Updated Oct. 12, 2020: If you need a service dog — specifically a psychiatric service dog — you may be wondering how you can get one. PSDs are trained to make life for their handlers much easier. Let’s look closer at these incredible pups.
What is a psychiatric service dog?
Unlike other service dogs (or assistance, support or helper dogs), who are trained to perform major everyday tasks for people with physical disabilities, psychiatric service dogs are trained to help people with emotional or psychiatric disabilities including post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder and severe depression.
If you have depression, we have a roundup of your insurance options.
PSDs are trained to assist in medical crises and provide treatment and security to their owners, including managing anxiety and panic attacks and preventing their handlers from reacting unfavorably in stressful situations. For example, a PSD is trained to provide deep pressure therapy to minimize an anxiety or panic attack by applying weight and pressure to her handler’s body in a calming way or to wake her handler up if he’s experiencing a night terror.
What's the difference between service dogs and therapy dogs?
The differences between therapy dogs and service dogs, like PSDs, can be a little blurry, so let’s look at some of the distinctions:
Service dogs primarily work for their owners while therapy dogs provide service to people who are not their handlers — they help people in places like hospitals, schools and nursing homes. (Here's what to do if your hospital closes.)
Service dogs, like seeing-eye dogs, act like guides and perform jobs for their owners to help them accomplish everyday tasks and keep them safe. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, therapy dogs provide comfort just by being with a person. Since they have not been trained to perform a specific job or task, they do not qualify as service animals.
Service dogs are working dogs and are not considered pets.
Are there special laws that apply to psychiatric service dogs?
Under federal law PSDs can:
Accompany their owners into businesses pets normally cannot enter
Live with their owners in traditional "no pet" housing
Fly in the cabin of an airplane with no additional fee (Read our guide to every major airline's policies on pets and beyond.)
These laws do not apply to pets or therapy dogs.
What kind of dog can be a psychiatric service dog?
Any breed or size dog can be a PSD. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, there are a few requirements for a dog to be a service dog:
His owner must have a life-limiting disability
He must be trained to recognize and respond to his owner’s disability through work or tasks
He must not cause a disruption in public and must not exhibit aggressive barking or behavior
He must be housebroken
Can you train your own dog to be a psychiatric service dog?
If you’re interested in training your own dog to be a PSD dog, first talk to your doctor about your disability and discuss which tasks and jobs your dog can specifically do to assist you daily. It’s also important to have your dog temperament-tested because if he is unhealthy or aggressive, he cannot become one and you will need to get another dog to be your service dog.
Properly training your dog to be a service dog takes about six months to a year, but a full-time professional trainer can usually do it in less time. PSD dogs are trained both privately with the handler he will assist and publicly to ensure he is comfortable and obedient around people.
Training your own dog takes a lot of time and patience, and it’s much easier to get one from an organization. However, if you are training him yourself, please remember you are fully responsible for your dog before, during and after training and you need to abide by state laws and regulations, since some of them protect businesses from not being required to allow your dog while he’s in training into their facility.
How do you qualify for a psychiatric service dog?
Although each organization has different eligibility criteria, there are a few requirements that all applicants need. To qualify for a PSD, you need to be legally disabled under the ADA (and be able to provide proper medical documentation) and you need to be able to handle and command the dog independently on your own. Most places also require your attendance in training sessions with the service dog (which can be multiple weeks of training) both while they’re in the program and after they’ve graduated.
You may also want to consider disability insurance. Here's how it works.
How much does a psychiatric service dog cost?
Throughout my research, I’ve found the average price for a service dog — with temperament testing, vet care, food and training — is between $20,000 and $30,000. However, some organizations like The Foundation for Service Dog Support often reduce costs based on each individual and their service to the community.
Where can you get a psychiatric service dog?
Here are a few popular programs that specialize in training PSD dogs and the specific requirements they have for applicants:
Service Dogs for America requires the applicant be at least 12 years old, participate in an interview with one of their SDA representatives, and be able to provide financial proof that he can afford a service dog. (Their dogs cost $20,000 with another $2,500 in estimated annual costs.)
Paws With A Cause requires the individual to be at least 14 years old, be able to meet the emotional, physical, and financial needs of the PSD dog, and have no other dog in the home. The applicant also needs to live in an area serviced by one of their field representatives.
Canine Companions for Independence requires the applicant be at least 18 years old and participate in both a telephone and in-person interview.
For more training programs and organizations, check out this list of service dog trainers broken down by state.