How can I make my dog a emotional Support dog?

[Kirsten]

How can I get him covered by ADA?

1.  Discuss with your psychiatrist whether he/she considers you disabled by mental illness.  If you are not disabled, you do not qualify for a service dog.

2.  Hire a private trainer to work with you on the list of core skills I posted previously, and then on tasks specifically needed because of your disability.  Emotional support alone is not a task and does not justify a dog as a service dog.

3.  Work your butt off for 2 years to complete the training needed.

OR

Apply at a program and let them handle the training details for you.

[Kirsten]

Here's more information on PSDs:  http://servicedogcentral.org/content/node/74

If you just want to take your dog with you because you feel safer or comforted by his presence, then you'll have to ask permission from each place you visit that doesn't ordinarily permit pets, because there is no law that would give you the right to do that without permission from the business.

Here's the number for the ADA information line:  1-800-514-0301  They can answer any of your questions about the ADA.

[Keldrena]

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

I hate to tell you this, but only one out of every 100 dogs in the general population has what it takes to be an SD. Service dogs schools have tried to use rescue dogs and it didn't work out well. Hearing dog programs are really the only one who use them. A PSD must be the most stable of all service dogs and all service dogs must do tasks. Making you feel better is not a task.

I'm 19. Have you though about what you are going to do when you go to college? College's require a lot of documentation for you to have an SD. I've taken a semester off because of my dog in training.

Where are you going to get the money to train and feed this dog? Am owner trained dog can cost just as much as a program dog, unless you've trained an SD before, you're going to need to find a trainer.

Have you thought about going through a program if your mental illness is disabling? I'm owner training with a course through a program and it is really hard, really expensive and really time consuming.

I started looking into service dogs at 16, but it took me until last fall to find a good breeder who has health tested good pups from service dog lines and then I had to wait for my dog to be old enough to come home. Training is a long process that can take up to two years.

[Edye]

I am disabled due to depression and early cognitive decline.  I have a Emotional support dog. She can not go into any business with me because of ADA guidelines.  What she does for me is to warn me when I'm not safe to leave the house. She also cuddles with me when I am in a deep pit of depression. I would love to take her everywhere with me but she is not task trained. At 9 yrs I don't think she would even be trainable.
I understand what you want. I would suggest you use your dog to help you all that it can, just know that shopping etc. you will require a person to be with you.  Its tough but that's the law.  To train your dog  it will require a trainer and lots of hard work on your part. After that you find a professional that for a fee will do the fine tuning to make your dog a SD. Of course this depends on your dog is it trainable for tasks. 
Just loving your dog will do a lot for your depression and anxiety. I can promise that.

[Roxie]

Have you talked to your Dr.s about their take on what a SD can do to mitigate your disabilities? Or your having an ESA?

A good ESA (IMO) is very well obedience trained, quiet, playful, sensitive, intuitive, patient, willing to have a lot of touch contact from you........ just an all around great companion. It still takes a special dog with a fantastic temperament to do the job.

Do as much reading as you can about ESA's and SD's.

Ask questions... many questions....

Roxie

[Kirsten]

Oh I think ESAs can be real life savers in their own right.  The stories I could tell of how some ESAs have changed their owner's lives.  I suppose I sometimes sound negative about ESAs but really my issue is about taking a dog not prepared for public work and putting him in situations he can't safely handle, or making a bad public impression for working service dogs.

ESAs themselves, doing what they are meant to do, are absolutely wonderful, irreplaceable, and priceless for all they do to improve their owners' lives.

[Spectrum]

ESAs themselves, doing what they are meant to do, are absolutely wonderful, irreplaceable, and priceless for all they do to improve their owners' lives.

I agree with that. A year after getting my dog, now, I view getting him as a major turning point for me. I know nobody here knew me before I had my dog, but I was a mess. My quality of life is much better, my emotional issues (some realated to my disability) are much better, I'm more involved in my education and work. I finally have a real goal in life, and I think had it not been for him I would still be unhappy and struggling to get through every day. My two "petless" years (I had minimal contact with my parents' dogs and cat...I did however have fish and I worked at the vet clinic, but it's not the same. I got the fish because they were allowed in the dorms and I needed something.) were the worst I have ever had to date. I'm actually thinking of writing about how my dog has changed my life for the local writing contest. I haven't entered in a couple years, but I used to enter and place (including one category win) regularly in high school, and I have the urge to write again

But that does not mean that just because a dog changes your life, you have the right to drag it everywhere. It's not good for the dog, it's not good for the handler, and it's not good for the public when an untrained or unsuitable dog gets dragged everywhere. The fact is that most doctors aren't aware of the laws involving service dogs, and many of them do think ESAs and service dogs are the same thing. When I went to get my letter saying Gavroche is an ESA, my psychologist actually said, "Let me write your service dog letter and you can pick it up next week." I corrected her that he is not a service dog and told her about the differences between ESAs and SDs. Just because a doctor tells you it's okay to take our dog everywhere doesn't make it right or legal to do so.