How To Get A PTSD Service Dog

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be a serious mental condition that may greatly affect a person’s life. PTSD is typically considered a disability by the Social Security Administration. Some research shows that psychiatric service dogs can be effective in easing PTSD symptoms. People living with PTSD often form special relationships with their service dogs that provide them with crucial emotional support. Nonprofit organizations like Service Dogs for America and Assistance Dogs International can help you get a PTSD service dog. However, in addition to a service dog, you may wish to work with a licensed therapist online or in person to further manage PTSD symptoms.

Is there evidence that PTSD service dogs are effective?

Researchers have gained much scientific understanding from a 2018 study that investigated the potential efficacy of service dogs for people living with PTSD.

The research study’s findings describe the potential benefits of using emotional support animals to reduce PTSD symptom severity, showing that war veterans partnered with a trained psychiatric service dog usually exhibited less intense symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Although anecdotal evidence can be plentiful, this new study is generally believed to have been the first to provide scientific proof of the possible mental health benefits of trained psychiatric service dogs for war veterans or active service members living with specific PTSD. 

The study included 141 military veterans with PTSD who applied for a service dog and were approved through K9s for Warriors. Approximately half of the veterans already had a PTSD service dog, and the other half were on the waitlist to be appointed a dog during the study. The results showed that veterans living with PTSD who had a service dog typically experienced better mental health, reduced PTSD symptoms, and improved well-being, as recorded in several categories:

• Lower overall symptoms of post-traumatic stress, including calming anxiety

• Decreased depression

• Improved life satisfaction

• Higher overall psychological well-being

• Less social isolation and enhanced ability to participate in social activities

• Increased resilience

• Better companionship

• Less missed work due to health issues among those who were employed

According to this study, there was generally no substantial difference between the two groups regarding physical functioning and employment status. The researchers were clear that service dogs alone or pet dogs would not usually be able to successfully treat or cure PTSD. However, veterans living with PTSD who had PTSD service dog intervention generally demonstrated significantly less intense symptoms and improved mental health.

How to get a service dog for PTSD emotional support

The country’s largest provider of service dogs for veterans with physical or cognitive disabilities may be K9s for Warriors. K9s for Warriors usually provides service dogs to veterans living with PTSD or traumatic brain injury, or to those who experienced sexual trauma while in the military.

Service Dogs for America is a nonprofit organization whose mission is generally “to train and certify service dogs for individuals with disabilities so they can fully participate in social, educational, and occupational opportunities.”

This group usually prefers to train Labradors and golden retrievers because they tend to be intelligent, loyal, and patient and perform exceptionally well on service dogs’ trained tasks. The dogs typically undergo two years of training before they're paired with someone. People needing service dogs normally must visit the Service Dogs for America campus so they can undergo three weeks of training before they take their service dog home.

New Horizons Service Dogs, Inc., is a nonprofit organization that usually trains dogs for people with physical or cognitive disabilities. The organization is located in central Florida and provides specifically trained dogs to assist people in wheelchairs and others with mobility challenges. Trainers working with mental health professionals have also developed programs for military veterans and children with autism.

Assistance Dogs International is a nonprofit organization that aims to educate the public about support dogs and the value they can bring to those with disabilities. Assistance Dogs International usually advocates for the legal rights of people with disabilities. 

The PAWS Act refers to recent federal legislation that requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to begin a five-year program for training service dogs to help veterans diagnosed with PTSD. This act will likely help fund other programs and organizations dedicated to this objective.

What characteristics should dogs have to be companions for people with PTSD?

PTSD service dogs can perform tasks that many people may not think possible. Much of what a service dog can do to help individuals living with PTSD depends on the dog’s breed, characteristics, and training, as well as the training of the individual it serves. A service dog’s ability to perform tasks directly related to someone’s disorder can depend on the trainer’s expertise and the recipient's needs.

In choosing dogs for service, trainers typically look for certain qualities. For instance, service dogs must usually have the right personality to care for a person with PTSD. A service dog trained to help someone in a wheelchair won’t usually be trained to assist a person with PTSD. They may also need to be intuitive so that they can anticipate their owner's needs. It can be vital to be sweet but not excitable, as this could potentially lead to anxiety episodes in people with anxiety disorders.

While being nonjudgmental tends to be an innate attribute of dogs, trainers can polish a dog's skills in a way that helps their owner become more social and open by teaching them specific tasks useful for interrupting anxiety or stopping panic attacks.

Well-trained PTSD dogs typically carry out their duties faithfully in nonviolent and nonthreatening ways, and their owners often learn that their service dog always has their back.

Trainers can teach the dogs to be service animals, emotional support dogs, or both. The difference between these dogs is usually the type of assistance they provide to their owners and the type of rights the dogs have in public.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service dog generally helps people with an emotional or physical disability that impacts one or more major life activities. 

What tasks can PTSD dogs do for people living with PTSD?

PTSD service dogs are usually trained around symptom specificity, and they can respond to most PTSD symptoms. They can help people with tasks ranging from anxiety episodes to taking medications and more.

People living with PTSD often have nightmares about traumatic events. Trainers can teach service dogs to be alert to indications of night terrors and to wake people who are having a nightmare. Many people also find that it eases their anxiety to know that their service dog is sleeping by their side and that they have their service dog’s companionship whenever they need it.

Anxiety disorders may be another challenge that many people living with PTSD experience. PTSD service dogs can be trained to create distance between their owners and others who are getting too close and may be causing their owner anxiety. 

PTSD service dogs can learn to detect PTSD severity and signs of a potential emotional outburst, such as crying, fidgeting, restlessness, or stomping. Dogs may respond by soothing their owners as they nestle up to them. Dogs can even be trained to prevent someone from hitting or harming themselves by playing interference and creating a physical barrier between the harm and the individual's body.

Service dogs can also help their owners be consistent with their medication. For example, trainers can train service dogs to retrieve medication bottles and take them to their owners. Please consult your doctor before considering any medication options.

One of the symptoms of PTSD can be dissociation. In an emergency or crisis, such as a fire, where the service dog owner may "freeze," the service dog can go into action to calm the person down and un-paralyze them. Dogs can learn to lead their owners out of a burning building by barking or gently taking them by the sleeve or pant leg.

People who live with PTSD may isolate themselves. They may have trouble getting up in the morning and going out in public. Service dogs for PTSD generally need to be fed and go out. Their needs can prompt their owners to get up and move, which can help them overcome their isolation.

Therapy can help

Getting a service dog may only be part of a comprehensive treatment plan for people living with PTSD. Online therapy can be another part of treatment.

It can be vital to feel comfortable with your therapist. Online therapy can empower you to match with a therapist specializing in trauma and recovery who understands that those with PTSD may need a safe space to process what they've been through and chart a path forward. With online therapy, you can also go at your own pace. You may also attend sessions from the comfort of your house, perhaps with your service dog at your side.

A 2022 study investigated the efficacy of online therapy for the treatment of PTSD and found that it was generally just as effective as in-person therapy. Online therapy may be an option to consider for those living with PTSD who are interested in seeking professional treatment, and may be helpful for family members of those with PTSD, as well.

If you’re interested in online therapy, check out the review below from a person experiencing similar challenges. 

Therapist review

“Joseph takes a caring, individualized approach for what I need to cover for my mental health, whether it's talking about past traumas or an ongoing crisis. He is attentive and recalls details that I wouldn't have expected him to, which really helps me know that there's a genuine rapport. I am a military and police veteran with divorce and relationship issues, post-traumatic stress, and major depression. Sometimes I feel like I just want to update Joseph on what's going on in life when I don't really have a general direction in the conversation that I want to go in, and he shows interest even when I'm just venting. I would absolutely recommend him to a friend or coworker.”