Before embarking on the rewarding journey of getting a service dog, it’s important to carefully consider your lifestyle and needs to see if a service dog is even right for you. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
Disability related needs: What specific tasks would a service dog help you with? Are you looking for mobility assistance, psychiatric disabilities, or something else?
Lifestyle compatibility: Do you have an active lifestyle or a more lowkey routine? Service dogs require regular training and exercise, so ensuring compatibility with your lifestyle is crucial. If you aren’t very active, that’s okay! Just make sure to consider that in your breed choice.
Financial commitment: Service dogs require food, veterinary care, training, and often gear. Are you prepared for the ongoing financial responsibility?
Living situation: Do you have a living space that can accommodate a dog? While service dogs and ESAs have housing rights, this is NOT an absolute. Your SD/ESA *can be denied* under certain circumstances where it’s considered an unreasonable accommodation, such as the landlords insurance going up due to breed, or the space not being appropriate for the animals (like if you’re trying to keep 4 great danes in a 250sq ft apartment).
Time commitment: Service dogs require regular training and socialization. Are you prepared to dedicate the time necessary to maintain your dog’s skills? This is a job all on its own.
The public: How much do you like being inconvenienced or having people be invasive or rude? What about having entrance to a store blocked when you’re in a hurry? This is your new reality with a service dog. Having a “fab 4” breed will decrease this, but it won’t go away. People stare. They ask wildly inappropriate questions. You get stopped every 10 feet. Employees tell you to leave/that you can’t come in even when your dog is beautifully trained and has a right to be there (illegal, but they rarely know that). One day I timed it, it took me over an hour to buy half a gallon of milk. Just the milk. Admittedly, I have an off breed so this happens to me more than someone working a golden, but it is not exclusive to uncommon breeds.
In addition to these questions, here are other considerations:
Researching service dog organizations: Look for reputable organizations with experience in training dogs for your specific needs. *I do not give organization recommendations and will only tell you where to start looking, as I have no personal experience with these programs outside of failed clients coming to me for help. It’s a very biased view*. This will be by far the most expensive route unless you can find a charity (generally $15k-$25k).
Exploring owner training: If you choose owner-training, be prepared to invest significant time and effort in learning how to train a service dog. We offer an affordable monthly service for training your own service dog, which can be found at Ko-Fi.com/painteddogtrainingco
Public access rights: Familiarize yourself with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations regarding service dogs in public places. You will need to know them inside and out.
Getting a service dog is a life changing decision, whether it goes well or poorly. By carefully considering these factors, you can ensure that you’re making the best choice for yourself and your potential future service dog in training! There is NO SHAME in deciding a service dog isn’t the right tool to mitigate your disability/disabilities.
