Dog Jobs: Categories of Working Dogs and How They can Support Mental Health

By: Andie Stallman, M.A.

Dogs have provided comfort, protection, and entertainment for centuries. Their utility in mental health, however, wasn’t publicly recognized until the late 1800s when a psychiatric hospital nurse shared her observations of small animals helping reduce patients’ anxiety. Since then, animal-assisted therapies have emerged and evolved. There are three main classifications for dogs that support mental health in an official capacity: service dogs, emotional support dogs, and therapy dogs. While often clumped together, there are distinctions in their training, privileges, and unwritten rules for interacting with them in public.

Service Dogs:

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service dogs are specifically trained to perform duties that support someone with a disability. For example, a seeing-eye dog is taught specific skills to help a handler with impaired vision move through the world, such as how to guide their handler through street crossings safely. Dogs can also be trained to support people with mental health conditions that impact their day-to-day functioning. Psychiatric service dogs (PSDs) can be trained to detect psychiatric episodes in patients with schizophrenia or dissociative disorders, guide their handler to safety during a psychiatric event, and retrieve medications.

PSDs are highly trained and, like other service dogs, are incredibly important to their handler's well-being and safety. As such, service dogs have the most privileges out of the three categories and, per the ADA, cannot be denied access to public spaces and transportation. Additionally, they should not be approached, nor should you attempt to interact with them while they are working, as indicated by a vest they wear showing they are on duty with their handler. This ensures that they are able to do their job to the best of their ability and keep their person safe.

For more information on the myriad of duties psychiatric service dogs can do and how to get one, check out the US Service Animals website.

Emotional Support Dogs:

Emotional support dogs also support a single person. However, unlike service dogs, they are not trained to perform specific tasks. Instead, emotional support animals are prescribed by a mental health professional to help ameliorate feelings of anxiety, loneliness, depression, or some phobias. They are considered companions and have the fewest privileges when it comes to public spaces. Businesses, housing complexes, and transportation services are legally allowed to deny access to these animals. However, some mandates require residential spaces to accommodate emotional support animals.

For more information on what emotional support dogs do, their privileges, and how to acquire one, check out the American Kennel Club (AKC) Emotional Support Animals page.

Therapy Dogs:

Therapy dogs are not trained to work with specific people or perform tasks. Instead, these dogs and a handler (often their owner) are trained and certified to work together to volunteer in spaces where they may be able to bring comfort or emotional support, such as senior living facilities and hospitals. In this group, it is not the dog’s handler that is the target for mental health support, but rather patrons of the spaces to which the dog is invited. Certified therapy dogs must be comfortable interacting with strangers and navigating unfamiliar settings, so they often have a calmer temperament and are well-trained with basic commands such as sit and heel (as opposed to the more specialized skills that service dogs can do). Their handler is trained to recognize when their dog is stressed or overwhelmed so they can leave the space if necessary to ensure the dog, its handler, and those interacting with them are safe.

Since it is their job to provide comfort to the community rather than their specific handler while on duty, it is encouraged to go up to and interact with them while they are working. However, be mindful of how you enter the interaction by asking their handler first and approaching slowly and calmly. Like service dogs, they will often be in a vest or in a designated space for the visiting therapy animals.

Outside of their hours volunteering as a therapy dog, they are their handler’s pet and, therefore, do not have legal rights to public spaces under the American Disabilities Act.

For more information on certifying your dog as a Therapy Dog, check out the Alliance of Therapy Dogs website or the AKC Therapy Dog program page.

References

Milton Academy, & Fung, A. (2024). The Rich History and Evolution of Animal-Assisted Therapy. Journal of Alternative, Complementary & Integrative Medicine, 10(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.24966/ACIM-7562/100443

Psychiatric Service Dogs | What They Do & How They Help. (2019, June 17). US Service Animals Blog. https://usserviceanimals.org/blog/psychiatric-service-dogs/

Reisen, J. (2024, April 8). Service, Working, Therapy, Emotional Support Dogs: Which Is Which? American Kennel Club. https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/service-working-therapy-emotional-support-dogs/

Pictures of: Daisy Stallman, Pet Partners Certified Therapy Dog