Questions For People Who Already Have A Service Dog

[Peaceful Warrior]

Does anyone currently have a service dog for ptsd that can give me some info? I'm going to get one and have a few questions. Does the dog go everywhere with you? Or can you use it during certain outings? Is it a pet at home or does he or she still work? Etc. Any info is well appreciated.

 

[Teamwork]

I do not have one, but have a puppy right now that I will personally train. Service dogs in ontario where I live are extremely expensive and you need to fundraise to get one plus go for training. My dog that just passed away was a great breed for tuning in to me and he knew when I was going to seizure or stayed calm and cuddled during thunder storms.

 

[Freida]

I've had SD for about 5 years and he's amazing. But he is also a ton of work. Training takes 100s of hours and its on going and It's kind of like travelling with a toddler because you have to always be aware of his needs (food, water, rest breaks, poop bags, blah blah). Plus service dogs attract a LOT of attention, so you have to get used to lots of questions and people staring. Everyone has an opinion. :(

That's the bad side

The good news is that he was a life changer and has helped me get back into the world. :)

If you are in the states service dogs fall under the ADA....he goes where I go except for very limited places (like burn wards).

The first questions I suggest to think about?
Why do you want one? To be a true service dog he has to be trained to a task. for example...one of SDs is to stand in from of me to keep people from bumping into me. What do you want yours to do?

Are you going to get one that is already trained or will you do self training?
Both are options, already trained is expensive, self training is a huge time commitment

If you search the site for "service dogs" there are a ton of threads around here that can help answer most questions about getting one. And I'm happy to answer questions too :)