Image source: https://pixabay.com/photos/dog-golden-retriever-white-hair-2753369/
You’re probably aware of service dogs that can help people who have physical disabilities, such as guide dogs for blind people and hearing dogs for people who are deaf.
But service dogs can also help people who have mental health issues like anxiety. These are known as psychiatric service dogs. You will need to know how to register a dog as a service dog if you're considering this as an option.
In addition to providing their owners with emotional support and companionship, they can assist their owners with performing tasks that help to alleviate their owners’ symptoms of anxiety.
The tasks that the dog performs will be unique to the specific owner’s needs, such as assessing threats, providing a therapeutic tactile distraction, and reminding their owners that they need to take medication.
While any breed of dog can be a psychiatric service dog, some breeds are arguably better for helping people with anxiety. So, let’s take a look at the most suitable breeds of dogs for anxiety sufferers.
Golden Retrievers
Psychiatric service dogs of all sizes are suitable for helping people who have anxiety. One large PSD dog that is great for anxiety sufferers is the much-loved golden retriever.
The retriever is well known for its calm and passive demeanor. It’s also one of the smartest dogs around, making it easy to train as a service dog to perform tasks like reminding owners about medication or distracting owners when they’re experiencing moments of panic.
Golden retrievers are strong, obedient, and loyal, and they can adapt to new situations very well. So, if you have an anxiety condition and you’re looking for a large dog to be your service dog, a golden retriever could be the best choice.
Pugs
If you live in a small apartment, a large dog may not be the best breed to get. The good news is many breeds of small dogs make excellent companions for people who have anxiety conditions.
Pugs particularly make excellent companions. Not only do they love being around humans and provide a lot of love. They can also be carried. If you suffer anxiety when doing things like riding the bus, it can be very beneficial to have a pug you can hold on to.
Pugs are very loyal and can be trained to perform certain tasks. Furthermore, they’re very cute.
Poodles
Poodles come in all kinds of sizes and they’re ideal as psychiatric service dogs due to them being some of the most intelligent and trainable dogs on the planet.
They’re dependable, loyal, and they adjust well to different environments. Poodles tend to stay focused too. They crave human companionship, they have high levels of stamina, and they can quickly bond with both individuals and whole families.
Border Collies
Border collies are very intelligent. They can even pick up on body language, which makes them perfect for psychiatric service dogs for people with anxiety.
They’re eager to please, they’re very loyal, and they’re one of the friendliest breeds of dogs around.
Collies have a lot of high energy, so they need attention and lots of walks. That can be good for people with anxiety as it forces them to leave the house each day. In time, by simply getting out and about, people with anxiety can reduce their symptoms.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, there’s no one dog breed that’s best for people with anxiety, although some breeds are more suitable than others.
If you have anxiety and you’re looking for a psychiatric service dog, spend some time looking at the personalities and traits of different dog breeds to find the one that can help you the most.
