The Methods/Manners
This is a good spot to make my stance perfectly clear on E.S.A.s, and it is quite simple to grasp. ALL pets are emotional support animals, that’s the primary reason for having any captive animals, be they aquatic pets in an aquarium or a favorite cuddle-buddy cat or dog. I state this to make clear the level of responsibility that ‘pet ownership’ is and/or should be. If one is needing a dog, or whatever, in a/the legitimate category of work being expected of an “emotional support” then what one is needed for is actually under the heading of “Therapy Dog” and there’s an entire set of programs and
certifications for that, and they should be sought after.
Do It Right, Don’t Dilute It
This is where everything becomes unique, individualized, and team specific. There really isn’t a cookie-cutter, simplistic set of steps to train a productively functional service canine, especially at home, in particular to each human’s needs. The first of 2 things to be evaluated is exactly that, what is going to be asked and expected of the canine, what functions do the handler/owner need fulfilled. The second of 2 is probably pretty obvious,
evaluation of the dog to be reasonably likely to be capable of learning and performing those duties. Not every dog is cut out to be a service dog, and not any/every service dog candidate is a proper match with any given human handler/owner’s needs and mental match, solid bonds are neither a given nor guaranteed. This is the part that the human mind wants to speed past in the “yeah, got it, moving on, …” kind of impatience, which is exactly why the process needs to slow up here, if need be, next to picking a suitable
spouse, partnering with the right dog is just as important of a life decision. Caring and providing for all that canine needs are challenges enough for fully abled people, pack on a host of physiological limitations and humans’ impediments can become the canine’s risk and liability, not a situation anyone wants. The “proper match” may not seem as important as a spouse to the human(s) involved, but it very much is for and from a canine’s perspective. They’re pledging to dedicate their entire existence to and for the human, and
the level reality of that fact must be understood and accepted to the depth that it exists.
