Can my dog be a certified service animal at school for my anxiety?

Hi there! I think part of the issue may be the terminology you're using, when you're trying to find someone to help. By definition, a "therapy dog" is a dog who visits hospitals, nursing homes, or other places and interacts with people there to bring them comfort. What you're describing - a dog that helps you, not members of the public - would be either an emotional support animal, or a service dog. If you're trying to make Leo an emotional support animal, you just need a letter from your doctor or mental health care provider stating that you have anxiety that is helped by having your dog with you. This allows you to have him with you in certain housing situations that may not otherwise allow pets, and may allow him to travel with you in come cases, but does not give him any other public access rights (restaurants, stores, etc.) A service dog, by definition, is trained to perform a specific task to alleviate an owner's disability. So if you're interested in working with someone to train him to do something specific to help you, you would need to find a trainer to work with who has experience training service animals. Off the top of my head, I don't know who in your area might be able to do this - but at least you know what to ask about now, when you call trainers to inquire. Best of luck! :)

Hi there. A dog does not normally need any specific training to be an emotional support animal - this just means that they make you feel better by being around. So she doesn't need to learn any particular skills. I would not expect her age to be an issue for this, as long as she has a calm, confident personality and gets along well with you :) If you mean that you want to train her as a service dog to accompany you in public places, this is much more involved. In that case, her age doesn't really matter, but her temperament matters a lot - some dogs are well suited to be service dogs, and others are not. If this is something you're considering, I would recommend getting in touch with a professional trainer in your area who can evaluate her in person and help you get started on training her the skills she needs if she seems suited for this job. You can search for a qualified obedience trainer in your area here: www.ccpdt.org

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! What a beautiful family! We sadly are not associated with a Veterinary clinic or trainer. Your Veterinarian may have names of trainers they recommend. I would also print out the forms and requirements from the agency you want Jax certified under. They need to have certain vaccines, heartworm tests and fecal tests. I hope this helps!

There are a number of things to consider. #1- a "service dog" is a dog trained to perform certain tasks to assist the handler/owner, due to a disability (either physical or psychological). examples; a person in a wheelchair with a dog who can open doors, push elevator buttons, etc. a blind person with a dog who helps them cross the street safely a dog who can sense that a person is about to have a seizure, alerts the person so they can get to a safe location a dog who senses a panic attack is about to occur and can behave so as to prevent the panic attack from happening #2 - a "service dog" as described above is different than an "emotional support" dog or "therapy" dog. These dogs provide comfort and emotional support and are not trained to perform a specific task. See this article which explains this more specifically: https://adata.org/publication/service-animals-booklet Regarding your question about riding horses, I am not sure how that would work or what exactly you would be expecting (the dog to walk along next to you and the horse?) I think the biggest concern here would be the safety of the dog and then temperament of the horse (would the dog spook the horse, which puts all 3 of you in danger). My first thought would be this is not advisable, but whether or not it is allowed is probably up to the facility in which you are riding. Generally Labrador retrievers and golden retrievers make great service dogs, though any breed can be a great service dog. A service dog is not required to be "registered" per say. See the following: https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html#cert If you are wanting to train the dog yourself, check out this book: https://www.amazon.com/Training-Your-Own-Service-Dog-ebook/dp/B015SJ32AM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B015SJ32AM&pd_rd_r=ACG5MWKYACEVMPXV9BNT&pd_rd_w=5Umlr&pd_rd_wg=W4y6T&psc=1&refRID=ACG5MWKYACEVMPXV9BNT&linkCode=sl1&tag=rove05-20&linkId=2f897c47d415402a56122c1e082eae13 I hope that helps you. Thank you for asking PetCoach!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is definitely possible and Labradors are great for that. However, it is important to have him professionally trained as it is not as straightforward as it may seem. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If you would like to get Mandie certified as a therapy dog there are certain requirements that have to be met. There are many organizations that can help you get her certified. Dogs have to be spayed/neutered, have a negative stool test, on flea/tick and heartworm prevention and up to date on vaccinations. Most organizations are local and your Vet can likely point you in the direction of an organization to get her certified. Or the internet can be helpful. I do not see why she can't be a therapy dog and a medical alert dog for you. She probably can not be used for others as a medical alert dog. Those dogs are usually trained from puppy-hood by other non-profit organizations. I hope this helps!

Hi and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It sounds like Charlotte will be flying with you in the upcoming months. I would advise that you contact the airlines that you are flying with. Seeing that Charlotte is a service dog, you should be able to work out a plan for her to fly in the cabin with you. I understand your stress and anxiety over this but I'm sure that you can resolve this by contacting your airlines and discussing this with them. I hope you and Charlotte are able to fly together and that you have a safe trip.