Service dogs are animal companions that assist people with disabilities. Some breeds of dogs are better able to handle being service dogs. A Goldendoodle assistance dog can be a great working dog that can perform the job's tasks.
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Goldendoodle Service Dog - Everything You Need to Know
Goldendoodles, a crossbreed between Golden Retrievers and Poodles, combine the intelligence of both breeds and are often chosen for their hypoallergenic qualities. Their friendly and sociable nature makes them well-suited for roles such as therapy or emotional support dogs, providing comfort and companionship to individuals in various settings, including hospitals, schools, or homes.
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Goldendodle Service Dog
Goldendoodles make excellent service dogs due to their high intelligence and affectionate nature. They can be trained to assist people with disabilities, including PTSD and mobility issues, by performing various tasks such as fetching items, providing comfort, and alerting their handler of potential dangers.
The Bottom Line
- What are service dogs? - Service dogs undergo extensive training to perform tasks for handlers with disabilities.
- Why Goldendoodles as service dogs? - A Goldendoodle is an adorable animal with high intelligence and a gentle disposition.
- How to get a Goldendoodle service dog - You need a diagnosis from a health professional to qualify for a service or therapy dog.
- What's the difference between a service dog vs. ESA? - While service animals require specialized training to perform particular tasks, emotional support animals do not.
What Are Service Dogs?
A service dog makes it easier for a disabled person to live a more independent life. Any dog that has been specially taught to work or complete duties for the benefit of a person with a disability, such as a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental condition, is considered a service animal under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To advertise their services to others, service dogs must wear a vest that says "service dog." No other sort of animal, whether wild or domestic, skilled or unskilled, is regarded as a service animal.
A service animal can only need to carry out actions that are directly connected to their person's impairment. The following are a few examples of work or jobs they perform:
- Assisting individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other tasks
- Alerting deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals to the presence of people or sounds
- Providing non-violent protection or rescue work
- Pulling a wheelchair
- Assisting an individual during a seizure
- Alerting individuals to the presence of allergens
- Retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone
- Providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities
- Helping individuals with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors.
Types of Service Dogs
Various service dog breeds specialize in assisting people with various impairments. The most popular varieties of outstanding service dogs are listed here.
Service Dogs
The use of guide dogs aids the environment-navigation of the blind and visually impaired. Deaf and hard-of-hearing people can benefit from hearing dogs' assistance in identifying important noises. Mobility dogs help people with balance concerns who use wheelchairs, walking aids, or both. Medical alert dogs may perform a variety of different tasks, including warning the user of allergies, alerting the user to the start of medical issues such as a seizure or low blood sugar, and signaling the onset of many other conditions.
Psychiatric Service Dogs
Psychiatric service dogs support people with disorders including schizophrenia, PTSD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other illnesses.
Psychiatric service dogs may perform tasks including halting repetitive behaviors, reminding a person to take their medicine, entering a dark room and turning on a light to reduce stress-inducing situations.
Pettable offers a free consultation with a qualified mental health specialist to certify your need for a psychiatric service dog. You may also opt to receive a PSD letter as proof of this certification, though it is not required. If you want to self-train your service dog after certification, you may benefit from Pettable’s online PSD training program.
Goldendoodle History
The original Goldendoodle was a hybrid cross of a golden retriever and a poodle. The exact date of conception is unknown, as a handful of breeders emerged in the late 1990s marketing this new breed. The idea was no doubt inspired by the creation of the Labradoodle and its success as a compatible dog for many people who experience mild allergies to dogs.
The gorgeous low- to no-shedding coats were attracting those who loved the temperament of the golden retriever but detested the amount of hair left behind or the allergy issues it presented.
As the breed continued to develop, requests for different sizes became common, and breeders answered. The public's immediate adoration of the standard Goldendoodle (a standard poodle crossed with a golden retriever) led the breed originators to look at size variations to accommodate different lifestyles.
There are now four categories for sizes: petite, mini, medium, and standard. They also come in a variety of colors and coat patterns.
Why Goldendoodles Make Great Service Dogs
A Goldendoodle is a cross between two popular dog breeds, golden retrievers and poodles. Goldendoodles have the best of both breeds: a non-shedding coat and an affectionate personality. Here are the top reasons why they make excellent service animals.
Friendly and Easygoing
The first reason that Goldendoodles make excellent therapy dogs is their friendly and easygoing nature. Goldendoodles get their friendliness from their golden retriever genes. These dogs may always be ready to greet people with a wagging tail and a sweet disposition. Goldendoodles can be great with people, dogs, pets, and small children.
Goldendoodles are also very easygoing and non-reactive. A good service dog needs to be calm in most situations, including crowded public areas, enclosed spots, and noisy outdoor spaces. They need to avoid reacting to loud noises, strangers, and unfamiliar smells and focus on their job.
Hypoallergenic
Another reason a Goldendoodle could be an excellent service dog is its coat. Poodles were originally bred with Labrador retrievers and golden retrievers to give people with dog allergies a way to have a service animal. The poodle’s curly coat made it the perfect candidate to cross with other breeds.
A Goldendoodle’s coat is also less likely to shed than other typical service animal breeds, such as German shepherds, Labrador retrievers, and golden retrievers. Goldendoodle owners have an easier time keeping dog hair off their furniture and clothes. Less dog hair can help make housekeeping much less of a hassle.
Easily Trained
This wonderful breed is also one of the easiest to train, which is essential when preparing an animal to do specific tasks. Goldendoodles are extremely intelligent and excellent listeners when learning commands. They can quickly associate the commands from dog trainers with a reward and a task. They respond well to prompts and can learn a variety of tasks.
Trainers can teach Goldendoodles to follow an owner without a leash. They aren’t known to try to escape their yard or wander off, so owners may be able to trust their pup a little more than some other dog breeds.
Capable of Working Long Hours
This breed of dog can also work longer hours in many different climates. They have the stamina to work in stressful situations. They have lots of energy in their reserves, so they won’t get too tired from being an emotional support animal all day.
Goldendoodles can also be comfortable in different types of weather environments. They can be happy in warmer climates because they don’t get easily overheated. Their coat can also protect them in colder weather situations, so they are comfortable. Goldendoodles won’t need a dog sweater or jacket because of their thick, curly coat.
Enthusiastic
Goldendoodle emotional support dogs are also sweet and enthusiastic with their families. They enjoy playing with toys, playing fetch, and spending time with their owners and handlers.
They show unconditional love for the people in their family and are cute. They provide comfort for their owners when they’re struggling, like a big teddy bear.
Intuitive Towards Handlers
Finally, Goldendoodles are extraordinarily loyal and attached to their handlers. A Goldendoodle makes an excellent and trustworthy companion for someone who has specific emotional and physical well-being needs.
These dogs have a natural intuition to help out their human companions due to their eagerness to please and natural retrieving abilities. They can easily pick up trained tasks to help protect someone with emotional or physical disabilities.
Provide Emotional Support
Goldendoodles are extremely loving, friendly, and loyal to their owners. These traits make this breed a great service dog because they won't shy away from cuddling with their owner or providing comfort and closeness when they're going through a hard time emotionally. While a PSD might not be able to talk or provide feedback to their owners’ problems, sometimes even their presence alone leaves a calming effect on their owner’s emotional state, so having them around can be crucial to the emotional stability of their owner. Oftentimes, Goldendoodles are even welcome at the foot of their owner’s beds or in their rooms at night for the added layer of comfort.
Provide Physical Support
Goldendoodles are relatively large dogs in size. This trait makes them excellent service dogs, as they can efficiently perform tasks, such as pushing a wheelchair or calming a person down with pressure, that smaller dogs wouldn't physically be able to do. Well-trained Goldendoodles are also able to pull their owners with limited sight to safety, or retrieve items for owner’s with limited mobility. Depending on the Goldendoodle’s size, they might be able to help brace their owners to sit, stand, or even go up and down stairs. However the size of the Goldendoodle should be taken into consideration when assessing what task they can perform, as providing physical support for their owners can be hard on their joints as well.
What Tasks Can a Goldendoodle Perform?
A Goldendoodle puppy needs to learn to perform tasks to help individuals with their daily routine. Here are some tasks that the Goldendoodle breed excels at.
Finding Items
Goldendoodles have an innate instinct to fetch and retrieve items for their handlers. In a guide dog, this translates to finding medications or other essential items that help support the owner’s physical and mental health.
Guiding the Owner
Goldendoodle service dogs can help their owners by guiding them. Their service-dog training may help them learn how to guide their handler home safely, through crowded places, or to a safe spot away from hazards.
Alerting the Handler
Goldendoodle dogs may also provide services like medical alert dogs, such as diabetic alert dogs, when their owner’s blood sugar is low. Alert dogs may also notify the handler right before a seizure or a panic attack.
Providing Emotional Support
This breed of service dog also makes excellent emotional support animals. Goldendoodles can be a soothing companion to someone suffering from an anxiety attack or dealing with a stressful situation.
Performing Therapeutic Tasks
Goldendoodle support dogs are also a top choice for training as therapy dogs because their quiet and calm demeanor is the perfect personality for a hospital setting. Therapy dogs are often in a hospital or nursing home, providing entertainment and support to patients and nursing home residents.
Helping Those Who Are Visually Impaired
Goldendoodles can be trained to alert a visually impaired person about people or things in their environment that may cause them significant harm. This can alert an owner if something is falling, if they're about to walk into traffic, or if someone is approaching to harm them.
Alerting Others
Goldendoodles are great at alerting others if their owner is in danger. If their owner is diabetic, a Goldendoodle can obtain the proper medical supplies they need when their blood sugar dangerously fluctuates. For those with epilepsy, a Goldendoodle can detect an imminent seizure and get help by signaling emergency servicing. Goldendoodles can also alert someone with anxiety or PTSD to an imminent attack, get help, or provide deep pressure therapy during an attack.
How To Get a Goldendoodle Service Dog
To qualify for a psychiatric service dog, you need to be diagnosed with a mental disability by a mental health professional who can certify that the presence of a PSD can serve your condition. Pettable has a simple process to help you attain a PSD letter from a licensed professional. Then, you will need to ensure that your service dog is correctly trained. There is no requirement that a professional trainer is involved in the process and self-training is perfectly acceptable. If you wish to train your own psychiatric service dog then Pettable’s online PSD training program may be a good option for you.
Complete Our Assessment
Before we can examine your condition and determine if you require a psychiatric service dog, you must first complete our brief examination.
Consult With a Therapist
You'll be matched with a qualified mental health professional and offered a link to schedule a live consultation with them after completing our privacy and permission papers authorizing our doctors to work with you. Following that, a mental health examination will be conducted to see if you are a candidate for a psychiatric service dog.
Train Your Psychiatric Service Dog
You will need to train your Golden Doodle to perform tasks that assist you with your disability. You can pay a professional trainer to do this or you can opt to train the dog yourself. If you want to self-train a psychiatric service dog you may benefit from our online PSD training program. The program is delivered through video lessons and can be completed on any timeline.
If you are not satisfied with the training program within 7 days of purchase we will completely refund your money.
Can I Train My Goldendoodle To be a Service Dog?
It is feasible to train a Goldendoodle to be a service animal, you can either pay a professional trainer to train the dog for you or administer the training yourself. If you wish to go the self-training route, we have created an online PSD training program to assist you with the task. The program is self-paced and presented in online video tutorials that will equip you with all the information you need to train your own psychiatric service dog.
It's crucial to have patience with your dog if you plan to train your service dog independently because the process might take a while. Training a service animal, though time-consuming, can be quite rewarding if you're completely committed to it.
It's important to keep in mind that service animals must go through training in order to receive certification as service animals, whether it's done by you or a qualified professional.
Where Can I Adopt a Goldendoodle Service Dog?
Goldendoodles can be adopted from local shelters or breeders, just like any other service dog or ESA. Any dog, regardless of origin or if it is already someone's companion, can be certified as a service animal. Owners who choose this route must train their dogs, satisfy certification requirements, and establish a bond with them.
However, some agencies let individuals adopt service animals that have already been trained and are looking for a new home. This could be a good option for those with immediate needs that a trained service dog has already proven their capabilities with a previous owner. Much of the adoption process is the same as with a regular pet. You will still have to meet and make sure you are a compatible match, and are able to also care for and accomodate the service animal.
What Disabilities Qualify for a Goldendoodle Service Dog?
You will need to speak with a certified mental health practitioner to see if you are eligible for a Goldendoodle Service dog. However, the following conditions are likely to make someone eligible for a service dog:
- Depression and Depressive Disorders
- Anxiety Disorders & Phobias
- Bipolar Disorders
- Schizophrenia and Psychotic Disorders
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Addiction, Substance Abuse, and Alcoholism
- PTSD, Trauma & Stress-Related Disorders
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
- Dissociative and Personality Disorders
- Autism
- Neurocognitive and Sleep-Wave Disorders
Some physical disabilities include:
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
- Sensory Disabilities (Blind, Deaf, etc.)
- ALS
- Cancer
- Cerebral Palsy
- Parkinson's Disease
- Muscular Dystrophy
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Arthritis
- Diabetes
- Chronic Pain
- Stroke
- Paralysis
- Vertigo
- And more
What’s the Difference Between Psychiatric Service Dogs vs. Emotional Support Dogs?
Service dogs for mental health are very different from emotional support canines. Here are some significant distinctions between ESAs and psychiatric service dogs that you should be aware of.
Species
The term "emotional support animal" can apply to any animal. Only canines and miniature horses are permitted to be assistance animals under federal law.
Purpose
Even by just being there, an emotional support animal helps. An animal trained as a service animal is given responsibilities to complete on behalf of a person with a handicap.
Training
An emotional support animal does not need to be trained; all that is required is a statement outlining the therapeutic benefits of the animal from a qualified mental health expert. Individual training is required for service animals.
Legal Protections
Service dogs are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act and have provisions under the Fair Housing Act and Air Carrier Access Act, unlike emotional support animals, which are only protected by the FHA and ADA when an ESA letter is in force.
Public Access
Anywhere their owner goes, a service animal is welcome. While owners of emotional support animals may get away with taking them into locations that don't allow pets, only housing units are legally compelled to accept them.
Don't leave them behind. Get your PSD training plan from a certified PSD trainer.
Frequently Asked Questions About Goldendoodle Service Dogs
Here are some of the most common questions dog owners wonder about Goldendoodles as service animals.
How Much Does a Goldendoodle Service Dog Cost?
If you want a purebred Goldendoodle, you can try to adopt one from a rescue organization for minimal cost. You can also pay a premium for a Goldendoodle puppy from a breeder, between $2,000 and $3,000. Then, you’ll need to consider the costs of training the dog as a service animal. Pettable offers an online PSD training program to provide you all the information you need to train a PSD yourself starting at $199. We offer a 7-day money back guarantee if you are at all unsatisfied with the program.
How To Catch a Fake Goldendoodle Service Dog?
A genuine service dog will demonstrate focused and calm behavior. Fake Goldendoodle service dogs may appear nervous around strangers or unsettled. They may also exhibit destructive or annoying behavior, such as chewing or barking.
Can You Get a Goldendoodle Service Dog for Anxiety?
People diagnosed with an anxiety disorder by a mental health professional can qualify for a psychiatric service dog. They can choose to have their Goldendoodle puppy trained as a service dog to enjoy their pet’s affection and low-shedding coat.
Can Any Dog Be a Service Dog?
Not all dog breeds or individuals are born to be service dogs. Service dogs have to be intelligent, easygoing, and capable of dealing with noisy or busy situations. The Goldendoodle has natural talents and personality traits that could make it a helpful service dog.
Do Goldendoodle Service Dogs Have To Be on a Leash?
In most situations, service dogs need to have a leash and be under the control of their owner. Goldendoodles can learn how to complete tasks and provide assistance while leashed during their service-dog training.
Does Insurance Cover Goldendoodle Service Dogs?
Most health insurance plans don’t cover the cost of a service dog. It may be possible to set aside funds in an FSA or an HSA to help pay for a service animal.
How To Get a Psychiatric Service Dog?
To get a psychiatric service dog, you can connect with Pettable. Take our online assessment to determine your needs, and we can link you with a therapist who may be able to create an ESA letter for a service dog.
How Long Does it Take To Train Goldendoodle Service Dogs?
A service dog trainer may have to work with a Goldendoodle for a year or two before they are ready to work as an assistance animal. Each dog’s temperament and personality may make this timeline different depending on the situation. Ultimately, training time will depend on the individual dog, and Pettable’s online PSD training program is entirely self-paced to account for this.
Are Goldendoodle Service Dogs Allowed Everywhere?
The ADA permits service dogs to go to any public place. Service dogs that accompany a person with a disability must be on a leash and under control.
How To Get a Goldendoodle Service Dog for PTSD?
To get a Goldendoodle assistance dog for PTSD, you need to reach out to a mental health professional for guidance. At Pettable, we may also provide a consultation with a provider who specializes in preparing ESA letters for patients.
Meet the author:
Susana is an avid animal lover and has been around animals her entire life, and has volunteered at several different animal shelters in Southern California. She has a loving family at home that consists of her husband, son, two dogs, and one cat. She enjoys trying new Italian recipes, playing piano, making pottery, and outdoor hiking with her family and dogs in her spare time.
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