# Psychiatric Service Dog needed asap



## Rocky_g (11 mo ago)

Rukhsana Ghouse said:


> Hi everyone!
> 
> I need to get a Psychiatric Service Dog for my daughter.
> 
> ...


We live in Minnesota.


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## Hildae (Aug 15, 2012)

Your very best bet by a loooooong shot is to apply to a bunch of professional programs and wait for a trained dog. Some are for Military, but many are for regular civilians.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

There is no ASAP either way you go.

If you have no experience in raising a golden retriever, including training beyond puppy class, you are better off getting a fully trained adult dog from an organization. Likewise, you need to be less specific about breed if you want sooner vs waiting a very long time.


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## Rocky_g (11 mo ago)

Thank you for your suggestions


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Also- depending on what PSD needs are, an older dog period might be best bet. I'd suggest leaving off the ASAP part and touching base w breeders about washed show dogs, or retired breeding dogs.


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## Rocky_g (11 mo ago)

Prism Goldens said:


> Also- depending on what PSD needs are, an older dog period might be best bet. I'd suggest leaving off the ASAP part and touching base w breeders about washed show dogs, or retired breeding dogs.


Hi Prism Goldens. Can you please explain the part about getting an older dog? What is the reason?

My daughters diagnoses are: Severe depression, OCD, Eating disorders, PTSD, anxiety, amongst others.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

I think the wait for either would be similar. It would take 2 plus years to raise and fully train a puppy, and I think that's a similar time frame to obtain a fully trained dog from an organization. Either way, you won't have a service dog asap.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Rukhsana Ghouse said:


> Hi Prism Goldens. Can you please explain the part about getting an older dog? What is the reason?
> 
> My daughters diagnoses are: Severe depression, OCD, Eating disorders, PTSD, anxiety, amongst others.


So she needs a companion she loves and who can give her comfort, go everywhere with her, be her shadow- to put it in the simplest terms...
Well cared for, well raised, trained older dogs aren't cheaper than puppies but it doesn't strike me that that's your care. What will be the 'care' of any older dog's breeder/owner will be that that dog will have a partner who can put them first, and that's probably what you want for your daughter, too, to get outside herself and put something else first... so she can start living with that extension of herself at her side.
I'd suggest you hit every list there is for regional good breeders- on this site, that would be "NE breeder list', 'CA breeder list', etc... ask for any dogs info who are available to a good home, and ask for referrals... and make sure you are committed to making whatever dog you get a new family member you have to learn the needs of. Whenever you do get a dog, whether a specifically trained SD or not will be a major transition time and your whole family will have to take the time to refocus with a new family member. I would leave off the ASAP piece because nothing likes the feel of desperation, and just see what's out there. I wish you the best.


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## Rocky_g (11 mo ago)

Prism Goldens said:


> So she needs a companion she loves and who can give her comfort, go everywhere with her, be her shadow- to put it in the simplest terms...
> Well cared for, well raised, trained older dogs aren't cheaper than puppies but it doesn't strike me that that's your care. What will be the 'care' of any older dog's breeder/owner will be that that dog will have a partner who can put them first, and that's probably what you want for your daughter, too, to get outside herself and put something else first... so she can start living with that extension of herself at her side.
> I'd suggest you hit every list there is for regional good breeders- on this site, that would be "NE breeder list', 'CA breeder list', etc... ask for any dogs info who are available to a good home, and ask for referrals... and make sure you are committed to making whatever dog you get a new family member you have to learn the needs of. Whenever you do get a dog, whether a specifically trained SD or not will be a major transition time and your whole family will have to take the time to refocus with a new family member. I would leave off the ASAP piece because nothing likes the feel of desperation, and just see what's out there. I wish you the best.


Really appreciate all the great advice!!! God bless…


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## Rocky_g (11 mo ago)

Rukhsana Ghouse said:


> Really appreciate all the great advice!!! God bless…


So there’s an adoption company (RAGOM - Retrieve a Golden of the Midwest). Would this work? For example, there’s a five year old dog that we could get. Is that too old for her purpose? Thank you so much… hope I’m not pestering you too much 💖


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## Tagrenine (Aug 20, 2019)

Rukhsana Ghouse said:


> So there’s an adoption company (RAGOM - Retrieve a Golden of the Midwest). Would this work? For example, there’s a five year old dog that we could get. Is that too old for her purpose? Thank you so much… hope I’m not pestering you too much 💖


Of course it could work, but if I were in your shoes I would look for a dog from a breeder that has been properly socialized and exposed to environmental stressors. Psych work is easier for retrievers than other breeds, but a service dog needs to have the wherewithal to go out in public and be an asset to the handler while still being the compassionate companion the handler needs.

You can reach out to the rescue and see if their adult dog has the correct temperament for the work


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

So, KC and Casey (the only Goldens I see there on immediate adopt page) are both over 11YO.. that would probably be more traumatic than finding a 5-8YO who's been in the care of a breeder all his life, or who somehow came back to breeder. The reality is, a 11 YO hasn't got a lot more life left.
On the other pages-
Rocky isn't a good choice, either. Reading between the lines, he is a better age, maybe even the best age to go with- but he has had issues w small things, children, animals. Korey- horrid past and requires incont care.. Maria requires another dog as she came from an auction of former breeding animals and I assume you do not have the other dog... as does Libby and Millie,Hope, Laila and Honey-
I am all for these poor animals finding a home, but with your own situation and hoping to integrate a dog into your family who will give your daughter an extension of herself, I do not think you will be in for even a normal amount of accommodation with one of these basically auction rescues. The dogs sold at auction originally come from HVbreeders,are not socialized at all, and are just used for their reproductive organs, then sold at auction to other crappy breeders who do same til dog is used up. They often have more problems than a normal person can handle, as you can imagine- feature living your life with no human contact other than someone filling an auto feeder once a week, and same with water until you are bred, then put in another cage to raise puppies for sale.. it's horrific to imagine and it would be a rare animal who can recover.
The auction 'catalogs' are heartbreaking to read. 
I think you need to concentrate on GOOD breeders, instead of rescues. It won't be an easy find, unless the stars are aligned for you, but worthwhile things rarely come easy.
How old is your daughter? Do you have other children?


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## Rocky_g (11 mo ago)

Prism Goldens said:


> So, KC and Casey (the only Goldens I see there on immediate adopt page) are both over 11YO.. that would probably be more traumatic than finding a 5-8YO who's been in the care of a breeder all his life, or who somehow came back to breeder. The reality is, a 11 YO hasn't got a lot more life left.
> On the other pages-
> Rocky isn't a good choice, either. Reading between the lines, he is a better age, maybe even the best age to go with- but he has had issues w small things, children, animals. Korey- horrid past and requires incont care.. Maria requires another dog as she came from an auction of former breeding animals and I assume you do not have the other dog... as does Libby and Millie,Hope, Laila and Honey-
> I am all for these poor animals finding a home, but with your own situation and hoping to integrate a dog into your family who will give your daughter an extension of herself, I do not think you will be in for even a normal amount of accommodation with one of these basically auction rescues. The dogs sold at auction originally come from HVbreeders,are not socialized at all, and are just used for their reproductive organs, then sold at auction to other crappy breeders who do same til dog is used up. They often have more problems than a normal person can handle, as you can imagine- feature living your life with no human contact other than someone filling an auto feeder once a week, and same with water until you are bred, then put in another cage to raise puppies for sale.. it's horrific to imagine and it would be a rare animal who can recover.
> ...


Gosh, I'm so moved by all the research you did for me.

My daughter is 26 years old and lives by herself in an apartment in the Minneapolis, Minnesota. No other animals.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Rukhsana Ghouse said:


> Gosh, I'm so moved by all the research you did for me.
> 
> My daughter is 26 years old and lives by herself in an apartment in the Minneapolis, Minnesota. No other animals.


Ok.. so that's a different scenario than I'd envisioned- I was imagining that she was still @ home with you. Dog care/incorporation in household would fall on her, solely, in the older child home. She'd be expected to make application for the dog, though I do imagine you could seek out likely breeders to help, but you need to realize that for the good breeder who places an older dog, goal is always that dog is a part of the new family and beloved, cared for, etc- 
I still think an older dog is better- minimum age 3 imo- but you ought to be able to suss one or two out, if you hit every breeder on all the lists here, and in this case, I would say you're helping to locate a good partner for your daughter who will of course be the one responsible but the search is somewhat overwhelming for her... say enough to make a person want to help you but not so much you seem a desperation case. This isn't going to happen tomorrow. You never know when someone who doesn't have a dog today will have one tomorrow due to a death or whatever, and you want them to remember you and want to help, as well as feel secure that this dog will have a fabulous life in your daughter's care.


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## Hildae (Aug 15, 2012)

Rukhsana Ghouse said:


> Gosh, I'm so moved by all the research you did for me.
> 
> My daughter is 26 years old and lives by herself in an apartment in the Minneapolis, Minnesota. No other animals.


You DO know that the dog has to actually perform a _legally_ defined task that mitigates a disability right? Providing comfort or companionship is not a legally task. 

You may know this already but just in case...to have a service dog, your daughter must meet the legal definition of disabled by her conditions. That's first. If she does, then she can have a service dog BUT the dog must actually DO something besides existing and bringing her comfort. So you're going to want to think about that and make sure the dog can be trained to do a legal task. Not every dog can be trained to a psych task. (That is why I'm telling you that your best bet is a program trained dog) Good luck!


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## Hildae (Aug 15, 2012)

Prism Goldens said:


> So she needs a companion she loves and who can give her comfort, go everywhere with her, be her shadow- to put it in the simplest terms...


To be legal and not subject to punishment by law, the dog has to do more than that.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Of course- if an actual service dog. I have found people often call dogs who provide comfort SDs when they are not legal SDs..
I assume she can get a psychiatrist letter for her apartment complex, and since most do accommodate ES animals, the semantics don't matter a lot for the OP. They do matter to us, of course, since we are the ones who are most impacted when people fake SDs..


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Have you contacted Helping Paws of Minnesota? Helping Paws, Inc.
Or Eileen Bohn? Log into Facebook

Does she need a fully trained Psychiatric Service Dog, or an Emotional Support Dog? My friend’s PSDog does things like create space around her in crowds, notify her if an episode is coming on, provides deep pressure and provides tactile comfort to her when she has an episode, and interrupts and redirects when she gets in a pattern of self harm.

My other friend’s ESA provides support and comfort simply by being there, and being in tune with her. She isn’t trained to specific tasks and provides support at home.


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## Rocky_g (11 mo ago)

Hildae said:


> To be legal and not subject to punishment by law, the dog has to do more than that.


Yes, Hildae, her psychiatrist is the one who recommended she get a PSD, and it would have to do special psych tasks for her. So a program trained dog .... I'm seeing waiting lists of 3-5 years and cost is exorbitant.


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## Rocky_g (11 mo ago)

Tahnee GR said:


> Have you contacted Helping Paws of Minnesota? Helping Paws, Inc.
> Or Eileen Bohn? Log into Facebook
> 
> Does she need a fully trained Psychiatric Service Dog, or an Emotional Support Dog? My friend’s PSDog does things like create space around her in crowds, notify her if an episode is coming on, provides deep pressure and provides tactile comfort to her when she has an episode, and interrupts and redirects when she gets in a pattern of self harm.
> ...


I'll contact Helping Paws of Minnesota now. Thank you for the suggestion. To your question, she does need a PSD and not just an Emotional support dog.


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## Hildae (Aug 15, 2012)

Rukhsana Ghouse said:


> Yes, Hildae, her psychiatrist is the one who recommended she get a PSD, and it would have to do special psych tasks for her. So a program trained dog .... I'm seeing waiting lists of 3-5 years and cost is exorbitant.


Ok so it's good that you know she's disabled legally and can actually own a SD.

Yes there are waits for program dogs, but I can tell that it's not easy to find a dog who can become a SD. As you mentioned, so many wash out. What will your daughter do if she buys or adopts a dog and it cannot complete legal task training? Will she keep the dog or have to rehome it? Training takes time, usually 1.5 to 2 years so you're going to be waiting regardless. Can your daughter do the training or will you be paying a trainer? There is GREAT value in a program trained dog, in many ways. You should apply to all the programs available to you and start saving. Some of them are free, you'd have to see about applying to those too.

If she just wants a dog for home, that doesn't travel in public with her, she can get an ESA which just about any dog can do.

One last thing to note, going out in public with a SD is not easy. Your daughter will have people staring at her, yelling things at her, trying to pet her dog (SDs should not be pet in public), asking her invasive personal questions, stores and restaurants are often ignorant of laws and will refuse your daughter entry or harass her and ask for things like "paperwork" or "documentation" which do not exist but they often believe it does. Also, going out with a SD requires a bit of extra work, you have to make sure you pack the vest with poop bags and such, dress the dog, load the dog, then you have to unload the dog, try to shop with the dog with you, make sure you carry water for the dog, find places to toilet the dog...which sounds fine to most people but to a person with severe depression or anxiety who may struggle with their own personal cares and needs it can be an overwhelming additional burden. With her conditions can she handle that or will it just affect her more? Many people with psych disabilities find a SD a hindrance more than a help because of this. It's very sad that it is this way, and I hope someday it gets better.


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## Tagrenine (Aug 20, 2019)

I will add that getting a program dog and/or a well bred adult reduces the risk of health testing washing a dog too. I have a friend who went out of her way to get an SD from a well respected breeder and was having it trained professionally. Things were wonderful. When she went to do preliminary health testing on this dog at 12 months old, it has the worst elbow dysplasia I’d seen despite not being lame a day on its life. She ended up having to wash a dog she poured her heart, soul, and wallet into training and return it to the breeder, who was just as shocked since it came from a very long pedigree of tested breeding stock. Getting an adult dog nearly eliminates that concern


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## Hildae (Aug 15, 2012)

Doesn't @GoldenDude work for a SD program? He may have insight too?


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## Rocky_g (11 mo ago)

Rukhsana Ghouse said:


> Yes, Hildae, her psychiatrist is the one who recommended she get a PSD, and it would have to do special psych tasks for her. So a program trained dog .... I'm seeing waiting lists of 3-5 years and cost is exorbitant.





Rukhsana Ghouse said:


> I'll contact Helping Paws of Minnesota now. Thank you for the suggestion. To your question, she does need a PSD and not just an Emotional support dog.


Bummer... Helping Paws of Minnesota does not cater to dogs for civilians with psychiatric needs. This has been the case for SO many of the places I've looked into. It's usually for veterans with psych needs.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

[


Rukhsana Ghouse said:


> Bummer... Helping Paws of Minnesota does not cater to dogs for civilians with psychiatric needs. This has been the case for SO many of the places I've looked into. It's usually for veterans with psych needs.


Sorry  You might try Eileen anyway. She is one of Helping Paws founders, and did a lot of their breedings. She’s also a Golden fancier.


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## Hildae (Aug 15, 2012)

Rukhsana Ghouse said:


> Bummer... Helping Paws of Minnesota does not cater to dogs for civilians with psychiatric needs. This has been the case for SO many of the places I've looked into. It's usually for veterans with psych needs.


There is a place in Indiana called Medical Mutts who I think trains for civilians


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## GoldenDude (Nov 5, 2016)

Hildae said:


> Doesn't @GoldenDude work for a SD program? He may have insight too?


I volunteer with a national service dog organization. However, their PTSD program is limited to veterans.


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## Rocky_g (11 mo ago)

I can’t thank you’ll enough!!


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## goldy1 (Aug 5, 2012)

Hildae said:


> Ok so it's good that you know she's disabled legally and can actually own a SD.
> 
> Yes there are waits for program dogs, but I can tell that it's not easy to find a dog who can become a SD. As you mentioned, so many wash out. What will your daughter do if she buys or adopts a dog and it cannot complete legal task training? Will she keep the dog or have to rehome it? Training takes time, usually 1.5 to 2 years so you're going to be waiting regardless. Can your daughter do the training or will you be paying a trainer? There is GREAT value in a program trained dog, in many ways. You should apply to all the programs available to you and start saving. Some of them are free, you'd have to see about applying to those too.
> 
> ...


I agree with so many points in Hildae's post.
Because of your daughter's issues AND the fact that she lives alone, I think the challenges the dog will present could actually overwhelm her. Depression as you know could leave the dog without his daily needs met. If she were living in a household with others who could care for the dog's needs when your daughter isn't up to it, a dog "might" work. I'm just not sure that the advice you got is from someone who understands all the intricacies involved.
How much have dogs been part of your daughters life up until now?
I realize you are hoping for a solution so much, but going this route might not be best one.


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## Rocky_g (11 mo ago)

She has never had a dog before.
I’m thinking her psychiatrist’s plan is to get her to be busy caring for the dog and vice versa. Something that she’ll be forced to care for, whether she feels up to it or not.


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## Hildae (Aug 15, 2012)

Rukhsana Ghouse said:


> She has never had a dog before.
> I’m thinking her psychiatrist’s plan is to get her to be busy caring for the dog and vice versa. Something that she’ll be forced to care for, whether she feels up to it or not.


But will she? Part of the disability with depression/anxiety is inability to care for oneself, let alone a dog. Since she's never had a dog, can she babysit one for a week? Maybe a friend can loan her a dog and let her see what it's like? That way she knows for sure she even likes having one around. Like a test drive.


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## Rocky_g (11 mo ago)

Great suggestion. I’ll tell her to test drive first.


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## Partyoffiveblessed (12 mo ago)

We just got our first golden - mainly for me . My 18 y/, similar to yours ( depression, anxiety , ptsd) wanted a cat . We got a very specific breed . RagaMuffin. They are snugglers and very affectionate. She literally will be like a rag doll when you pick her up . It’s been the best thing for her . We have a cat stroller for going outside . There aren’t many RagaMuffin breeders - but we love ours . Covid has sure impacted those with mental health .


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## Malcolm's Mom (Jul 14, 2012)

If you are able to find an older (3-5yr) dog, there are trainers out there who will work in tandem with the owner to teach the dog/owner to become a team and provide the services that your daughter will need. A bonus is that your daughter's bond with her dog will become stronger when they train together. I've known a few people who have done this and it's worked well.


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## Crock12 (Feb 17, 2015)

Also, you need to consider the dogs needs. Will your daughter be able to provide what the dogs needs in enrichment and exercise? Having a Service Dog is a lifestyle and is not for everyone, and may be more difficult in an appartment since you have to put a dog on leash and go outside to toilet good or bad weather. I can assure you it is quite a journey to travel but worth the work you have to put in to get there. I am about to embark again training a puppy and it if I wasn't concerned about background and positive exposures I would probably get an older dog if I could find one.


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## StarBright (Nov 11, 2015)

I think working with good Service Dog organization, would be more likely to have a successful outcome. An organization could better match the disabled person with an appropriate size, breed and temperament.


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## Rocky_g (11 mo ago)

Thank you all so much for your advice!


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