I want to use my dog as a psychiatric service dog. She is trained (by me) to fetch my anxiety med bag if I’m in panic attack. She (if not in my arms) will stand between a stranger and I to help keep me calm. She does not become aggressive unless I am threatened (as in someone is going to physically hurt me). She also knows the sit/stay command as well as lie down. I can take her to a public area (where dogs are allowed) and she does not sniff unless I tell her to go potty. Basically she is a good dog. I have taught her well.
I have panic anxiety disorder, PTSD, depression, as well as a dissociative disorder. She helps keep me calm when I am able to take her with me.
I was wondering how do I go about getting her certified/licensed as a service dog?
Normally if I am going out I use a carrier for her (as she is a chihuahua dachsaund).
So what would I need to do exactly to be able to use her as a service dog in public is my main question? I am assuming she has to have certification or licensure (as in some form of official ID).
I have become knowledgeable about PSD compared to ESA and she would be used as a PSD.
I’m also legally blind. She also alerts me to someone outside my home (as I cannot see them), She helps me to cross a street safely as well. If she is in a carrier she will paw my hand if someone approaches so I am aware of it. Otherwise she holds a stand/stay posture facing me in order to stay between me and the stranger approaching. Once they speak I tell her sit and she does.
Posted in Dog Bags | 
Tags: Chihuahua, depression, dissociative disorder, dogs, panic anxiety disorder, posture, psd, psychiatric service, stranger
How is she going to retrieve your medication when you are out in public and she is in a carrier? I can understand fetching something like that when you are at home and wouldn’t necessarily carry something like that with you all the time, but when you are out, you’re going to have to carry it with you or it won’t be there when you need it. If you’re carrying it already, then what do you need her to do for you about it that you cannot do for yourself? And how would she do it from inside a carrier?
Alerting you to someone outside your home is something else you won’t need in public, only at home.
How does she help you cross the street? You’re talking about a pretty small dog, especially if you are used to carrying her. She’s also really small for doing blocking work. She’s more likely to get trampled when someone approaches and doesn’t notice her than to stand as a physical barrier someone has to notice and either stop or go around. How do you intend making this work? You see someone approach, take her out of the carrier, put her on the ground, and this is supposed to stop them from coming close? Honestly, carrying a dog around is going to attract a whole lot more people to approach you because of the novelty. More than you can reasonably expect to be halted by a tiny dog being in their path.
If you live in a state that gives extra protections to a person with a disability who needs a service dog, then you’ll have to apply through your state for that license, usually through animal control. If you really want her certified, you’ll have to find a program with a qualified evaluator to test you. This is hard to do because few people want to certify a dog they’ve known for only a few hours and in a few discrete circumstances. They primarily certify dogs from their own programs that they’ve already observed in training for over a year before they are formally tested. Certification is primarily a test to see if the partnership between the new owner and the dog they trained is going to work effectively. It’s not required under the ADA.
I’m a person familiar with disabilities, with service dogs, with psychiatric disabilities, with ESAs and with PSDs. I’m having difficulty following exactly what it is you expect this dog to do for you in the circumstances you describe with what you say she is trained to do. Ask yourself: if a person who is very familiar with this field is looking quizically at you, how would a total stranger who knows little or nothing about mental illness or service dogs be likely to react to your claims? Under the ADA, disability and whether a dog is a service dog is something that ultimately only a judge can determine. Very few judges know more than the general public about mental illness or service dogs. In otherwords, they amount to a stranger on the streets such as I have described above. What would you say and do to convince such a person you were legitimately disabled and your dog was legitimately trained to do something for you that you cannot do for yourself because of your disability? This isn’t something I or anyone else here can answer for you, but it is something that you need to discuss with your psychiatrist, who needs to be willing to testify in court that you are disabled by severe mental illness and that a service dog is necessary to mitigate your disability.
I hope you do understand that businesses are unlikely to take you seriously with a small dog in a carrier as a service dog. There are far too many people with purse dogs or tiny dogs they use as fashion accessories a la Paris Hilton and the tendency when someone claims a small dog as a service dog is to assume they are lying to take their dog where dogs are not permitted. Expect more confrontations about public access than those with more traditional dogs experience.
In all honesty, I think the situation you are describing is going to create a lot more anxiety than you experience now because of the increased contact with people and because of the increased frequency of confrontations.
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If you’re legally blind, why not get an actual guide dog? You can get a fully trained guide for $150 from the Seeing Eye in about four months (that’s their current waiting list). Then you’d have a legitimate service dog, fully trained, that can do a lot more than the one you have.
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"SARA" (mentioned by one answerer) is one of several businesses that sell FAKE certification. Note that they never evaluate the animal at all. If you say it’s a service animal, they’ll certify it, regardless of whether it is a dog, a spider, or a goldfish. Their "certification" means nothing and is recognized by no one. Might as well print out your own certification on your home computer and save the $40 for all it’s worth.
forget it, she only cares for you.
(((( bisaya style ))))
If you’re legally blind, why don’t you get a guide dog from a program and add on other tasks yourself after completing team training? There are dozens of programs in the USA, one of them is bound to be able to work with you. I’m confused about why you would want a dog to alert you to people approaching, but not assist you with obstacle negotiation. I’ve been legally blind for 10 years and it’s a lot easier to hear a person approaching than to hear a lamppost I’m about to crash into. If you’re having trouble crossing streets, can you contact your rehabilitation counselor to see if you can get some additional O&M training?
Go ahead! Register your dog as a PSD! Bwa ha ha ha haaaaaaa!
There IS no such thing as a certificaton or registration of SD’s in the whole USA!!!!! Only SCAMS who get rich off of wannabees like you who are seeking attention taking your cutesie pet everywhere! Somehow you get your attention seeking needs met by posing as person with a disability and demanding what you aren’t legally entitled to have! I just think you are co-dependent with your dog.
You claim you’re blind. Then go get a guide or leader dog. Obviously there is something real fishy about you and your story. Or that is just what you would have done. You obviously "see" and get along very well not even using a cane!
A diagnosis of a mental illness or a behavioral condition in no way indicates disability. Keeping a person calm, or any type of aggression is not a SD task….. or anything close.
Why can’t you keep your meds with you? You carry a purse! Just take the dog out and put the meds in!
Besides! Who on earth is going to pay any attention with a purse puppy standing between you and anyone else? LOL
I sure wold love to see that harness on your pet when it is helping you across the street! ROFL!
I’m also in the process of getting a PSD. You don’t have to have any certifications other than a letter from your doctor/therapist that you have a mental illness and need a dog to help you out (find the PSD website for more info). Your dog does not need any certification, but SHOULD be basic obedience trained, and they are legally required to know at least one TASK to help you (licking face when getting a panic attack, leading you out if you are in an uncomfortable situation, bracing themselves between you and another person if you have space issues, etc. Using a company that claims that they "certify" your dog as a service dog is actually just a money maker on their part and is completely unnecessary. That said, it’s a very good idea to work with a trainer and have the dog work on the Canine Good Citizen test and the Public Access Test. A trainer can provide documentation that your dog passed these things so that if you are ever in a situation (i.e. a business calls the cops b/c they dont’ believe you really need a service dog) you will have proof that you do (along with your therapist’s letter). Best of luck!