Do you need a psychiatric service dog (PSD)? If you want to know how to get a service dog for anxiety, this article is for you!
As psychiatric service dogs have been trained to make the life of their owners easier, it is really important that you take a closer look at the specifics and the requirements of getting a service dog for anxiety
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What are psychiatric service dogs for anxiety?
Similar to any other kind of service dogs, psychiatric service dogs are also trained to help someone in accomplishing necessary tasks and to protect their owners from harm.
These dogs usually serve people suffering from mental health conditions which interfering their daily life.
Psychiatric service dogs may help people with anxiety:
- Bringing water and medicines during an anxiety attack.
- Getting the phone to the owner, so that he or she can call the therapist or get any other support system during an anxiety attack.
- Leading someone to you for help if you are unable to help yourself.
- Offering tactile stimulation to help you dislocate your emotional overload
Psychiatric service dogs are well-trained to perform these tasks. They can provide you the needed help in an emergency situation.
Recommended Reading: 8 Surprising Benefits of Having a Dog in Your Life!
How to get a service dog for anxiety?
Here are different things you need to know about getting a service dog for anxiety:
Get a service dog for anxiety via a service dog program
The service dogs that you will get from a service dog program can be from a trustworthy breeder.
Also, these dogs have been trained properly with multiple training courses.
Therefore, these can be better to meet the needs of their handler more effectively.
However, to qualify for a PSD through a service dog program, there are certain rules to follow.
Although these rules may vary as per the program you have applied for.
But basic requirements are almost the same for every service dog program.
Criteria to qualify for a psychiatric service dog
There is a certain criterion you need to meet to get a PSD. The criteria may include:
- Debilitating disorder or illness or having a physical disability.
- You must be able to participate in the training process of the dog.
- Being able to command and care of a service dog independently.
- Having a stable and calming home environment.
These dogs have been trained to meet the needs of a person before placing them in someone’s house.
Recommendation letter from a doctor
However, when you want to apply for a service dog then you need to have a recommendation from a certified mental health professional or a doctor.
People with debilitating or severe mental health disorders can apply for a PSD.
Training your own dog to become a psychiatric service dog
Another opportunity to get a PSD is to train your own service dog. If you already have a dog then you can put it to become a PSD through proper training.
When it comes to the option to register my dog as a service dog, then your service dog must meet the training requirements of PSD.
However, to train your own dog properly you must talk with your doctor.
Talk to him about your problems or disability and discuss the tasks your dog should learn to perform. Then train your dog accordingly.
Training your dog requires more time, effort, and patience.
To train your dog for becoming a service dog properly takes about a year.
Final thoughts
These are the steps that are necessary to qualify for a PSD. If you want to train your own dog, then make sure to test your dog’s temperament before investing your time and efforts on it. Because a PSD has to be a well-tempered dog especially in uncertain situations.