Service dogs help people who struggle with mental or physical disabilities. These dogs receive specialized training to help them with a specific issue, which leads to many types of specialized service dogs.
That said, it’s important to get the right service dog for your disability because that will determine how effective the dog is for treatment. For example, you don’t want a small service dog that’s trained for anxiety to help you open doors or push a wheelchair.
Thankfully, understanding the many types of service dogs is a breeze, especially when you can place them in a few categories. Read on to learn more about the types of service dogs and how they can help.
What Is a Service Dog?
Before we dive into the types of service dogs, it’s important to know what a service dog is. This can help you make a choice when it comes to choosing the type of service dog, but it can also help you throughout the training process.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service dog is a dog that’s trained to help someone with a specific task. The ADA also provides examples including:
- Dogs trained to retrieve objects for their owners
- Dogs are trained to lick someone or nudge someone when danger is approaching or if a panic attack is coming
- Dogs trained to prevent or help with seizures
- Dogs that fetch medications for people or remind them to take medications
As you can see, service dogs are tasked with assisting their owners with specific tasks that can improve their disability.
Who Qualifies for a Service Dog?
Before considering the many types of service dogs, it’s important to consider who can qualify for one. The good news is that the ADA is lenient on what constitutes a disability, and there aren’t any specific conditions that make someone eligible or ineligible.
Therefore, you have to start by proving that you have a disability. This can be physical or mental, and it needs to be confirmed by a licensed mental health professional, which can be a therapist (mental health service dogs) or physician (physical disabilities).
Once you have the approval, you need to confirm this with the appropriate organizations in your area and make sure your healthcare provider does the same. From there, you can begin the adoption process and start thinking about the type of service dog you want.
What’s the Difference Between a Service Dog and an Emotional Support Animal?
Emotional support dogs (ESAs) and service dogs are similar but have different roles. Additionally, the ADA does not protect ESAs in the same way that it protects service dogs. To understand the differences it’s important to know what an ESA is.
An ESA is an emotional support animal that provides support for people who have mental health issues. While that may sound similar to a psychiatric service dog, the difference is in the training. For example, service dogs have to be trained or they can’t become service dogs, while ESAs don’t require any training.
ESAs also aren’t protected in public spaces or able to travel with you on airlines unless approved by the airline or the owner of the public space. This may be a person, business, or the government. On the other hand, service dogs are allowed to accompany their owners in these places.
These are the main differences between an ESA and a service dog, but there are also a handful of others. In fact, ESAs can be any type of animal as long as it’s friendly; this is not the case for service animals.
Best Service Dog Breeds
Every breed can be a good service dog. That said, some breeds help more than others for specific tasks, and some breeds are better than others at helping with a specific disability. Thankfully, we can help you choose the appropriate type of service dog for your needs by covering the best service dog breeds for physical and mental health disabilities.
The traits you should look for in a service dog include:
- Mild temperament
- Responsiveness to training
- Emotional intelligence
- Able to form strong bonds
- Low maintenance and clean
Learn more about some of the best options below.
1. Labrador Retrievers
Labrador retrievers have become one of the most popular dog breeds over the last three decades. While they’re the most popular breed as a pet, Labrador retrievers are also one of the best service dog breeds. They’re responsive to commands, clean, intelligent, and big enough to help with physical tasks.
Labrador retrievers also have a calm temperament, and they’re gentle when they’re grabbing things. This makes them ideal for tasks like grabbing medications, opening doors, or grabbing your hand.
2. Poodles
Many people think of a show dog when you mention the poodle but poodles are also perfect for service dog work.
What makes poodles special is their size and intelligence. They’re one of the smartest dog breeds on the planet, and they’re big enough to pull wheelchairs through tough terrain, open doors, and climb counters to open cabinets. What’s more, poodles are emotionally intelligent and can form deep bonds with their companion.
3. Golden Retrievers
The golden retriever is one of the friendliest dog breeds you’ll ever meet. They love their companions and won’t be aggressive with strangers unless they’re in danger.
While golden retrievers are friendly, they’re also responsive to training, and, you guessed it, retrieve items. This makes them the perfect breed for fetching medications, snacks, food, or water for people with physical disabilities. However, they’re also emotionally intelligent and can help with seizure prevention and mental health disorders.
4. German Shepherds
The German shepherd is one of the most popular service dog breeds because they’re great working dogs. They’re the most popular breed for police work, military service, and even tracking or hunting.
That said, German shepherds are also popular for service dog work that requires physical tasks, learning advanced commands, and fetching things. Their size also makes it easy for them to push or pull wheelchairs.
5. Bernese Mountain Dogs
The Bernese mountain dog is one of the best service dogs for physical disabilities. Their large size makes it easy for them to pull wheelchairs through tough terrain, and they’re smart enough to fetch items without damaging them.
Despite their size and appearance, these dogs are also friendly and easy to train. Therefore, they’re a good fit for most types of service dog work. The only drawback is that they might be too large for some spaces.
What Are the Types of Service Dogs for Physical Disabilities?
There are several types of service dogs for physical disabilities. Some dogs help push wheelchairs, help blind people get around, and much more. Learn about the types of service dogs for physical disabilities below.
1. Guide Dogs
One of the most well-known types of service dogs is the guide dog. These dogs are trained to help people who struggle with blindness or impaired vision. They can guide people by ensuring that they stay out of danger and even lead people around.
Guide dogs also help people navigate dangerous obstacles and avoid uneven terrain that can cause them to trip. Service dogs for the blind can also be trained to fetch items, get help for people, and assist with manual tasks.
While guide dogs are popular, some breeds work better than others for guide dogs. The best breeds for guide dogs are usually Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, and poodles. Other intelligence breeds can also work but are less common than the breeds mentioned.
2. Hearing Dogs
People who have problems with hearing may also be eligible for a service dog. These are known as hearing dogs, and they can alert their owners to loud noises or things that should concern them. Examples include alerting owners to noises like crying, alarms, or screaming.
Alerting their owner to these noises can help them assist someone or get to safety. Hearing dogs are usually trained to respond a specific way to a specific noise, which helps the owner identify the noise.
When it comes to hearing dogs, the best breeds are often golden retrievers, Labrador retrievers, and poodles. However, spaniels, terriers, and Chihuahuas can all be hearing dogs. According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), any breed can be a hearing dog as long as it has the proper training, temperament, and responsiveness to noise.
3. Mobility Assistance Dogs
Some physical disabilities will limit someone’s mobility, which makes it hard to navigate the world without some assistance. This is where mobility assistance dogs come into play.
These dogs are trained to help their owners move around. They can perform tasks like pushing a wheelchair, fetching medications, turning on lights, pressing door buttons, and much more. In fact, these dogs can be trained based on the unique needs of the individual.
Mobility assistance dogs are usually assigned to individuals who have trouble moving around, even in their own homes. Conditions like paralysis, arthritis, and brain injuries can be helped with a mobility assistance dog.
The best breeds for mobility assistance service dogs are strong breeds. Dogs need to have the strength possible to push a wheelchair through harsh terrain and enough size to reach a light switch. Golden retrievers, Labrador retrievers, German shepherds, and Bernese mountain dogs are the most popular breeds for mobility assistance.
4. Diabetic Alert Dogs
One of the most unique service dog types is the diabetic alert dog. These dogs are trained to help people who have diabetes by alerting them when their blood sugar is too low or too high.
What makes this impressive is how the dogs are trained to notice the signs of low or high blood pressure. What’s more, diabetic service dogs can often sense when there are changes in blood sugar.
Aside from noticing when blood sugar is low, these dogs are also trained to do physical tasks. They may fetch insulin for their owners, call for help if they can’t treat themselves, and alert other members of the household if there are any issues.
The best breeds for a diabetic service dog vary, but the most common is a Labrador retriever or poodle. Breeds with high levels of emotional intelligence are also a good fit for helping diabetics.
5. Autism Service Dogs
Service dogs for autism are becoming increasingly popular. These dogs are trained to help their owners in social settings and can improve how someone with autism interacts with the world and their peers.
Even without getting into the details of training, having a service dog is an icebreaker. That helps many people with autism start or enter a conversation – one of the biggest things that people with autism struggle with.
That said, autism service dogs also have advanced training that can help them encourage socialization for children with autism.
When brought into educational settings, they can help children with autism connect with their classmates and thrive in social settings. In fact, according to Paws With a Cause, autism service dogs are encouraged in the educational setting because it provides a calm learning experience for the child; this can accelerate learning.
When it comes to dog breeds, it’s important to find dogs that have high levels of emotional intelligence and a lot of friendlessness. The best options include golden retrievers, poodles, beagles, Newfoundlands, and the Bernese mountain dog.
6. Allergy Detection Dogs
Allergies are a minor nuisance in the spring for some but a major problem for others. Thankfully, service dogs can be trained to help with allergies and remove their companions from places or situations where their allergies will be at their worst.
These dogs are often paired with children because allergies usually become more manageable as people age. However, these dogs can remain with their companion well into adulthood.
Allergy detection dogs are trained to notice scents that trigger allergies in their companion. Once they smell the scent, they ensure that the person doesn’t go near it to avoid an allergy attack. Service dogs trained to deal with allergies typically have a vest that contains treatment for allergies like an inhaler, EpiPen, or some other medical devices.
The best breeds for allergy detection are dogs with the best sense of smell and a good temperament. German shepherds, golden retrievers, and terriers make good service dogs for people with allergies.
What Are the Types of Service Dogs for Mental Disabilities?
Service dogs help people with mental health disabilities by applying deep pressure therapy (DTP), preventing/treating panic attacks, and fetching medication or help for their owners. Learn about the types of service dogs for mental health disabilities below.
1. Psychiatric Service Dogs
The psychiatric service dog is the most common type of service dog for people who have mental health disabilities. These service dogs are trained to be responsive to their owner’s warning signs of a panic or anxiety attack.
Psychiatric service dogs are also trained to fetch medications, help people navigate public settings, and get help if someone is having a panic attack. These dogs go through years of training and must have the emotional intelligence necessary to bond and understand their owners.
Unfortunately, this makes psychiatric service dogs one of the hardest breeds to train. This is because they need to respond to their owner, and it’s not just physical commands. They have to pick up on the warning signs of a panic attack or help someone avoid a trigger for conditions like PTSD.
Furthermore, they have to calm the individual down with things like deep pressure therapy.
For these reasons, dogs with great emotional intelligence make the best psychiatric service dogs. In fact, even smaller dogs can function as psychiatric service dogs because size isn’t always as important. The best breeds for this task are Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, poodles, miniature poodles, terriers, and some other breeds.
2. Seizure Alert Service Dogs
One of the most popular types of service dogs is the seizure-alert dog. These service dogs are trained to respond to seizures, and some can even be trained to prevent them from happening.
That said, there is some controversy around these service dogs. This is because there aren’t enough studies to back up dogs being able to understand and respond to seizures. There is also limited data about how dogs can prevent seizures, so keep this in mind.
Still, seizure-alert dogs have become popular and can improve someone’s life. They can move people who have seizures, use a K-9 alert phone, assist with the symptoms of a seizure using deep pressure therapy, and they can bring medicine to their companion.
Seizure alert dogs can also be trained in other ways, but these are some of the most common methods.
The best service dog breed for a seizure-alert dog is one that is emotionally intelligent but large enough to get help, open doors, and reach for medications. Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, poodles, and German shepherds are some of the best breeds for seizure alert purposes.
3. Therapy Dogs
Therapy dogs are similar to emotional support dogs and service dogs and fall right in the middle when it comes to how they’re treated. Therapy dogs are usually assigned to specific locations where they can interact with a group of people who need help with a disability, emotional distress, or sadness.
In fact, therapy dogs have access to locations like schools, hospitals, funeral homes, and some other locations. These dogs also receive some training, and some therapy dogs can be suitable for deep pressure therapy.
That said, therapy dogs don’t have the same protections as service dogs. They can’t go everywhere, and they’re not assigned to one person. They’re more of a unique dog that’s suitable for some situations, but they’re worth mentioning because of their psychological benefits.
Get a Service Dog Today
Whether you need a psychiatric service dog or a service dog for a physical disability, it’s important to understand how each type of service dog can help in unique ways.
You also want to make sure you get the appropriate dog for your condition, or you can end up spending more than $30,000 for no tangible benefits. Unfortunately, it’s challenging, expensive, and time-consuming to retrain a service dog, so you must get the right service dog the first time around.
The good news is that education is powerful. After reading this article, you’re armed with enough knowledge to choose the right type of service dog for your needs. Just make sure you consider your size, needs, and preferences before you get started.