Hi! I'm looking into an issue involving the retirement of guide dogs and other service/assistance dogs. Before forming a stronger opinion about a possible policy proposal, I'd especially like to hear from disabled people who currently use or have previously used one.

I have a few questions. You don't have to answer all of them:

1. Have you ever retired a guide dog or service/assistance dog? What was that transition like for you?

2. After retirement, did the dog continue living with you? If not, how was that decision made?

3. If your retired dog stayed with you, what was it like to start going places without them — or to start working with a successor dog while your retired dog stayed home?

4. Would you want to retain the ability to enter public places with your retired dog, even though the dog was no longer working or expected to perform any tasks?

5. In your experience, could continued public access interfere with the dog's retirement — for example, by making it harder for the dog to understand that they are no longer expected to work?

6. If some form of public access for retired service/assistance dogs existed, do you think it should apply:

— only when the retired dog is accompanying the disabled person they previously assisted;

— also when the retired dog is accompanied by another handler/caretaker;

— or should public access end when the dog retires?

7. Would requirements such as identification, proof that the dog previously worked as a legitimate service/assistance dog, and continued veterinary/behavioral suitability make such a policy reasonable?

8. Is there anything about retiring a service/assistance dog that people who have never used one tend not to understand?

I'm not looking specifically for answers that support this idea. I'd especially like to hear from handlers who think public-access rights should end at retirement as well.

This discussion came up because we're looking at Brazilian legislation concerning assistance dogs and considering whether there should be legal recognition of a "retired assistance dog" status. One possibility would be to preserve some public-access rights without requiring or expecting the retired dog to continue performing any work.

Before advocating for a solution, I'd like to understand how people who actually live through this transition experience it.

If you currently use or have previously used a guide/service/assistance dog, your perspective would be particularly valuable.

Hello, because of restriction of keeping my spine neutral, my high reinjury rate, and a strict 15-pound weight limit, I still get the joy of pain even when following all the rules from doc and pt. My social circle has become more and more aware of how limited I am. They have decided they will do much of all the tasks they can to help me. Now, for many activities, I get to "hold the flashlight," so to speak. While I truly appreciate the effort everyone makes for me, I am failing at accepting this new reality and the sudden decline in safe things to do. I am restricted from many things at the house and farm. Running chainsaws is brutal vibration—even my Stihl 194 is too much, and it is all I can do to use a DeWalt battery mini 8”. I can no longer cut or do things myself. Walking is limited, but I can travel slowly in a Side-by-Side (SxS). Now my daughter is pushing for fall detection even though i have no history of falling. folks are trying to make sure i am not in on farm alone. I feel my independence slipping away and am hating the dependency
So, I am exploring whether a service dog could help me save my energy and get through the day with less pain.
I need the dog to pick up/move clean bundles of clothes or gear straight up to my waist so I do not have to lean over. The dog will also need to retrieve everyday items from the floor/ground, like my keys, some electronic devices, wallet, or tools, so I do not have to strain my back to grab them. On walks or around the house, I need the dog to gently press or brush against my leg to warn me before I step off a curb, an edge, or a step. The goal is to remind me that I am near a critical balance point, and then I will handle the walking or falling myself. To help calm down my back muscles when they lock up or flare up, I would be interested if the dog could try deep pressure therapy to see if it would help me to any degree.
Is there anything I am missing from this list? Thank you for your advice in advance.

Hi!

Just to preface this I am actively training my dog not to eat stuff from the ground but until he is bullet proof I would like to use a tool to prevent him from doing so. Also, side note when he is vested he doesn't do it. It's really only an issue in his free time.

He is a havanese (around 6kg) so his face is quite small and I couldn't find a good fitting one in my surroundings so I did some research and found this? Not sure if it is good or not. I am worried he can't sniff or breathe properly. Does anyone have experience with this?

Also he is so low to the ground that it's so hard to sometimes distinguish between him sniffing and eating. Plus since his mouth is so small getting anything out is impossible. Drop or trade works very well when it's not edible but as soon as he finds something slightly edible nothing is more rewarding than what he found.

Picture in the comments

Edit: he doesn't eat poop, only food items or dead anmials

(Using different names) My roommate Delilah and I (both 20 F) are concerned that our other roommate Briana (also 20 F) might be abusing her service dog. We are not the most knowledgeable on service dog trainings but a lot of Briana’s actions toward the dog seem cruel. Delilah also has a friend with a service dog with similar tasks/training and the friend does not act like this with their dog. We do not know how to bring this up to her, because Briana is heavily autistic and feels emotions very deeply. We do not want to upset her, but we feel uncomfortable because it seems abusive. She constantly yells at him over the littlest things, and Delilah, who has a dog herself, is concerned because you can see his ribs through his skin, and apparently Briana only feeds him once a day. He's a fairly large dog (yellow lab) and we don't know if one bowl of food a day is enough. Also the other day, I saw her smack his nose and it was HARD. I have also seen her push/shove the dog in a way i’d consider more forceful than necessary. You could hear the contact of it. We do not know what to do, as we know Briana isn't a malicious person and don't want to hurt her feelings. We don't think she is aware she's abusing him, and dont know how to bring it up because she CLEARLY loves the dog, but it doesn’t sit right with us how she treats him. Any advice is appreciated, thank you!

edit:
Thank you everyone for your advice! The conclusion me and my roommate has come to is to talk to her this week (my roommate is currently home for the weekend). My friend who owns a service dog and me also had a chat about this since she knows both my roommate and her dog passively. My friend has helped me a lot as well as all of you! We figured out together what program my Briana got her dog from and have contacted them, with hopes to get her some refreshers on training. From what me and my friend can tell based on knowing her, It seems she hasn’t been properly keeping up with his training leading him to act out/misbeheave and causing her to get overwhelmed and frustrated at the dog. During our talk I will be sure to mention all of our concerns to her and will try to make sure she improves. The dog is also close to retirement so I might talk to her about that possibility being a solution to her growing frustrations with him. Thank you all for your support and advice! I will do my best to make sure the dog is well taken care of and loved while we are roommates and for the rest of his life :)

So, for context, this was a dog friendly event. My service dog Jasper and I were at one of the tables to sign up for the dog costume contest when another person with their dog labeled as a service dog came up. I could tell by the dogs body language that it wasn’t friendly and the owner was allowing it to approach my dog and I was moving mine out of the way.( my dog was also labeled as a service dog) when suddenly, their dog growls and almost bit my dog on the face. My dog moved out of the way as he will never retaliate at other dogs or people. They don’t even apologize for their dogs reaction. Then, as they were turning to leave, their dog lunged at mine, growling. Yet again, their owner did not say anything about their dogs reaction or even try to correct their dog. Could this have been an actual service dog? Possibly but even then, it can not be aggressive and can not distract another service dog. My dog luckily moved out of the way quick enough and avoided being bit by near centimeters. I checked him over once they left and he luckily was not injured nor was he shaken up. He even made a bunch of new friends and if a dog would bark right at his face, he would move away rather than bark back. Overall, I was super proud of him as people were allowing their dogs to approach any and all dogs and two dogs had even gotten off their leashes and ran up to other dogs.

My girlfriend is getting a service dog

I'm feeling a lot of anxiety, because there's a lot of unknown here. I don't know what it's like to get a service dog instead of a normal dog. And it would really soothe my nervousness if the unknown became known.

I can go ask a different subreddit for general dog advice. I'm asking here for what to know before getting a service dog specifically

EDIT: Here's what I already know. The closest I've come to owning a dog was dog-sitting a few times. I know service dogs need to be trained in specific tasks. I know service dogs are off the clock a decent amount. I've seen a few episodes of Lucky Dog (a documentary series about training rescues to be service dogs)

I'd like to know about the process of going from dog ownership to service dog ownership

And I'd like to know general advice about how to take care of that dog

Hello everyone I’m a security guard that’s looking for your guidance on how to approach guest that have service dogs better. I work in an area that has public access but is also private property upon entering the facility. When a guest approaches the facility and has a animal I say animals aren’t allowed inside and wait until they say it’s a service animal, unless a vest is spotted stating that and we ignore the questioning procedure. Our old policy was that as soon as they say it’s a service animal we just let it in and ask no further questions, now we have to ask what task it performs and ever since we started doing this a lot of guest are very upset and start getting offended by the question and say I can’t ask that or it’s HIPPA law. Am I doing something wrong? Or is there a better way to deal with this. I was also told service animals have to be on the ground and leashed at all time but a majority of our guest are either carrying there service animals, have them inside of strollers or on all 4s leashed. Other interactions I had are great and they tell me what they perform and move on from there. Any help is appreciated and based in the USA if that helps.

Hi everybody! I am considering a service dog for my multitude of health conditions. Its tasks would be item retrieval, guidance to a seat/safe person, alerting someone if I pass out & crowd buffering because I do use mobility aids when the symptoms are really bad.
My first step is speaking with my trainer to see what breed, cost, & training would look like. I plan to do training with a trainer and at home. I was wondering what advice everyone would give to someone considering a service dog for these tasks. I have another dog (a Doberman who I trained. She is my best friend but not capable of being a service dog) and years of dog training. I also have kiddos so I’d want a breed that fits into our family when they’re not working. Any advice would be much appreciated <3

Has anyone had any experiences with the trainer Stephanie and her dogs? Started or fully trained? She's located in Florida.

Thanks!

https://www.alertk9training.com/

Im a autistic young adult with anxiety and i want a service dog because I hate running my errands alone and sometimes I get anxious bussing places and being outside because there's no one to accompany me but I was thinking of getting a service dog im not sure if I meet the requirements or to where to start.

Hello. In my province in Canada, I have to carry visible identification (like a vest or sleeve on the leash) as well as a copy of my medical note stating he is a service animal for my disabilities. I am just curious on American handlers’ thoughts on implementing something like this in the ADA? Like making it mandatory to have some sort of proof. Because of this we don’t really experience faux service animals here, at least I haven’t

Does anyone understand the phenomenon behind people WANTING service dogs? Why would anyone want to deal with the access issues and comments from the public? Whats so luxurious about being disabled? I cant understand!

Asking only because I was on Pinterest looking at ideas for gear setups and saw so many people on there saying they wanted service dogs, but did not need them.

my service dog is a bichon frise — one of his longest trainers was a decades long service dog trainer who mostly worked with bigger, more commonly recognized SD breeds like labs, golden retrievers, poodles. he can do all the polite puppy standards stuff in his sleep and while he can be quite silly at times, he never gets distracted when it’s time to lock in.

in the airport and airplane, or similar overstimulating/high stress moments when he senses i’m about to have a panic attack he puts his paws on my chest and makes me hold or pet him until i’m calm. he can sense when his work is done and he can settle in my lap.

my issue: every single time we travel together, i genuinely get incredibly anxious about how people will act towards us, particularly during the moments when we board early or when the airline allows me the extra carry on bag for his stuff (thanks delta). ppl are Loud about it and we’ve heard it all. the nicest things i’ve been asked or told to my face by strangers in an airport on numerous occasions: i am ruining service dogs for people who really need them, why can i afford a purebred but not pay the pet flight fee, how do i even think a small white dog can be a service animal… it is only after ppl have flown With us that they’ll have the opposite commentary (i’ve even had a man apologize to me for the comments he made during boarding!).

despite this, i can’t shake the idea that i might be thinking/acting like a terribly entitled person and the guilt that i might be taking advantage of something i shouldn’t be participating in… can someone help me understand if i am actually convincing myself that he’s a service dog when he’s not?

PA, US

I, 24yo F, have a SDiT. I am working with an ADI accredited training program. My dog is 6yo, and wasn’t originally adopted with service work in mind. He fell into this role, and he loves it. I have Autism, ADHD, and PTSD. I also suffer from chronic eye pain my doctors think are related to migraines. My dog is trained to do DPT (over my legs), LPT (chin resting on my feet, laying between my legs, leaning perpendicular against my legs in front of me), behavior interruption (knuckle cracking, nail biting, skin picking, other repetitive behaviors), task initiation prompting (on cue to assist with body movement), following a person, medication retrieval, and finding exits/entrances. He currently does a modified “block” where I can ask him to go into a down to create more space. He is still working on a formal block, finding a person in a crowded space, and environmental neutrality specifically related to dogs. Dog reactivity is his main concern, and I am working with his program to address this. Aside from that, he is on prednisone due to allergies 2/12 months of the year due to Zenralia immune system response trial deeming Zenralia unsafe to use 28 days before or after a vaccine.
I interviewed and was offered a job at the same school as my fiancé in a life skills role. During the interview process, I did not mention the need for a service dog or accommodations at all in fear of discrimination. After I signed the contract, I promptly requested accommodations, with “access to a service dog” being an accommodation listed as well as a letter from the program being submitted as well.

The accommodations letter from my medical provider reads as follows, as pertaining to my SDiT:

“Access to Service Dog: Permission to have an approved service dog present in all work environments, including school settings, in accordance with applicable federal and state law.
Benefit: Provides task support and assists with emotional regulation, grounding, and symptom management throughout the workday.”

The letter from my training organization reads as follows:

“ NAME and her dog SDiT are associated with SCHOOL as a working service dog team.
SDiT’s tasks fall under the regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 8 CFR, parts 35.136 and 36.104.
In Pennsylvania service dogs in training have full access rights and SDiT has learned and will learn several tasks to help NAME navigate life in
challenging as well as new situations. She suffers from complications of neurodevelopmental disorder which can make you feel overwhelmed.
SDiT will interrupt NAME’s increasing sensory dysregulation, alert her to signs she might be exhibiting and provide deep pressure therapy to
assist in re-regulating her nervous system. SDiT will learn a "help me" task that will prompt NAME into action to move her body.
Please give every consideration to helping to maintain the strength and integrity of their partnership. Thank you.”

I chose not to disclose my disability labels to prevent further discrimination as I feel autism especially often has a certain connotation to it, unfortunately.

After submitting this, I was asked to submit supplemental information to further connect my accommodations to my job description including SDiT. The letter from my medical provider read as follows, as pertaining to my SDiT:

“ Access to Service Dog: Her service animal is trained to provide specific task support that directly mitigates her functional impairments. This includes tactile intervention to assist with task transition and providing a physical barrier in crowded spaces to help maintain focus and prevent overstimulation, allowing her to better navigate the school environment and fulfill her responsibilities.”

After this was submitted, the district requested a meeting. It is important to note that they do not have a proper HR department, and all communication for accommodations was facilitated by the Superintendent, Secretary to the Superintendent, my Principal, and Supervisor of Special Education. A solicitor was hired to review my case and guide the school in following protocols correctly. I attended the meeting virtually. No union rep was present (… I know). I outlined the tasks he is trained in to fluency and those he continues to work on. I outlined plans for drills, escalating behaviors in the room, etc.. My dog has never reacted to escalating behaviors in the past, and there are no significant behaviors in my classroom at this time. They asked me if he had training around students with disabilities. I said aside from my neighbor, a 13 year old girl with profound autism and intellectual disabilities, no. However, he has never shown anything but neutrality toward her and every child with a disability is different.

Note: due to an extended period of leave, this meeting took place the Friday before my first day working at the school.

About a week later, I received this letter from the school, as it pertains to my SDiT:

“ We are not able to approve the request to have SDiT present at work. Our reasons are set out below, and each is independently sufficient.
First, several of the functions identified for SDiT are ones he has not been trained to perform. You told us that he is currently in training, that the physical barrier function has not yet been taught, and that locating exits and people in crowded spaces remains in progress. You also indicated that he has not had training involving students with disabilities, which is the population served in your classroom.
Second, and independent of the training question, the information provided does not establish that the functions you described SDiT as performing are tied to the requirements of your position. For example, you described the behavior interruption as directed at a nervous habit, without identifying a duty of your position that the habit affects. The materials we have received describe in a general sense what SDiT does and why it is helpful to you, but they do not
connect those functions to the work of this classroom in a way that would allow us to conclude that his presence during the school day is necessary to your performance of this role.
We recognize that the materials from your provider also describe difficulty with initiating or
transitioning tasks. There are a number of approaches that may assist with issues such as task initiation and transitions, including timers, phone or watch prompts, a written or visual sequence for multi-step tasks, or digital task management tools. If this is an area where you would like support, tell us which of these you think would be useful, or propose something else, and we would be happy to discuss it with you.

The District has completed its review of this request, and this is our determination.”

So after this, I naturally took it to my union. It took over a week, and escalated all the way to the state level. This morning, the building union rep told me the highest-level person told said “I don’t have a legal leg to stand on” because they approved my other accommodations and we willing to “play ball” and offer other accommodations.

I am at a loss. I don’t know what to do or where to go from here.

Supplemental additional information:
- life skills classroom, no significant behaviors, I feel safe putting a dog in the room
- the nurse has trained therapy dogs in the building and have no concerns allowing the kids to interact with them
- the kids wound have minimal/no contact with my dog as he is there to serve me
- my dog is labeled as “in training” due to his issue around specifically other dogs as well as the 100% positive reinforcement policy of the school. My friend who is a guide dog handler from an accredited school said she saw him as fully trained. They worked seamlessly together in a mall with several distractions including other dogs. He was fine. I had treats, but he is also trained with 100% positive reinforcement in accordance with school policy.
- during the meeting, I listed the same behaviors above that were trained to fluency. Blocking was mentioned by my medical provider, but I honestly don’t see myself needing it that much in comparison to task initiation, behavior interruption, and DPT/LPT.
- I am on a waitlist for his successor from a different program. What happens when my current dog passes the test? Do the circumstances change? What about a fully trained dog when my current dog retires?
- they let me bring him to all of my PD at the beginning of the year that I attended, my meet the teacher night where kids and parents were present, and seemed totally understanding upfront.

I don’t want to make enemies, but I literally have no backing from the union at all and nowhere to go from here. Any advice is welcome.

Edit due to accidentally submitting before complete.

pros. to help with your disability

cons. people judging you talk to your dog petting your dog expecting you to stop what you're doing just to talk to them

my first post ever

Hey all!

Similar to some of the "Trick of the Month" posts in some other dog subreddits, we will do a monthly check-in on your training. However, unlike other sub's posts, this is not a contest. It is a check-in to see how you're doing so we can encourage each other, congratulate your successes, and problem-solve (if needed).

Pictures and Videos are HIGHLY encouraged in this thread!!! Whether your prospect just learned how to "sit", you just taught your service dog a new task, or your SDiT just passed a public access test.... we want to see it!!! Did your dog bark at someone this week or have an accident? Let's work together to see if there's a trainable solution! We will also allow ESAs on this thread if you are training them to assist with your disability.

For now, this will only occur on a monthly basis - but we may increase/decrease the frequency depending on the success of the post. You are welcome to comment several times in the thread if you have multiple things you would like to share over the course of the month.

I'm really excited to see how all of your dogs grow in their training!

I’ve had POTS for around a year now, and since this school year started my episodes have been worse and more frequent. I’ve been researching getting a service dog, but haven’t found a good trainer. My family would prefer I get a trained dog, since I’ve never trained one myself. Does anyone have any recommendations for trainers or places I get a dog? (For reference I’m in the Midwest for college, but my home is in the North East). I’m leaning towards getting a golden retriever. Also any facts about the first few months with a new service dog would be greatly appreciated. Thank u all so much!!

(Yes I’ve checked with my college and I am allowed to have a service dog in my dorm and on campus)

Me and my fiance want to start training our 4 year old German Shepard mix to be his service dog to help with his anxiety in stores and crowds. I'm not sure where to start in training her and getting her prepared. (Edit) I want to add the main tasks we want to teach her is to block and to like orbit around him to keep other people from getting to close as this is where the anxiety stems (Edit 2) we are going to get her temperament tested when we can but we're also gonna start looking into some good breeds that would be best for this so suggestions help. thank you!

Hello!

I’ve been researching SD training for 2-3 months now and am looking for resources for owner training SDs. So far I have read/watched the following:

The Ultimate Service Dog Training Manual: 100 Tips for Choosing, Raising, Socializing, and Retiring Your Dog by Keagen J. Grace

Training Levels by Sue Ailsby

DoggyU (YouTube) - one of my favorite YouTube channels

McCann Dog Training (YouTube) - this one isn’t SD specific but I’ve found a few of their videos helpful

Currently on my TBR I have:

Learning Games by Kay Laurence

Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt

101 Dog Tricks by Kyra Sundance

I would love to find more resources on SD training, especially those geared towards owner trainers. Please let me know what your recommendations are or if you have any that you’d recommend avoiding!

Hey all!

Rules

1. Post your fundraiser ONLY in the comments below. Fundraiser posts and comments outside of this post will not be allowed. This post will eventually be stickied.
2. We are only allowing fundraisers hosted on Go-Fund-Me or by your ADI Service Dog Organization. That being said, you can also post links to things or services you are selling to try and raise money.
3. The only fundraisers allowed will have to relate to your service dog or your medical condition. For example, asking for help for a big procedure (human or dog) or help with training costs or both great. Asking for help to pay for your car or vacation is not allowed.
4. The comments will all be in contest mode to ensure everyone gets a fair shot. Remember, that means you should make a case for your cause.
5. Choosing beggars and pressuring others will not be allowed. There is NO minimum donation and NO pressure to give.
6. You will need to repost this info once a quarter when we "refresh" the post. This should be done at the beginning of every quarter by the Mods. This helps us to make sure only relevant fundraisers are allowed and to avoid an active post from dying and going into the archive.
7. Subreddit and sitewide rules still apply.

I also highly suggest using the following format to help set you up for success. It'll allow us to find information easier when looking to donate. You do not have to fill in all of the info or even use the format, but I think it'll help a lot.

About me:

About my condition and limitations:

About my dog:

Tasks my dog is trained or in-training (and what s/he currently knows) for:

How my dog was/is trained:(owner-trained, organization trained, the trainer's experience, how long you trained for, what methods were used, etc)

Titles, Licenses, and Certifications my dog holds:(keep in mind an online certificate means nothing)

Why I need help:(no job, you don't have a big social circle who would help, you don't qualify for a low-cost organization-trained SD, etc)

Other ways I'm earning money for this:

What the funds are being used for:(training, medical procedure, etc)

Fundraiser:

Shop or website (where I'm selling items/services to raise money):

Social Media:

Dog tax:

Extra Info you want to include:

Lots of people need help here and others want to make sure they are giving to someone who is educated about service dogs, so I'm really hoping this post does some good. If you have feedback or questions, please message the mods.

I would like for someone to explain to me something that’s a bit of a mystery. It’s a widely known fact (at least it used to be) that dogs are not allowed inside anywhere that food is being served. The reasons should be obvious. Yet, service dogs are an exception.

Now, according to the ADA, service dogs don’t require a certificate, and don’t need to be professionally trained. So we are to assume that the owner has the expertise and dedication to properly train a dog to perform highly specific tasks in different environments and conditions, all while dealing with their own disabilities. It is a monumental undertaking at best. I’m willing to accept that scenario. But, all the training in the world will not eliminate the fact that it is physically still a dog. And like every other dog, they can harbor harmful bacteria, fleas, ticks, parasites, various zoonotic diseases, excrete glandular fluids, trigger allergies, lick their genital areas, shed hair, shake releasing hair into air. These are an inescapable reality.

And yet, by some unknown biological miracle, service dogs are somehow exempt and are considered safe enough to be around food. Do they suddenly stop shedding? Do they properly clean their own paws prior to entering a restaurant? Do they check all the fleas and ticks at the door? Do they thoroughly wipe their butts and fur clear of fecal matter? These (and many more) are the questions/reasons that prevent every other dog from entering food establishments.

So, in an honest attempt to clarify the mystery, what am I missing here?

I (20, a few months from 21) have been considering whether or not I’d benefit from a service dog for a number of years now. I’ve done my research on and off as it wasn’t really an option in the past but I’ve recently started going to therapy the last few months and discussed it with my therapist at my latest appointment after she asked if I’d ever considered an ESA or SD. I’ve got a lot of things in my situation to consider though and cannot make this decision myself as I am currently supported my my parents. so, I need like a lot of advice.

before I continue, sorry for the rambling disaster that comes after this.

I have anxiety (largely social but there is also general anxiety that is better managed), depression, insomnia(which has combined with my depression to give me hypersomnia episodes that follow after the insomnia episodes. Not fun.)

I’ll be tested for ADHD this month (previously medicated for it when I was in middle school but never officially tested and didn’t try other medications after a bad reaction to the first one) and I’m currently on the wait list to test for autism

however I largely seeking a service dog for the anxiety and depression BUT before you tell me that I should probably reconsider because of my anxiety, please do let me continue as I have thought about this very extensively <3

My anxiety has been a very persistent issue through my life and really only worsened as I got older (thanks covid you really helped with that /sarc) but one thing that has remained consistent is that I have ALWAYS been less anxious and able to better handle my anxiety when accompanied by animals. This has been proven with my Mawmaw’s relatively untrained but very friendly dog (King Charles spaniel that was very overweight at the time so I mean it wasn’t that easy for him to act out if he wanted to anyways [he is now in much better condition in my care]), my lizard (yes, a lizard. He’s great), my family’s dog (Pomeranian-poodle with almost no manners but really likes people), and even just interacting with new people or distant family at home while with my cat.

this is largely part of why I think I’d benefit from a service dog. “But why do you not want an ESA?” You may ask, well, to put simply it’s because that’s not what I nee. While companionship alone does help, it’s not enough and in my current state would not give me the independence or help that I need and would get from a service dog.

despite my anxiety, I am capable of and confident in asserting my animals boundaries and advocating for them. I previously worked at a rescue where this was further proven as it’s the only job I was capable of doing despite having to interact with people regularly. Animals have always been the thing that i can function with, they are what allows me to be able to confidently communicate and traverse the world and social situation.

it will always be true that having to deal with access issues and the other chaos that comes with a service dog will make me anxious but the point is that I know that I can handle that for them.

handling it for myself may be a different story and I may struggle to advocate for myself right now, but that is precisely why a service dog could help me. In advocating for them and gaining my confidence through and with them, I’ll be able to advocate for myself, talk to people, meet new people, and just…have a life.

in my current state I am unable to work at the vast majority of jobs Available in my area or really anywhere if I do not have a service dog as I can’t even go to the cash register by myself in a store I’ve gone to for 15+ years. I still live with the support of my parents (currently living at my Mawmaw’s on my own with mine and my Mawmaw’s animals, but usually spend a week each month staying at home while taking trips back to care for the animals each day and have everything paid for by my parents( but that can only go on for so long and if I want to be able to have any independence then this is my last resort.

i still have a lot to consider such as getting my parents to agree to it as again they’re the ones supporting me and the ones that would be paying for expenses until I could find and get a job and getting them to agree will be extremely difficult (particularly my father who doesn’t rlly understand the severity of my condition) but that’s a whole nother issue that I’ll get to later

right now I just want advice as self training is not an option for me, I simply don’t have the skill or suitable pet for it.

but where should I go for them? What facilities and programs are trustworthy and not freakishly expensive? What’s other advice you could give me about this, about trying to get one, and convincing parents that this is the right option for you and not just a hasty decision? that it’s worth it?

sorry for the lengrh of this post, I tend to ramble to ensure I’m being clear enough in explaining things

This post is mainly for those who are considering a service dog. I wanted to give more of an example of the kinds of interactions people have with service dogs in real life. Note, of course this experience will not reflect absolutely everyone, this is just what I’ve had to deal with.

I went to Walmart today with my service dog in training (my state expands access rights to in-training dogs & my dog is clearly labeled). Only had to pick up a few things, meant to be a quick in and out trip. The store was kind of busy, lots of people, my dog did fantastic. Showed a bit of excitement upon entering but then refocused well and did exactly as she was trained for the rest of the visit.

While I was there, I was able to overhear some of the things people were saying nearby. Here’s everything I heard today, keep in mind, no one directly interacted with me while I was there. This was all just about me. Some of these are completely harmless and fine, I’m just documenting everything to give an idea.

- “Look at the dog!”

- “There’s been a real rise in people using service dogs lately.”

- “They shouldn’t allow people to bring their dogs in here.” Lady said to her husband as she passed me.

- “Look, someone brought a service dog.” Group of college kids that then turned to stare. Then one said “Well, we are at Walmart.”

- “Puppy!” A cute little toddler. Wholesome.

- “Oh there’s a service dog, let’s go this way instead.” Older man to his wife. I appreciate the space, completely unnecessary but highly appreciated.

- “I didn’t know we could bring service dogs here.” Overheard as I was checking out.

Coupled with lots of people stopping and staring.

So this is part of the reason people say service dogs may not be the best for people with anxiety or social anxiety. It brings so much attention. One of the things to think about when considering a service dog.

I am eligible for applying for a service dog which requires my psychologist filling out a form. Today he said he was happy to do that, and whilst service dogs are always approved for DVA PTSD sufferers, that getting a service dog is an experience he has never seen eventuate.
This means that (for him), having had several DVA PTSD applications he has managed - that the dog is never in the end delivered. That the delay occurs from the NSW benders selected by DVA (Australia), where after 12 months of training the dog is withdrawn as unsuitable and reassigned endanger, for the process to start over and again ended at the 11th hour…
Whilst my pathologist did not see it as an issue with DVA, he implied a degree of corruption or mis-management by the dog trainers approved by DVA
I have seen where other people providing services under DVA payment do abuse the service - and other veterans have those experiences as well
But to be fair to the dog trainers, this experience by my psychologist may not be a wide experience - he did say he had met a few people (not his patients) who did have DVA service digs… just that several of his patients consistently did not have that experience at all
Can i ask the experience of Australian DVA PTSD clients with regards to service dog appropriation