ESA Doctors’ Guide to Training Your Emotional Support Dog

-

Emotional support dogs play a key role in managing mental health conditions of their handlers. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, ESAs aren’t service animals. They don’t require any specific training to provide mental & physical assistance to individuals with disabilities. So, does that mean an ESA should be untrained? Well, definitely not. People can easily recognize a well-behaved dog, especially when you visit a public place or are finding a new apartment. Here’s quick advice by ESA doctors to train an emotional support animal-

Teach Your ESA Basic Obedience Commands

Although you can teach your emotional support dog with endless commands, here are the important ones-

Sit

  • Hold a treat and take it closer to your pet’s nose
  • Move the treat backward until your dog sits, and say “sit” immediately
  • Reward your dog with a treat when they did it correctly

Down

  • Take a treat closer to your emotional support dog’s nose.
  • Lower the treat and your dog will follow it
  • When your dog is fully down, give them a reward.

Stay

  • When your dog is sitting, show them your palm.
  • Step back and increase the steps backward ensuring your dog is not moving.
  • Say “stay”, and give your dog a treat if they did it correctly.

Come

  • Hold the leash and pull it gradually.
  • Say the word “come”
  • Give your dog a reward if they did it correctly

Train Your ESA to Relieve Your Anxiety

Emotional support dogs go beyond just simple obedience commands. They help their owners calm their anxiety, stress, self-harming behaviors, etc.

Deep Pressure Therapy (DPT) is one of the specific techniques ESAs can learn to relieve anxiety in their owners. It involves applying pressure to certain areas of the body to provide relief.

How to Teach Your Emotional Support Dog to Apply DPT

  • Begin with teaching your dog to climb up and down on the sofa. You can use the command “paw up.” Give a reward each time they come closer to the sofa.
  • Keep practicing. If you have a small dog, aim at getting all four paws on the sofa. For larger dogs, go for only front paws on the sofa with the command “paws up.”
  • Next is “paws off” command, opposite to “paws up.”
  • Teach your dog to lay or sit on the sofa. To apply the DPT, your dog needs to lie vertically along your body. For larger dogs, putting their front paws on your shoulders is fine.
  • Now, train your dog to identify symptoms you experience during stressful situations so that they can provide support when required.

Covering it up, emotional support animal training involves basic obedience commands such as sit, down, stay, come, etc. Along with that, you should train your ESA to help you calm anxiety with pressure therapy called the DPT.

To live with your pet in an apartment under the FHA, get an ESA letter. Get it online at My ESA Doctor in three simple steps-


  • Submit a form online
  • Talk to ESA doctors via video call
  • Get your ESA letter via email

Location: 2001 E First St #102e, Santa Ana, CA 92705, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Learn How to Get ESA Letter for Cat and Improve Your Quality of Life

-
Image
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear “ an emotional support animal?” Most people would say, a dog. And that’s fine, after all, they are the most popular choice for an emotional support animal or an ESA. There are many animals, other than dogs, who can make a great ESA. And cats are one such animal. In fact, after dogs, cats are the most popular emotional support animals. And if you are not sure about how to get ESA letter for cat , don’t worry, we are here to help you. In this article, you will learn how to get ESA letter for cat without any hassle. So, let’s get started. But what is an emotional support cat, exactly? Cats are loved by a lot of people, and they should be. I mean, they are cute, adorable, fluffy, maybe a little mean at times, but extremely loving too. These furballs make a great pet, and can even help people with emotional and mental health issues . These qualities of cats make them great emotional support animals. That’s why a lot of people sea...
Read more

The Complete Process to Register an Emotional Support Dog

-
Image
Studies show that pets, especially dogs and cats can help reduce risks of anxiety, stress, depression, etc. In the United States, there are federal laws for protecting individuals who are getting emotional support from their pets. For instance, the FHA allows tenants to live with their emotional support dogs in rented apartments without paying extra pet deposits. To avail of these benefits, they must register their dogs as ESAs. So, how to get an emotional support dog letter? Let’s discuss in detail. Check if Qualify For an Emotional Support Dog This is the first step. Although federal laws protecting individuals who are receiving emotional support from their pets are there, not everyone is eligible for an ESA. So, before you apply for an ESA letter, it’s important to check whether you qualify for it. In the United States, many patients with anxiety, depression, PTSD , etc. are using pet therapy for managing their symptoms. In fact, animal-assisted therapy provides better results than...
Read more

How Pets Help in Making Healthy Lifestyle Changes?

-
Image
Do you enjoy the company of your furry friend? But do you know that sharing your lives and companionship with your pet also accompanies many health and mental benefits? And it is of no surprise that most of the pet owners have registered for an emotional support animal letter for their pet. Not only this, they also considered their pet as their own family member.  If you are a pet owner, then you probably know that pets, especially dogs understand our emotions and they interpret our body language and the tone of our voice very easily. And as a good loyal friend, they’ll look into your eyes to ascertain your emotional state and will try to understand what we are feeling and thinking.  And do you know pets also provide relief from health problems like depression, anxiety, stress, and also encourage us to stay active by doing exercise and thus help our cardiovascular health? And this is only possible if you care for your pet with these healthy lifestyle changes. Providing Compan...
Read more