# Training a puppy to be a psychiatric service dog?



## Nicola55 (Apr 27, 2016)

I live in the UK and unfortunately psychiatric assistance dogs aren't recognised as official service dogs. I'm hopefully getting my pup in September. 

I have anxiety and panic attacks and I think just having a dog will help but I would like to train him to be an assistance dog as well. Has anyone done this on their own or can you point me in the direction of a UK organisation that might help me? 

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## gabila66 (Jul 12, 2016)

I unfortunately am not in the UK. But I brought home my pup 2 months ago. He will be training as a service dog. So far we are signing up for classes that will cover all the basics before we move on to the next level. He will be working with on Anxiety attacks as well.

Having Fitz around has helped me a lot. I had trouble getting out of bed and going outside to take a walk as a form of exercise, but with Fitz I have no choice. I don't know about your situation, but I am able to stay at home and work with him a lot. It definitely is a lot of hard work and you should definitely have some support to help get you through it. I've only had him for two months but he has changed a lot around here. He just makes me feel a lot better, I don't know how to explain it. I'm not saying he has improved me drastically but he has definitely changed how I see to my day to day.


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## TexasTom (Aug 6, 2016)

One thing to keep in the back of your mind is "what if my puppy doesn't want to become a service dog?".

Large organizations will work with local rescue groups, as drop out for Service Dogs is about 50%. Keep in mind might be a fantastic dog who is great with a family, but was more interested in being a lap dog that being in public.

With owner trained service dogs the numbers are lower. From puppy to adult Service Dog is about 12%. Yes, 1 in 8 make it. I had a friend whose dog did fantastic, but can not handle the stress of a shopping mall on a busy day. Catch is you need a Service Dog to handle every possible scenario, and it takes a lot of work and dedication.

With CCI, Canine Companions for Independence, they charge about $9000 in fees. A friend thought that was outrageous, but I pointed out that with my Golden - she has already passed good Canine Citizenship test for Public Access, but it will be another 120 hours of training with a certified professional trainer ($80 an hour, California rates are higher!). For every hour we spend 1 on 1 with a trainer, there is a good five hours of work (reinforcement). It is worth it as I am regaining some independence and being more active is a good thing.


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## SueD (Dec 7, 2016)

If you are still looking for owner trained service dog info please contact me. It very much can be done with the hekp of an experianced trainer. There are support groups for this very thing! Good luck!!



Nicola55 said:


> I live in the UK and unfortunately psychiatric assistance dogs aren't recognised as official service dogs. I'm hopefully getting my pup in September.
> 
> I have anxiety and panic attacks and I think just having a dog will help but I would like to train him to be an assistance dog as well. Has anyone done this on their own or can you point me in the direction of a UK organisation that might help me?
> 
> Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk


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