There can be confusion for many people on what is a service dog and even more the difference between another couple of terms related to dogs, like a therapy dog and an emotional support dog. Regardless of the confusion there are distinct differences that I want to discuss here.
A Service Dog is a dog that is trained to perform a specific task for an individual who has a disability. Service dogs can help navigate for people who are visually or hearing impaired, can help people who have seizures, bring calmness for a person who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. There are many tasks that a dog can be trained to aid in just about any disability.
Training is more extensive when it comes to a service dog. It can take 1-2 years depending on the task or tasks being taught. A service dog has to have impeccable training in basic and advanced obedience, specific task training and public access training.
What kind of dog can do service work? They need to be the appropriate size for the task at hand, they need to be an appropriate age where the work can be still done, and they need to have the right temperament. A few of those temperament traits are that the dog needs to have a pretty calm disposition, a good work drive and eagerness to learn, confident and the ability to handle all different social settings.
What is a Therapy Dog?
A Therapy Dog is a dog that is trained to provide affection, comfort, and support to people in need of that. The owner and their dog volunteer for this type of work in settings like nursing homes, hospitals, schools, and disaster areas.
The training involved for a therapy dog involves having good basic obedience. A therapy dog must have really good overall manners like no jumping, licking, barking, or leaning into people. They also need to be really good with walking on a leash in and around all types of social settings. It is also a good idea for the owner and dog to go through an official testing and evaluation to become a certified therapy dog team. There are therapy dog organizations that exist to set standards for the handler and dog. These standards are respected by the different work environments mentioned above, and these therapy organizations can also offer good insurance to help cover for this kind of work.
The most important personality/temperament trait these dogs need to have is friendliness to all types of people. They need to be in control and calm with their approach to people and be confident and able to handle various sounds, smells, and sights. They also need to be able to hangout for extended periods just relaxing, and able to tolerate different types of human touch.
What is an Emotional Support Dog?
An Emotional Support Dog is a dog that is prescribed by a licensed mental health professional to a person with mental illness. The dog provides companionship and comfort but is not specially trained to provide a task for the mental illness.
These owners and their dogs are supported under the fair housing act and the air carrier act. Under these laws if an owner and dog meet the criteria the FHA protects their right to be able to have the dog live with them even when there is a no pet policy. The ACA allows for these dogs to fly in the cabin with the owner with no additional cost.
Even though there is no special training needed for these dogs to become an ESA, it is a good idea to make sure they are well behaved. If they are not and they cause any kind of problem in those environments, you and your dog can be removed/banned. Some basic training may be a good idea to give you peace of mind.
Hopefully this helps clarify the differences between these three important and beneficial aids that dogs can provide people. While not every dog can qualify for these aids, it’s important to also know that they can come from different places. They can be the dog you already own, they can come from shelters or rescues, or they can come from breeding programs. Understanding the differences of each type of aid, the temperament needed, and the amount of training involved is the first step!
