Emotional Support Dog Training

Dogs are not only “man’s best friend”–many perform crucial jobs and support their owners and others.

A service dog is specifically trained to help people with disabilities. Those disabilities may include visual difficulties, hearing impairments, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), seizures, ambulatory issues, mental illness, diabetes, autism, and more.

The dog should already have a bond with the owner and be compliant and comfortable with maintaining close proximity to the owner. Learning to “place” on the owner during an emotional outbreak is a learned task. Being comfortable in “placing” on the owner is a trait and we can not teach traits.

Some dogs show extreme stress when the owner has an emotional outbreak – these dogs, no matter how much training they receive will never “learn” to not be stressed in that situation and would be unsuitable for emotional support; it doesn’t mean they are not good house pets, they just do not possess the traits needed for emotional support.

We cannot teach the dog to love or like you – NO dog trainer can.