Service Dogs for Anxiety: How to Get a Service Dog for Anxiety

What Are Service Dogs for Anxiety?

A service dog for anxiety is a dog that is trained to give support for those struggling with anxiety. People with anxiety may have a therapy dog or emotional support animal to help decrease the symptoms associated with their condition, and to recognize when symptoms are becoming severe, such as in the case of panic attacks or physical effects such as headaches or high blood pressure.¹

Service dogs are specifically trained to provide assistance and support, and often play a major role in assisting individuals with various disabilities, including diabetes, epilepsy, and other medical concerns. They are even used for helping symptoms of mental health conditions like PTSD and anxiety, especially for those who struggle to alleviate symptoms.²

What an Anxiety Service Dog Can Do for You

Service dogs are one option for those who struggle with anxiety, as their presence helps to reduce anxiety symptoms, and many are trained to intervene during mental health emergencies.

Common tasks a therapy dog for anxiety can provide include:

• Detecting signs of an anxiety or panic attack before it happens
• Fetching water and medication during an anxiety attack
• Leading you to a safe space to sit down
• Alert to blood sugar or blood pressure emergencies³
• Bringing your insulin or glucose tabs during a blood sugar emergency
• Improve pain and help with recovery following surgery⁴
• Improve socialization by decreasing social anxiety⁵
• Recognizing the signs of a seizure and directing the person to safety
• Calming anxiety symptoms during flights or other stressful events
• Some dogs are even trained to call for emergency support when needed

Benefits of Service Dogs for Anxiety

Service dogs can be specifically trained to assist individuals with anxiety. The types of tasks and support they provide include sensing and responding to anxiety attacks, providing physical comfort, and performing tasks that reduce anxiety symptoms or anxiety triggers.

Some benefits of having a therapy dog for anxiety include:

• Stress relief: Having pets can reduce stress and anxiety, and even speed up recovery from medical or physical issues⁵
• Improved self-confidence:  The presence of service animals has been shown to improve their owners or handlers self-confidence⁵
• Increased happiness: Not surprisingly, animals increase feelings of happiness in those around them
• Reduced feelings of isolation and loneliness:  The presence of an animal can decrease feelings of loneliness, which help alleviate mental health symptoms
• Increased physical activity:  Those who have a dog walk an average of two and a half hours each week due to taking the dog outside and other activities⁶
• Improved sobriety: Did you know that service animals can help promote sobriety in those who are struggling not to use certain substances?²
• Improved relaxation: Having a service dog can help with feelings of relaxation and stress relief
• Improved sleep: Co-sleeping with a dog has been shown to promote sleep, and can even help provide fewer sleep disturbances⁷
• Decreased depression and anxiety: Service dogs help to decrease mental health symptoms of depression and anxiety⁵
• Improved motivation: Having a service dog has shown to promote improved motivation⁵
• Improved sense of responsibility: The presence of an animal who is dependent upon you for their needs can help to promote a sense of responsibility and purpose

How to Get a Service Dog for Anxiety

There are specific ways that someone can go about getting a service dog to help them with anxiety symptoms.  Often the first step is that you will need a documented medical diagnosis of a mental health disorder such as anxiety.

Next, you need documentation showing that a service dog will be necessary for specific tasks or interventions that will help with your specific diagnosis.⁸ For example, someone who struggles with anxiety and has severe panic attacks could show documentation that a dog could help calm them during a panic attack in order to improve safety.

Emotional Support Animal Vs Service Dogs

Emotional support dogs “provide comfort and support in forms of affection and companionship” whereas service dogs have specific training to perform tasks or interventions.⁹

Criteria & Eligibility for an Anxiety Service Dog

There are specific criteria and eligibility requirements for obtaining a service dog for anxiety. The medical documentation needed to show that you meet criteria for specific diagnosis that are listed as a qualified disability benefited by the presence of a service animal.⁹ The legal definition of a disability is “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such an individual.”¹⁰

Finally, there is a necessity of demonstrating that a service dog can effectively assist with the individual’s specific disability-related challenges. These specific challenges are usually required to be documented by a medical or mental health provider.^{8, 9, 11}

Selecting & Training a Service Dog for Anxiety

The process of selecting and training a service dog for anxiety starts with choosing the right breed and temperament for this role. There is no specific dog breed that is required for a service dog role, as it often depends on the desired traits and the availability of fully trained dogs.⁹

The specialized training that service dogs undergo to support individuals with anxiety include being able to act in a specific way to provide safety when they sense an oncoming panic or anxiety attack in their handler/owner, and other anxiety-support activities.¹²

Training Programs & Providers

Service dogs do not need to be professionally trained in a specific program- they can be trained right at home!¹² However, there are options for obtaining a trained service dog, including professional service dog training programs, organizations that specialize in psychiatric service dogs, and the possibility of self-training under guidance.

It is important to know how to identify reputable training providers. Look for a program that is certified, ideally by the American Kennel Club or ADA or another certifiable agency or program.¹²

How Much Does an Anxiety Service Dog Cost?

The financial aspects of obtaining and maintaining a service dog are important to consider. The initial costs of obtaining a trained service dog can range from $15,000 to $30,000.¹³ Ongoing care for the animal such as feeding costs about $500 and up yearly.¹³

Most insurance companies do not pay for service dogs. However, there are some potential funding sources such as charities or nonprofits, but unfortunately these often have long waiting lists.¹³

Legal Rights & Responsibilities for People With Service Dogs

The legal rights and responsibilities of individuals with service dogs include requesting access and following rules in public places such as restaurants and even airports, housing access, and employment under laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

There are also responsibilities of service dog owners, including caring for the animal’s dietary and veterinary needs, being responsible for appropriate training and behavior, and public etiquette.¹²

Other Ways to Cope With Anxiety

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to obtain a service dog due to all the necessary requirements. There are coping tips for people who don’t qualify for a service dog or who just want additional things they can do to cope with anxiety. These tips include mindfulness, ensuring adequate rest, and meditation.

Here are some proactive steps to reduce anxiety:

• Mindfulness: Engaging in mindfulness exercises and grounding techniques for anxiety can help you manage anxiety by bringing your focus to the present moment.
• Meditation: Similar to mindfulness, but more in depth, meditation for anxiety helps manage anxiety by teaching the mind how to tune out external distractions and stimuli.
• Exercise: Engaging in physical activity promotes endorphins and feel good chemicals in the brain. Exercise helps anxiety and may help reduce anxiety symptoms
• Sleep hygiene: Not surprisingly, sleep and anxiety are linked, and improving sleep hygiene can help decrease symptoms of anxiety during the day because you will have better sleep at night.
• Progressive muscle relaxation: By bringing your awareness to your body from your head to your toes using progressive muscle relaxation, you can progressively tense and relax your muscles, allowing the body to relax.
• Adequate rest: Resting the mind and body is essential for managing mental health symptoms. Take time every day for quiet resting to help reduce stress and anxiety.
• Journaling: Many with anxiety struggle with racing or intrusive thoughts, and journaling for anxiety and writing them down can help to get them out, as well as help to organize and decrease them.

Treatment for Anxiety

Whether someone has a service dog for anxiety or not, most people with anxiety benefit from treating the anxiety to reduce symptoms. Therapeutic techniques such as CBT, DBT, and REBT can help.

Some common treatment options for anxiety include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy: CBT, especially CBT for anxiety helps someone reduce anxiety symptoms by learning how to recognize negative thoughts that lead to an increase in mental health symptoms.
• Dialectical behavior therapy: DBT for anxiety helps someone learn skills to reduce distressing emotions associated with stressful events.
• Medication: For those who have tried therapy and still find that their anxiety is distressing, anxiety medication may help. Talk with your provider to see what would be best for your presenting symptoms.
• ACT: Acceptance and commitment therapy for anxiety involves learning how to accept and prepare for negative or stressful thoughts and experiences in order to be less reactive to distressing events.
• Emotional freedom technique: The emotional freedom technique is a tapping technique that involves tapping on specific points on the body in order to alleviate symptoms associated with anxiety or other mental health stressors.
• Ketamine therapy: Ketamine therapy is sometimes used off-label to treat those who suffer from anxiety who have found other methods of relief unsuccessful.¹⁴
• Rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT): REBT helps clients learn how to change their negative and unhelpful beliefs related to stressful events.
• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): EMDR  is good for those whose anxiety stems from a trauma history, as it works to rewire the client’s brain’s response to the traumatic memories.

When to Find Professional Help for Anxiety

If your anxiety is affecting your quality of life, it is time to seek professional help such as finding a therapist  for your anxiety symptoms. Some people may have luck with a mental health app like Noom Mood to manage anxiety. For others, an online therapist directory can be a helpful resource for those looking for in person or online therapy from someone licensed in your area.