What is a Psychiatric Service Dog?

Psychiatric service dogs are a special kind of service dog. They are trained to help people who live with certain psychiatric disabilities to live better lives. These animals are individually trained specifically for someone’s disability and/or situation.

They perform certain work or tasks, such as waking someone up from a nightmare, interrupting destructive behavior, or providing deep pressure therapy, just a few examples. Emotional support animals are not service dogs, as they are not individually trained. Emotional support animals help people with their mere presence. Keep reading for all the details.

As a quick reminder, a service dog is a special type of working dog that has been individually trained to assist someone who lives with a physical, psychiatric, or intellectual disability by doing certain tasks or “work.”

A psychiatric service dog is a service dog that has been individually trained to help its handler in certain, specific ways, to mitigate the effects of a disability, and to allow the person to live a better life.

Service dogs are trained for public access and trained service dogs have public access rights in most places, including housing, employment, and public places that have “no pets” policies. Service animals are not pets.

The service dog handler will have been diagnosed with a mental health condition.

What conditions may qualify for a service dog?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Panic Attacks
Schizophrenia
Depression
Anxiety (Social / Generalized)
Bipolar disorder
Borderline personality disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Eating disorders
Agoraphobia (a type of anxiety disorder)

Psychiatric Service Dog Tasks

Psychiatric service dog tasks may include:

Tactile stimulation can help reduce anxiety
Nudging/pawing can help to bring a person back to the present moment
Interrupting undesirable behavior
Constant body contact
Deep pressure stimulation
Blocking contact with other people
Waking someone up from night terrors
Interrupting anger
Helping to get people out of the house
Reminding people to take medication
Providing a “reality check” from anxiety, dissociation, hallucination
Going and getting help

Psychiatric Service Dogs Effects on People

The effects of psychiatric service dogs on people are very positive. People who use psychiatric service dogs have reported:

Decreased instances of suicide attempts
Less requirement for hospitalization
Less requirements for medication
Enhanced ability to attend appointments
Increased independence and confidence
Increased social function
Companionship
Increased sense of safety and hope

Is a Psychiatric Dog a Service Dog?

Yes, a psychiatric dog is a type of service dog that can help people who live with psychiatric conditions, such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and others.

Psychiatric dogs are indeed considered service dogs in the U.S. as long as they meet the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) definition of a service animal, which is, “A dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability.”

Under the ADA definition, which is used for public access rights (and other rights in housing and employment) a service dog’s work or tasks must be directly related to the individual’s disability. The work or tasks that the dog does must also mitigate or lessen some of the effects of a disability.

So, any dog that has been trained to do psychiatric work or tasks for a specific person’s disability, is a service dog, just as much as a guide dog that guides somebody who is blind, or a mobility service dog that helps balance someone with stability issues or diabetic alert service dog that can warn of dangerous blood sugar levels.

Sometimes psychiatric service dogs can be confused with emotional support dogs. While these are similar, there is an important difference: emotional support dogs are not individually trained to do work or tasks. They help people by simply being there.

So, if a dog has been trained to wake up a person from a nightmare, for example, or bring medication and water after a panic attack, then that meets the definition of a service dog.

If an animal merely comforts a person who is living with anxiety just by being with the person, but not performing any specific tasks, then that is considered an emotional support animal. Emotional support animals are helpful for many people but don’t have the same public access rights under the ADA laws.

Emotional support animals do, however, have more rights when it comes to housing under the Fair Housing Act, where the definition of “assistance animal” is broader.

Psychiatric Service Dog Breeds

Wondering about what the best psychiatric service dog breeds are? While the ADA states that any type, any size, and any breed of dog can be a service dog, there are certainly some breeds that stand out in terms of being the best psychiatric service dog breeds.

What makes a good service dog, anyway? The best service dogs are:

Very smart
Have a temperament that makes them easy to train
Reliable
Calm under pressure
Not easily distracted
Must remain focused and responsive to their handlers’ needs
Must remain unaffected by crowds of people, including children, traffic, loud noises, or other dogs or other kinds of animals

We will go through some of the best psychiatric service dog breeds here in no particular order.

Golden Retriever

Golden retrievers tend to be:

Sociable & loyal
Easy-going temperament
Don’t get ruffled easily
Highly intelligent, including emotional intelligence
Affectionate & gentle
Eager to please
Easy to train for specific tasks
Active breed requiring daily exercise (good for people who are out and about)
Go-to breed for PTSD dogs for veterans

Labrador Retriever

One of the most popular service dog breeds
Friendly and easy-going
Sociable
Devoted and eager to please
Very intelligent
Calm and quiet
Easy to train
Attentive to their handlers’ needs
Hardy and athletic physically, lots of energy if need be
Hyper-aware of their surroundings

German Shepherd

Highly Intelligent
Alert
Fearless
Extremely loyal
Can easily learn a wide range of tasks
Able to assist with a variety of disabilities
Think of them as a Labrador Retriever but with added strength and loyalty

Poodle

Intelligent
Cheerful, loyal, and loving
Have a nose for detecting allergens
Social, adaptable, curious
Extremely sharp & trainable
Their coats have less dander and are less likely to cause allergic reactions
Good choice for people who suffer from allergies
Can be easily trained to look for triggers and signs of flashbacks
Can help cope with the consequences of triggers and flashbacks, and fetch helpful items like medication and water

Great Dane

Sweet and loving nature
Great with children
Intelligent
Agreeable
Have relatively simple needs
They love people, places, and other animals
Able to “make themselves at home” anywhere they go
Can be trained for a wide variety of tasks
Think of a Labrador Retriever, but way bigger
Massive size – not the best fit for everyone

Collie

Very smart
Great with children
Calm and cheerful
A thick double coat requires regular grooming

Lhasa Apso

Cheerful disposition
Able to recognize different moods & respond appropriately
Able to nudge people back to the right course of action
Personable
Likes strangers
Will always stick by the side of their handler when the handler is feeling vulnerable

Doberman Pinscher

Bond very tightly with their handler
Known for following their handler from room to room and insisting on being close at all times
Very alert
Very attentive
Physical strength and capability
They love mental exercises and they love helping people

Boxer

Obedient
Affectionate in nature
Tendency to be extremely loyal
Calm & good-natured
Adaptability to training
Tendency to slobber a lot

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Extremely affectionate
Cuddly & relaxed
Constant companionship
Easy to handle
Intelligent
Quick learners

Is a PTSD Dog a Service Dog or Emotional Support?

This can get confusing. A PTSD dog is a type of service dog. Service dogs, by definition, have been individually trained to do work or tasks for someone who is living with a disability. PTSD service dogs do tasks related to psychiatric disabilities.

Some examples are waking someone up from a nightmare, interrupting destructive behavior, keeping someone safe during a panic attack, and bringing medication and water after a panic attack.

Emotional support dogs are not necessarily trained. They are often not trained at all. They provide comfort and support just by their mere presence. So, if a dog comforts someone with anxiety just by being there with them, then it’s considered an emotional support dog.

Someone living with PTSD could have:

A PTSD service dog that does a specific task or tasks related to PTSD symptoms, such as waking them up from a nightmare

Or they could simply have an untrained emotional support dog that comforts them without performing any tasks

Psychiatric Service Dogs on Airlines

While the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) governs the use of service animals where public access rights are concerned, the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of disabilities in air travel and governs the use of service dogs there.

The ACAA applies to:

All flights of U.S. airlines
All flights to or from the United States by foreign airlines

Summary of ACAA Rules

Under the ACAA, a service animal is defined as a dog (any breed or type) that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified person with a disability. This includes a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.

The ACAA allows airlines to recognize emotional support animals as pets, rather than service animals

The ACAA permits airlines to limit the number of service animals that one passenger can bring onboard an aircraft to two service animals

The ACAA allows airlines to require passengers with a disability who will be traveling with their service animal to complete and submit to the airline a form. This form is developed by DOT. It basically says something about the animal’s training and good behavior and certifies that the dog is in good health

For long flights – eight hours or more – passengers must complete and submit a DOT form that says that their dog has the ability either not to relieve itself or to relieve itself in a sanitary manner

You can read all the fine print here on the ACAA final rule.

Can Psychiatric Service Dogs Go Anywhere?

As long as a dog meets the ADA definition of a service animal, then it can generally go anywhere the public can go. In other words, if the dog has been individually trained to do work or perform a task or tasks for somebody living with a psychiatric disability, then, yes, the dog may go almost anywhere with its handler.

If the dog merely provides comfort and support with its presence and is not trained to do a specific job or task for someone with a disability, then it’s considered an emotional support animal and does not have the same public access rights as service dogs do under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).

In this regard, psychiatric service dogs are no different from mobility service dogs, guide dogs for people who are blind, seizure response service dogs, diabetic service dogs, or autism service dogs.

Service dogs – including psychiatric service dogs – and their handler may go to restaurants, hotels, schools, movie theatres, salad bars, grocery stores, malls, government buildings, and almost anywhere else that the public is invited or allowed to go.

There are a few exceptions; places or situations that do not need to permit service animals.

Service animals may be excluded legally under the ADA laws:

Religious organizations

Swimming pools (although service animals must be allowed on the pool deck, change rooms, and other areas the public can go)

Sensitive environments where the dog would compromise safety (hospital burn units, hospital operating rooms, although service animals are allowed in the ER, patient rooms, and other areas)

Where the dog’s presence would compromise safety (in a crowded ambulance where the dog would interfere with the medical staff’s ability to work)

Check out our ADA Service Dog Laws Summary to find out more about the ADA rules

Sam Nelson

+ posts

Sam is an experienced writer, advocate for people with disabilities and mental health, dog lover, artist, philosopher, and generally complicated human being.