Post Training
In the category of good service (good service dog potential), 5 dogs of the 73 were given the highest rating and 15 the lowest. Dogs also were rated on the degree of reinforcement needed to produce a consistent response when learning a new command.
What did the study prove? That dogs that respond well to human contact are likely to be more pleasant to train.
So realize that a properly thoroughly trained Emotional Support Dog can be available to anyone who can afford the adoption fee of an adult animal at any number of shelters in your area. You get the chance to spend more and better time, and get the testing done at a shelter than you do in buying a dog privately or going thru most breed-speciality rescue organizations.
The idea of a puppy can be very appealing, but if what you want and truly need is an emotional support dog, then a puppy is a very risky bet. Even if he is professionally screened for you, the odds still against the puppy growing up into the dog your need.
On the other hand, with an adult dog, you know EXACTLY who and what you are getting. Plus you are gaining a valuable assistant to make your life better for you and go places with you within two months.
I am already planning to secure my own Emotional Support Animal. Living in an apartment, I will have to get print-outs of all the needed federal law details to provide the manager along with the prescription from my doctor (the prescription can ALSO come from your therapist).
I was looking at getting a tiny toy dog, but decided to get a medium sized dog who can jump on the bed and off without risking a broken leg. Also, I need the exercise and a toy dog can get all the exercise they need in a very short distance -- and I need a couple of miles a day.
Teri
my resource for information about that study - found in an earlier given study...
Selecting Shelter Dogs for Service Dog Training
Emily Weiss
Department of Psychology
Wichita State University
Wichita, Kansas
published in the
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ANIMAL WELFARE SCIENCE,
5(1), 43–62
Copyright © 2002, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
http://www.animalsandsociety.org/***...jaawsweiss.pdf