Can I Train My Own Dog for Anxiety?
Others who feel confident and trying to save money from getting a fully trained dog can try some service dog training companies offering temperament testing followed by your ability to train your dog from home.
However, if you have your own experiences when it comes to training a dog yourself, you may without the service dog training companies. Bear in mind that training dogs for anxiety is not recommended to be done on fully grown dogs.
Also, remember that to bring your dog to public places and be a full-fledged service dog, your fur baby has to pass the Public Access Test. But if you only need emotional support and comfort from your dog, this test may not be necessary.
Alternatives to Service Dogs for Anxiety
While having a service dog or an emotional support animal can be a great help in easing off your anxiety, they can also be expensive and would require a lot of care compared to house pets. With this, they may not be the very best help for everyone. Don’t worry because here are some alternatives that may also help you!
1. Stuffed Animal
A stuffed animal can go a long way for some people. Getting a stuffed animal may make them feel more comfortable and calm, soothing their stress during an anxiety attack.
Some people may attach a very significant sentimental value to stuffed animals that may also help make them feel relaxed. Having something to hold onto might provide comfort the same way an emotional support animal can provide.
2. Weighted Blanket
We have mentioned that one of the ways a service dog can help their owners with anxiety is deep pressure therapy. In this therapy, dogs lay across their owner to provide them comfort and security, making them feel that they are not alone through tactile stimulation. A weighted blanket may give off the same benefits that the mentioned therapy may offer.
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