While people often use the terms “emotional support dog” and “emotional service dog” interchangeably (sometimes by mistake, sometimes to make conversations simpler), the two aren’t the same.
Both emotional support dogs and emotional service dogs serve different roles and have distinct legal rights and training requirements. Understanding these differences is crucial, whether you’re seeking an emotional service dog or to support those with them.
What Is an Emotional Support Dog?
An emotional support dog is a dog that provides comfort, love, support, and companionship. These dogs do not require specialized training, nor do they perform specific tasks to help their handler.
While emotional support dogs are not protected under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), they are protected under the Fair Housing Act (FHA)—meaning a person with an emotional support dog cannot be denied housing due to their animal.
What Is an Emotional Service Dog?
Emotional service dogs, sometimes called psychiatric service dogs, are trained service dogs that perform specific tasks to assist individuals with emotional or psychiatric health challenges. These tasks may include interrupting anxiety episodes, providing tactile stimulation during distress, or reminding their handler to take medication. Unlike emotional support dogs, emotional service dogs undergo extensive training to perform these essential functions.
Emotional service dogs have certain legal rights and protections under the ADA, which is crucial regarding housing, or their ability to accompany their handlers in places where pets are typically not allowed, such as restaurants, stores, and public transportation.
How to Train an Emotional Service Dog
Training an emotional service dog requires dedication and proper guidance. Service dogs can be any breed, age, or size. What matters most is the bond the handler and their dog have, and the dog’s ability to perform the necessary tasks.
At Fetch and More, our virtual emotional service dog training course is an accessible, flexible course that provides structured guidance to help you train your dog effectively. With expert guidance every step of the way, our comprehensive course ensures your dog can meet the necessary standards to provide you reliable support, such as performing their needed tasks, maintaining excellent behavior in public, and remaining focused and on-task despite distractions.
Get Started with Professional Emotional Service Dog Training
At Fetch and More, one of our primary focuses when designing our virtual training courses was accessibility. While most programs are locked to specific hours or require long-distance travel, ours can be done in your own home, on your own time. Whether you need to accommodate your job, children, mental or physical health, or any of life’s many responsibilities, our courses are built to work around your life and schedule—not the other way around.
All our courses are designed by our lead instructor, a fully accredited behaviorist with over two decades of dog training experience. This experience is directly reflected in every aspect of our courses, from the methods we use to the content we teach.
Our training focuses on practical, adaptable techniques for every setting, and our trainers are here for you every step of the way. To get started, visit our virtual emotional service dog training course page or contact us to learn more.
