What We Do / What We Don't Do

WHAT WE DO

If you call PSDS, you will likely reach our voicemail system initially. This is because we are on the phone continuously answering questions from mental health consumers across the U.S. and Canada. Please leave us a message, because we will call you back.

During the phone call, you will have an opportunity to get all your questions about psychdogs answered correctly. We pride ourselves on offering accurate and up-to-date information for persons who considering psychdog partnership. If it is appropriate to do so, we will invite you to join our online communities. Only mental health consumers are allowed to join these groups, and subscriptions are activated by PSDS staff. (You cannot sign up for these groups yourself, and we require a phone call before we will agree to subscribe you to our listservs.)

The most common question we are asked is, “How can I get my dog certified as a service dog?” Certification is not required under federal law. So certification should not be your goal or focus. Satisfying the legal definition of what a ‘service dog’ is should be your primary goal. The law requires training. We recommend training in three areas: basic obedience, public access skills, and disability-related assistance. Furthermore, you would be well-advised to accumulate evidence of your dog’s training in these three areas. Such documentation will be kept in your personal files at home and shown only to your attorney in the event of a lawsuit. For more information about how to train a Psychdog, please see the owner-training standard and public access standard in the ‘Training’ section of our website.

WHAT WE DON'T DO

We do not train or place dogs with people.

We do not accept donated dogs or pups.

We do not provide funding to individuals; nor do we track such funding opportunities.

We will not tell you what breed of dog you should use. This is an individual decision.

We do not mail-out hard-copy how-to literature. We don’t have the budget for that.

© 2008 Psychiatric Service Dog Society
Disclaimer: Material on this website is provided for educational purposes only.
Consult your own physician regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with
respect to your symptoms or medical condition.