Psychiatric Service Dogs (PSDs) are specially trained dogs that help to assist their handlers with at least one task. They are different from emotional support animals in that they are granted public access. PSDs are extremely invaluable dogs that assist people with mental illnesses in numerous ways. Some of the things they can be trained to do include alerting to anxiety attacks, providing medical assistance or medication reminders, bringing their owners back to the present, providing a physical barrier for their owner’s personal space, and waking people up from night terrors.
Fully trained service dogs can cost tens of thousands of dollars, even from non-profit organizations. It’s not uncommon for people to train their own service dogs, but you will need some advanced dog training skills. If this doesn’t sound like you, you can use online courses or reputable dog trainers. An Australian study showed that all psychiatric service dogs were trained by the owner, with or without the help of a trainer.
In this article, we will provide some guidelines for molding your perfect assistance dog from puppyhood and discuss what it means to be a psychiatric assistance dog.
The 8 Tips For Training A Psychiatric Service Dog
There are a few ways to go about getting a PSD. Adopting a PSD is one of the easiest ways, but they’re often very expensive, and you can end up being placed on a waiting list. Training one on your own can be one of the most cost-efficient ways, but you must be prepared to spend a lot of time and commitment on training.
1. Find the Right Dog
While it’s possible for any dog breed to become a PSD, certain dog breeds tend to be better candidates than others. This is because they tend to have temperaments that are a better fit for PSD tasks. When looking for a PSD candidate, it’s important to look for dogs that are sociable and sensitive to human emotions. They should also have a calm temperament and not be easily distracted. They should have a good work ethic and be intelligent enough to learn the tasks required.
For dogs needing to perform physical tasks like blocking people, you should consider the dog’s size. While bigger is not always better, it really depends on your goals.
Typical dog breeds that end up being successful PSDs include Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Poodles, Boxers, Great Danes, Border Collies, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Pomeranians, and Portugese Water Dogs.
Since training your service dog is a big investment, you want to ensure your pup is bred for a high standard of health and temperament. You should avoid backyard breeders and instead use a registered breeder, with parents of excellent temperaments, and health screening as advised by The Canine Health Information Center.
2. Good Early Socialization
Now that you have a canine with outstanding potential, you need to raise them into a confident and well-adjusted dog. The critical socialization period in puppies, from ages 3 to 14 weeks, represents a window where your pup is open to new experiences. Once this window closes, your dog can become fearful of new things, unfortunately leading to behavioral problems later in life.
Service dogs need to be comfortable in unfamiliar situations. As pups, you need to expose them to different people, places, car rides, noises, grooming, vet visits, other animals, and everything else you can think of. Most importantly, your pup’s experience should be positive. Negative experiences can leave lasting impressions on puppies, so get out the treats and let your pup’s behavior guide you on how to proceed.
Talk to your vet about safe outings for your puppy, but experts recommend that they meet at least 5 to 10 new people and experience one new area every week. You don’t need to force your dog to interact with other dogs; in fact, it’s better to avoid this unless you know the dog is friendly. Simply tolerating the presence of other dogs is enough for most service dogs.
3. Learn Non-Aversive Training Techniques
Training a service dog can only work through non-forceful techniques. Providing detailed instructions is beyond the scope of this article, but some behavior concepts to learn about, which will help you on this journey, include:
- Positive reinforcement: Giving rewards to reinforce desired behavior
- Negative punishment: Taking away rewards to reduce undesired behavior
- Capturing: Rewarding desired behavior when offered spontaneously
- Luring: Using something your dog naturally follows to achieve a desired behavior
- Shaping: Rewarding closer approximations to a desired complex behavior
- Premack principle: Using a desirable situation to your advantage to reinforce a desired behavior
- Extinction: Fading of non-reinforced behavior over time
- Habituation: Learning not to respond to something with repeated exposure
4. Consistency and Timing
It’s important to have realistic expectations when training your dog to become a PSD. It’s going to take some time for your dog to learn basic obedience skills, pass a General Public Access Test, and learn specific tasks for mental health needs.
Consistency is going to be crucial with training. Training your dog multiple times a day will help them to remember all the things that they’ve been learning more quickly. Make sure also to keep training fun in order to keep your dog interested. Use treats and plenty of praise and other rewards to encourage your dog.
The timing of rewarding your dog is crucial for them to understand which behaviors are desired. If your dog seems bored during training, take breaks and shorten sessions while increasing the frequency throughout the day. Training in different environments and situations helps dogs learn that rules apply everywhere. Keeping a training log can track progress and adjust training as needed. Training for a General Public Access Test is essential for PSDs, as they need to be well-behaved in public spaces. Working with a professional trainer can provide guidance and support in training your PSD. Remember, a service dog needs to be well-behaved, trained for specific tasks, and compliant with laws, but they do not need to be a specific breed or have certifications. Differentiate between PSDs, emotional support animals, and therapy dogs to understand their roles and training requirements. A PSD is trained to provide emotional support to one person rather than multiple individuals. It is important to invest time and patience in training a dog to become a PSD as they can bring amazing help and relief. Finding a dog with the right temperament for the tasks they will need to perform is crucial. Working with a professional dog trainer can help ensure a strong start to the training process. With dedication and consistency, a well-trained PSD can play a vital role in assisting those in need.