How can I make my dog a emotional Support dog?

[lostgirlnowfound]

  I have a depression and panic attacks. My boyfriend said that I should try out a Service dog.  But I haven't talked to my doctor yet. But I don't want to get another dog, so How do I make my dog into a emotional support dog? 

[Ilghaus]

Hi, just to clear up some points before any advice is offered.

Why do you need your dog made into an emotional support dog? Are you moving into an apartment unit or condo that does not allow pets?

An ESA/ESD, emotional support animal/emotional support dog, is a designation for living accommodations in no-pets allowed areas and on airflights. As an owner of a ESA you will still not be allowed to take him to grocery stores, restaurants, the mall, or anywhere else that a pet dog is not allowed.

An emotional support dog is not a Service Dog.

[Ilghaus]

I believe that you were confused in the terms emotional support dog and Service Dog. They are different.

In order for you to have a Service Dog the first thing to find out is are you legally disabled per the ADA? Do you have a disability or a condition?

If you are disabled within the legal definition than you will need to know just why you need a Service Dog and how it is going to mitigate your needs. What tasks will it need to be trained to do?

Are you then able to train these tasks or will you need to hire a professional trainer? Are you able to have your dog at a high enough level of obedience to take it out into the public to work?

And is your dog SD material? Does it have the proper temperament, health clearances from your vet, a good solid level of obedience? Is your dog okay with being around strangers and other animals?

These are not questions that I am listing to be nosy but questions that you need to ask yourself and to find the answers to before you can even consider working with your pet dog and hoping to make it a SD.

[lostgirlnowfound]

ok...I need my dog made into a emotional support dog because he helps me calm down more than people and other animals. And No, I am not moving into a apartment unit or condo that will not allow me to have pets.

Hi, just to clear up some points before any advice is offered.

Why do you need your dog made into an emotional support dog? Are you moving into an apartment unit or condo that does not allow pets?

An ESA/ESD, emotional support animal/emotional support dog, is a designation for living accommodations in no-pets allowed areas and on airflights. As an owner of a ESA you will still not be allowed to take him to grocery stores, restaurants, the mall, or anywhere else that a pet dog is not allowed.

An emotional support dog is not a Service Dog.

[lostgirlnowfound]

I don't have a disabled like I can't see or help myself in anyway. I just have really bad emotional problams.  I might be able to train him but I need help with doing some. He's a jack russel mix and he's ok with most people and animals.

I believe that you were confused in the terms emotional support dog and Service Dog. They are different.

In order for you to have a Service Dog the first thing to find out is are you legally disabled per the ADA? Do you have a disability or a condition?

If you are disabled within the legal definition than you will need to know just why you need a Service Dog and how it is going to mitigate your needs. What tasks will it need to be trained to do?

Are you then able to train these tasks or will you need to hire a professional trainer? Are you able to have your dog at a high enough level of obedience to take it out into the public to work?

And is your dog SD material? Does it have the proper temperament, health clearances from your vet, a good solid level of obedience? Is your dog okay with being around strangers and other animals?

These are not questions that I am listing to be nosy but questions that you need to ask yourself and to find the answers to before you can even consider working with your pet dog and hoping to make it a SD.

[lostgirlnowfound]

  I have a depression and panic attacks. My boyfriend said that I should try out a Service dog.  But I haven't talked to my doctor yet. But I don't want to get another dog, so How do I make my dog into a emotional support dog? 
[/quote

Also: Do I need any forms or papers that say he's a ESA/ESD once he is fully trained?

[state_of_nowhere]

Let me see if I can help clarify this for you. If you're not moving anywhere where pets are not normally permitted, you do not need to put a label on your dog. If the dog is a calming presence for you and helps you work through your distress at home, that's wonderful. Animals can be very therapeutic. There is no need to call him an Emotional Support Animal and there is no certification for such an animal.

If you're talking about asking your doctor to be able to take the dog with you in public, that is an entirely different story. Please clarify what you're asking. If the dog is being a good companion to you while you're at home, it doesn't need a special title because that's what dogs do naturally, they provide companionship.

[springingpups]

ok...I need my dog made into a emotional support dog because he helps me calm down more than people and other animals. And No, I am not moving into a apartment unit or condo that will not allow me to have pets.

Emotional support animals are not allowed in public access situations, that is, they are not covered by the ADA.

[Kirsten]

An emotional support dog requires no special training.  It is a pet that one keeps because one has a severe mental illness (one severe enough to be disabling) because a doctor has determined the presence of a pet is necessary for the health of the person.

The only reasons a person needs documentation a dog is an emotional support animal is if they require some sort of accommodation, or exception to rules that would ordinarily prohibit pets, for example, an apartment that doesn't allow pets, or riding in the cabin of an aircraft that doesn't allow pets.  Those are the only two places where emotional support animals are permitted that regular pets are not.

If you mean a service dog, that's very different.  It typically requires 18-24 months of training to fully train a service dog.  The odds of any individual pet having the qualities necessary to complete training and become a service dog are slim.  Most pets simply aren't up to the behavior, temperament, and training standards.  Most can't handle the stress of the job.

If you aren't already experienced in advanced dog training, it means hiring a professional trainer or applying for a service dog at a program.

In either case (emotional support animal or service animal) if you aren't disabled, then you don't qualify for one.  So step one is to discuss with your mental health provider whether you would be considered disabled by mental illness.

[Kirsten]

To find a service dog program or a trainer, check out this article:  http://servicedogcentral.org/content/node/262

To learn more about minimum training standards, check out this article:  http://www.deltasociety.org/Document.Doc?id=373 (this is a PDF and will require Adobe Acrobat to open)

[Spectrum]

I don't have a disabled like I can't see or help myself in anyway. I just have really bad emotional problams.

Just because someone is disabled doesn't mean they are helpless. You do have to be disabled to have a service dog or an emotional support animal.


As far as an ESA, the only reason to label it as such is like others said, if you are moving into no-pets housing or you are going to be flying. I labeled by dog as an ESA months before I ever needed it because there was the possibility for needing it in the future. It's a good thing I did that, because I did end up needing it. But ESAs DO NOT have public access. It is a good idea to get a CGC on them, like it is with any pet, but they are not required to be trained any more than a pet because that's all they really are, pets.

If you are talking about a service dog, being "ok" with "most" people and animals won't cut it, for starters. Your dog needs to be very well behaved with ALL people and animals. The odds of training your current dog to be a service dog are very slim. Also, keep in mind service dogs need to be task trained. Emotional support is not a task.

[Keldrena]

Hello, I also have mental illnesses. Not everyone who has mental illness is disabled by it, in fact most people aren't. Also, disabled people are not helpless and it's kind of funny that you would say that because in order for you to have an ESA or SD your mental illness must be disabling.

If you only want an ESA, I would at the very least get a CGC on the dog before doing so. Just to restate, Emotional support animals are not allowed public access.

If you want a service dog, very few pet dogs are cut out to do the work and psychiatric service dogs must be very, very stable dogs and must do tasks as all service dogs must. My dog makes me feel good, most people's dogs do,but that is not a task and you can be fined for passing off a pet as a service dog.

You sound young, not that there is anything wrong with that, I'm one of the youngest members, but if you are minor, that will complicate things.

An "okay" dog is not an SD. Do you know were your dog is from? A shelter, rescue or a pet store? Or is you dog from a good responsible breeder who can talk to you about temperament? I's not that rescue dogs aren't great, but very few of them have the correct temperament to work in public.

Anyway, a service dog and a emotional support animal are not the same thing.

[lostgirlnowfound]

Let me see if I can help clarify this for you. If you're not moving anywhere where pets are not normally permitted, you do not need to put a label on your dog. If the dog is a calming presence for you and helps you work through your distress at home, that's wonderful. Animals can be very therapeutic. There is no need to call him an Emotional Support Animal and there is no certification for such an animal.

If you're talking about asking your doctor to be able to take the dog with you in public, that is an entirely different story. Please clarify what you're asking. If the dog is being a good companion to you while you're at home, it doesn't need a special title because that's what dogs do naturally, they provide companionship.

I would like to take my dog with me into public areas Because my pain attacks come without warning most of the time. And I've had alot of attacks in public. I havent ben able to take to my Doctor yet but he has told me that i had cronic Depression before this.

[lostgirlnowfound]

ok...I need my dog made into a emotional support dog because he helps me calm down more than people and other animals. And No, I am not moving into a apartment unit or condo that will not allow me to have pets.

Emotional support animals are not allowed in public access situations, that is, they are not covered by the ADA.

How can I get him covered by ADA?

[lostgirlnowfound]

Hello, I also have mental illnesses. Not everyone who has mental illness is disabled by it, in fact most people aren't. Also, disabled people are not helpless and it's kind of funny that you would say that because in order for you to have an ESA or SD your mental illness must be disabling.

If you only want an ESA, I would at the very least get a CGC on the dog before doing so. Just to restate, Emotional support animals are not allowed public access.

If you want a service dog, very few pet dogs are cut out to do the work and psychiatric service dogs must be very, very stable dogs and must do tasks as all service dogs must. My dog makes me feel good, most people's dogs do,but that is not a task and you can be fined for passing off a pet as a service dog.

You sound young, not that there is anything wrong with that, I'm one of the youngest members, but if you are minor, that will complicate things.

An "okay" dog is not an SD. Do you know were your dog is from? A shelter, rescue or a pet store? Or is you dog from a good responsible breeder who can talk to you about temperament? I's not that rescue dogs aren't great, but very few of them have the correct temperament to work in public.

Anyway, a service dog and a emotional support animal are not the same thing.

ok.... I'm 17, 18 in may. I rescued my dog from the pound.