The 5 Best Service Dog Training Programs 2022

For those with mental health or physical disabilities, a service dog can be an absolutely life-changing experience. Psychiatric Service Dogs (PSDs) in particular, are service dogs that are trained to perform tasks that can mitigate the symptoms of mental health disorders. This can include things like retrieving medications on a set schedule, helping their handlers find the exit in a new, stressful environment, or even calling for help when needed!

When many people think of animal companions that help out those with mental health disorders, their first thought is emotional support animals (ESAs). While these animals can provide huge benefits, service dogs go a step further. Because they perform specific tasks, often outside of the home, they’re granted more legal rights than ESAs, including public access. This means they’re allowed to accompany their handlers in almost any public space needed, including grocery stores, offices, and even airline cabins!

As helpful as a service dog can be, it’s no secret that they can be challenging to obtain. Insurance will rarely cover the cost of a service dog, no matter how necessary they are, and the cost for a trained PSD can be as high as $50,000. While some organizations will offer low or no-cost options, the waiting list can be multiple years – which just isn’t feasible for many of those in need of help.

However, there’s a great alternative – training your own PSD through affordable, accessible online courses. Unfortunately, there are some less-than-legitimate options on the market – but there are also some incredible courses that can help you easily train your pup for a fraction of the cost of in-person training methods. We’ve analyzed all the service dog training programs available online and narrowed it down to the 5 best, most trustworthy options. That way, you can feel confident in whichever you choose – and start getting the support you need as soon as possible.

What Is a Service Dog?

A service dog is any dog that is specifically trained to perform at least one task to help someone cope with the symptoms of a diagnosed disability. While many people may jump to thinking of things like guide or mobility dogs that help those who are blind or have partial sight, there are many other types of service dogs as well.

For instance, a psychiatric service dog can perform several tasks that can help those with mental health issues experience great independence and security. These PSDs can help ground their handler during a flashback or panic attack by performing Deep Pressure Therapy, can wake them during night terrors, or even stop self-harming behaviors.

Since they’re deemed medically necessary, these dogs are granted public access so that they can accompany their handler nearly anywhere they need support. They’re even allowed to ride for free in an airline cabin with their human!

What Are the Benefits of a Psychiatric Service Dog?

There are multiple ways in which a PSD can benefit their handler, including:

Performing tasks that are tailored to their handler’s condition. For instance, if someone who lives with depression struggles to get out of bed, remember to drink water, or go outside, their PSD can be trained to encourage them out of bed each morning, bring them scheduled bottles of water, and offer their leash to encourage their human to take them for a walk.
Decreasing feelings of loneliness or isolation. One of the most challenging aspects of mental health issues is often a feeling of isolation or intense loneliness. A service dog can help decrease this by offering their companionship and unconditional love.
Providing support from trauma. Many of those with mental health disabilities have lived through significant trauma, and as a result, may suffer from panic attacks or flashbacks. A service dog can help provide grounding during these moments, and can gently guide their handler to a calmer state of mind.
Offering a sense of purpose. A lack of a sense of purpose is a common mental health disability symptom. Caring for a service dog can provide a great sense of purpose, since they need their handler’s care, attention, and love.
Providing general health benefits. On top of mental health benefits, a PSD can provide more overall health benefits. Not only do they encourage their human to get consistent exercise, but studies have found that living with a pup can help lower blood pressure!

Who Can Qualify for a Psychiatric Service Dog?

Anyone with a diagnosed disability may qualify for a service dog, and those with a diagnosed mental health disability can qualify for a psychiatric service dog, specifically. These can include conditions such as:

Autism
Depression
Panic Disorder
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
General Anxiety Disorder
Addiction Issues
ADHD
Learning Disabilities

If you’re diagnosed with a mental health disorder, don’t hesitate to consider training your own PSD. You deserve the very best support possible, and for many, a PSD is exactly that.

What Is a Service Dog Training Program?

A service dog training program is an online resource that helps you train your own pup to be a service dog. Typically, these cover basic obedience as a foundation, and then build on that, helping you learn how to train your dog to perform specific tasks to help with any symptoms you may experience, like disorientation or flashbacks. These are excellent options for those who are looking to get a service dog without a long waiting list or having to pay tens of thousands of dollars for in-person training.

How to Pick the Right Service Dog Training Program for You?

When picking a service dog training course, keep these considerations in mind:

Quality Content. You’ll want to make sure a program covers everything you’ll need – including any foundational commands, as well as specific tasks you’d like them to perform, like retrieving, orbiting, or helping you find an exit. You’ll also want to be certain the content is high-quality and was produced by experienced, professional trainers.
Customer Service. Even with the best service dog programs, things can go wrong, or you may find yourself with questions about training, tech issues, or service dog laws. A reputable service dog training program should have a helpful, friendly, and easily accessible customer service team ready to help you out.
Reviews. Just like with any other service, you’ll want to check reviews online, both in guides like ours, and by individual customers. This is often the best way to be certain that a service dog training program delivers what they promise on their website.
Price. Budget is always an important consideration when choosing a service dog training program. While most online courses are much less expensive than getting a pre-trained PSD, or going through in-person training, you’ll still want to make sure a specific program matches your price requirements.
Legal Support. A legal support team can be as important as a solid customer support team. This can help relieve any anxiety about potential issues, like disputes with your landlord, workplace, or any business owners. An experienced legal team will mean you’ll never have to deal with any legal issues on your own.

When picking our top 5 service dog training programs, we kept all the above criteria in mind – so you can feel confident in any of our choices!

The Top 5 Service Dog Training Programs

1. Dog Academy – Best Overall Service Dog Training Program

Our absolute favorite pick for the best service dog training program is from Dog Academy. This course has been carefully crafted with their AKC-certified trainers who have more than 25 years of professional experience. Even better, the course has been fully vetted and approved by Linn Boyke, the internationally-renowned Dog Psychology Specialist.

While you may assume working with such experienced trainers would cost you a bundle, it couldn’t be further from the truth. Their course comes in at under $350, which means they cost 95% less than comparable in-person training programs.

Their PSD course uses only positive, reward-based training techniques which work with your pup’s psychology. Not only is this training technique more effective, but it encourages a strong, trusting, lifelong bond between you and your dog – which is incredibly essential when you’re training a PSD. It also works well for beginners, since it covers foundational techniques and breaks down every training task into clear and actionable steps. However, it’s also rich enough to appeal to even the most experienced dog trainer.

They also have an outstanding legal and customer support team (and every member of their customer support team has experience training dogs as well!). Plus, they have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, have a nearly 5-star rating on Trustpilot, and have helped more than 10,000 pup parents train their dogs! The only potential con we found is that they offer enough courses that it can be hard to decide if you may benefit from an additional course as well – but this can be as much of a positive as a negative, and their customer support will help you figure out what is right for you.

Pros

Positive, reward-based training
Fantastic value
Created with AKC-certified professional trainers
Vetted and approved by Linn Boyke
Excellent legal support
Experienced and helpful customer service team
A+ BBB rating
Nearly 5-star Trustpilot rating
Rich enough for experienced dog trainers
Clear and accessible to even first-time dog trainers

Cons

Amount of courses offered can be a little overwhelming

2. US Service Animals – Runner Up for Best Service Dog Training Program

Coming in close behind Dog Academy is US Service Animals, another solid, trustworthy company you can feel confident in choosing to help train your PSD. While the legal landscape around service animals can be confusing, US Service Animals was founded by lawyers, so every step of the process is legally valid. It also means their legal support cannot be beat!

Like Dog Academy, they also utilize a positive, reward-based training method, and their course is designed to be both accessible to new trainers as well as detailed enough for those who have some experience under their belt. They’re also an excellent value, have an A+ rating with the BBB, and have an average rating of 5.0 with Trustpilot.

If you do run into any issues, their customer support team is one of the friendliest and most helpful around. Plus, if you decide an emotional service animal is more up your alley (or if you’d like one in addition to your service animal), they offer legal, valid, and stress-free ESA consultations and prescription letters to those who qualify!

They also have a money-back guarantee, so if you don’t love their training program, your wallet won’t suffer. We did find that they send a significant amount of mailers after you enroll, but that seemed like a small price to pay for the overall quality of their service.

Pros

Founded by lawyers
Reward-based training
Good value and money-back guarantee
Excellent customer and legal support
Also offers ESA letters
Suitable for both new and experienced trainers
Solid ratings with the BBB and Trustpilot

Cons

Sends multiple mailers after enrolling

3. Service Dog Academy – Best for Medical Alert Service Dogs

If you’re looking for a medical alert dog specifically, then Service Dog Academy can be a smart choice to consider. They don’t offer programs that train any other type of service dogs (including PSDs), but they do help you train a wide variety of medical alert dogs – including those for diabetes (their main speciality), migraines, POTS, narcolepsy, and A-Fib.

They’ll also help you find a dog that will be an appropriate service dog for you – and they even offer their own puppies. However, these pups are quite expensive, and they make very dramatic claims about how much their selective breeding will impact their ultimate temperament. This is a bit misleading, because while it is likely to influence the pup’s personality, it’s not as much of a guarantee as they seem to claim.

However, the trainers are friendly and positive, and while they often take a long time to respond to questions (due to being run by a small staff), their answers are very helpful and thorough when they do reply. The site can also be a bit dense and hard to read, so it can all be a bit challenging for those new to dog training – but for those who have some experience, this can be a great option.

Also, if you end up really loving training your own service dog, they offer internships to help you become a professional service dog trainer, which means you can help others out as well.

Pros

Offers multiple types of medical alert service dog training programs
Trainers offer helpful answers when needed
Will help you find an appropriate dog to train
Offers internships to help you become a professional service dog trainer

Cons

Can take a long time to get an answer to a question
Only offers programs for medical alert service dogs
Can be challenging for new dog trainers

4. Service Dog Training School – Best For Specialized Training

If you need to train your service dog to help with multiple disorders, or if you are looking for very specialized skills, then Service Dog Training School likely has what you’re looking for. In addition to an online PSD training course, they also offer multiple other focused programs, including ones for an autism companion, diabetic alert, or seizure alert dogs. This is incredibly helpful if you have a medical condition that accompanies your mental health disorder, as you can get the skills your service pup will need all in one place.

However, this kind of specialization does come with some drawbacks. The prices on each course vary based on how intensive the training is, so some of the courses are fairly expensive (though still significantly less than purchasing a trained service dog or opting for in-person training). Their courses are also fairly challenging, though they’re laid out in a way that helps them be as understandable as possible – and you’re paired with an assigned trainer who reviews your videos and photos, and gives you tailored advice.

All of their trainers are either certified by the American Kennel Club or are certified as assistance dog trainers by the Canine Behavioral College UK, so you can feel confident in their experience and knowledge. Unfortunately, though, they don’t have much in the way of a legal support team – which is doubly concerning, since there have been issues with airlines refusing to allow dogs trained under their programs to fly in the cabin with their handler. They’re also not as clear as they could be on their site about what is legally required regarding service dog registration, which can be confusing for those new to the space.

Pros

Offers multiple, specialized courses for multiple service dog needs
All trainers are certified with the AKC or the Canine Behavioral College UK
You’re assigned your own personal trainer
The courses are designed to be as easy to follow as possible

Cons

Some courses are quite expensive
Minimal legal support, and airlines may dispute their program’s validity
Coursework can be challenging, especially for newer trainers

5. Hot Dog On a Leash – Best for In-Person Service Dog Training

If an online program isn’t your speed, then the franchise Hot Dog On a Leash may be more up your alley. Even though a professional trainer does the majority of the work in the program, you’re still heavily involved, which helps you build a stronger bond with your pup. This is important no matter what, but in the case of training a service dog, that bond is absolutely vital.

The program itself can be very effective, and the trainers are all passionate about animals – which comes through in their work and approach. And each service dog training course is tailored toward your own needs – which does mean you won’t have a set price for the program until you speak with them. However, there are some consistently reported problems that are fairly large red flags – including missed appointments, never replying to phone calls or emails, or not sending promised refunds.

In addition to that, they’re often responsive at first, until they get you to sign up for a more expensive course – after which, they may quit showing up to appointments or replying to you. Since they do have multiple franchises, this may not be an issue with every location or trainer – but it’s something you’ll want to be prepared for.

Pros

Offers in-person training that still involves you
Training program can be very effective
Service dog training programs are customized to your needs

Cons

Repeated incidences of them being unresponsive or not showing up
No set prices for their service dog program
Very pushy upselling techniques
May not honor promised refunds

Service Dog FAQs

To help make sure you’re fully informed before you dive into a service dog training program, we’ve collected answers to the most important common questions here.

What Is a Service Dog?

According to the Americans With Disabilities Act, a service dog is a dog that has been specifically trained to perform at least one task to mitigate the symptoms of a disability, including sight issues, mobility issues, or mental health disorders.

Who Can Qualify for a Service Dog?

Anyone with a diagnosed disability that could be helped by a service dog can qualify. To be diagnosed, you’ll need to either speak with your doctor or with a licensed mental healthcare professional in your state.

What Rights Do Service Dogs Have?

Because service dogs are deemed medically necessary, they are granted public access rights. This means they’re allowed to accompany their handlers in most public spaces, including stores, offices, and even in airline cabins (for no charge). Also, they are allowed to live in any housing, regardless of the landlord’s pet policy, and they cannot be charged pet rent, pet deposits, or fees.

What Is the Difference Between a Service Dog and an ESA?

While both are deemed medically necessary, a service dog is trained to perform specific tasks to help their handler with their disorder (like retrieving medication or helping them find an exit), while an ESA provides emotional comfort simply with their presence – there’s no specific task they must do. Because of this, only service dogs are granted public access, though both have the right to live in most housing regardless of pet policies.

Can You Fly With a Service Dog?

Yes, because service dogs are legally granted public access, they can fly with you for free in any airline cabin. The only stipulation is the dog must not be aggressive or poorly behaved, and it must be able to resist relieving itself for the length of the flight.

Can Any Dog Be a Service Dog?

Any breed or size of dog can become a service dog, as long as their personal temperament is well-suited to the training. Service dogs are exempt from breed restrictions set by landlords or public spaces – so all types of dogs are eligible.

Can My Service Dog Live With Me Even Though My Landlord Doesn’t Allow Pets?

Yes, legally, your service dog must be able to live with you in most rental housing, regardless of your landlord’s pet policy. You also cannot be charged any pet fees, pet deposits, or pet rent costs.

Does My Service Dog Need an ID Tag or Marked Collar?

No, legally, your service dog requires no tags, collars, leashes, or vests that identify them as such. However, many people still prefer to utilize these to both prevent potential conflicts with business owners, or to make it clear to strangers that the dog is working and shouldn’t be touched or distracted.

What Is the Difference Between a Psychiatric Service Dog and a Service Dog?

Legally, there’s no difference between a psychiatric service dog and a service dog. A psychiatric service dog is simply a specific type of service dog – one that’s trained to help with the symptoms caused by a mental health disorder, like depression, anxiety, or PTSD.

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