8 Types of Service Dogs & How to Get One

Dogs are not “just” our beloved family companions, their skills and carefulness make them perfect for assisting people with disabilities and mental health issues.

The most popular service dog is probably the guide dog but there are in fact 8 different types of service dogs that we will discuss now.

1. Allergy Alert Dogs (AAD)

These service dogs are perfect for handlers with severe and deadly allergies like gluten, peanuts, and shellfish.

The dogs are able to sniff these allergens in food and alert the owner.

They may also wear vests that are filled with medication in case of an attack. I can only recommend this harness for your service dog.

It has a huge imprint, reflective patches, and bag that you can use to store the medication or any other information that we will talk about later.

Retrievers and German Shepherds are usually selected for this type of work.

2. Mobility Assistance Dogs

Large breeds are well known to execute different tasks as mobility assistance dogs.

They are strong enough to pull a wheelchair, carry body weight, open doors, and bring objects when asked.

3. Autism Service Dogs

Services dogs for children and adults with autism perform physical as well as psychiatric tasks.

On one hand, they offer comfort to their handler in stress and on the other they perform daily tasks and can even keep children from running away.

They often carry vests with contact and emergency information.

4. Diabetic Alert Dogs (DAD)

Diabetic alert dogs are able to scent the smallest change in a human’s blood sugar. He can determine if it is too high or too low before it sets to a critical level.

The owners then know that they should check their blood and inject insulin or consume glucose if needed.

5. Hearing Dogs

These dogs are specifically trained to alert their hearing-impaired owner of important noises.

They will signal their owner the noise and will lead him into the direction. Thus noises can include, ringing at the door, hearing their name and alarms like car honks.

6. Seizure Response Dogs

The training of a seizure response dog doesn’t always include alerting a coming seizure although they often learn that over time.

They are taught to respond to a seizure by keeping the owner safe, retrieving medication, getting help from people and setting off alarms.

7. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Service Dogs

People who experienced a dramatic event in their life may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

A PTSD service dog can provide its owner with comfort and security to cope with daily life. They will keep them calm and can even remind them to take their medication.

8. Guide Dogs

Guide dogs are often Golden Retrievers or Labs and might be the oldest form of service dog.

The mostly help visually impaired people to get around obstacles and can alert them if something is in their way.

They often have special handles around their harness so their owners can have a good grip when being led.

Recommended Reading: Specialized Training Types Explained!

How to Get a Service Dog

Depending on the type of service animal you want to get, there will be different steps that you need to take.

Service Dogs – Service dogs are specifically trained to perform certain tasks that hugely benefit the lives of their owners.

Only dogs are legally considered service animals and are the only ones trained to perform this service.

You will need to get a written document from your psychiatrist or doctor where your mental or physical condition is clearly stated.

The service dog’s training will be tailored to your specific condition.

It’s usually not recommended to train a service dog on your own. Instead, it’s common practice to reach out to agencies that specialize in training them and have certifications or other accreditations.

Emotional Support Animals ESA – Usually cats and dogs are used as ESAs but it certainly can be any animal.

You will need a signed letter from a psychiatrist or therapist stating that you are suffering from a mental health condition.

An emotional support animal doesn’t need specific training and was mostly allowed on airlines (Air Carrier Access Act ACAA) but recently, most airlines have put regulations in place to avoid the misuse of this policy. ESAs may be allowed in apartments with a “no pet” policy (Fair Housing Act FHA).

But ESAs are not allowed in public places where pets are prohibited.

Psychiatric Service Dog PSD – It is not easy to identify if you will need to get a PSD or an ESA as their tasks are quite similar.

Issues a PSD usually helps people with include but are not limited to PTSD, anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia.

If you mainly are searching for a companion and you can go about your daily life on your own, then an ESA might be a more suitable choice.

How Much Does a Service Animal Cost?

A service dog is not cheap but there are also agencies that provide them for free to people who are financially not capable to pay for them.

“Free” doesn’t mean that no one had to pay for them.

Usually, a group of people has to do the fundraising and the waitlists for completely funded dogs are very long.

This is why a partial payment would help to fundraise more dogs and you would be able to receive your dog quicker.

One service dog may cost an agency $40,000-$60,000 including food, medical bills, and training.

So if you are choosing a partial payment plan it may “only” cost you about $20,000.

How Long Does it Take to Train a Service Dog?

The answer to this question depends on a lot of factors but you can expect that it will take about 2 years to train a service dog yourself.

You will need to take a few questions into consideration:

• How old is your dog?
• What is his current training level and how fast does he learn and adapt to new things?
• Does he have some behavior problems that will need to be worked on before?
• Do you have a lot of experience in dog training and handling?
• What are you training your dog for or what is your training goal?

Do you have a service dog or know someone who has one? What are their daily tasks and how do they solve them? Let me know in the comments.

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Disclaimer: This blog post does not substitute veterinary attention and does not intend to do so. I am not a veterinarian or pet nutritionist. If your dog shows any sign of illness, call your vet.