Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often seek the help of companion animals to support their recovery and daily functioning. However, the distinction between service dogs (SDs) and emotional support animals (ESAs) is critical, particularly in terms of legal access, trained behaviors, and clinical appropriateness. A 2021 study by Porter, Winkle, and Herlache-Pretzer offers important insights into how healthcare providers can assess and recommend the most suitable option.
The research, published in the journal People and Animals: The International Journal of Research and Practice, involved a nonexperimental web-based survey targeting SD training organizations across the U.S. and Canada. The study aimed to identify the kinds of trained tasks that distinguish SDs from ESAs, and what factors determine whether a veteran is better matched with one over the other.
Service dogs are trained to perform tasks that directly mitigate PTSD symptoms—such as waking veterans from nightmares, performing safety checks, blocking in crowded spaces, and reducing hyperarousal. By contrast, ESAs provide emotional comfort through their presence but do not perform trained tasks and do not have the same legal public access rights as SDs.
According to the study, clinicians must consider several key domains before recommending a dog for a veteran: the individual’s cognitive and psychosocial functioning, symptom profile, daily activity needs, and expectations about what the animal will provide. For example, veterans who exhibit significant reactivity or hypervigilance may benefit from SDs trained in environmental alerting and stress interruption, while others with milder symptomatology may find ESAs to be sufficient.
The authors stress the risk of reinforcing avoidance behavior if certain SD tasks are misaligned with evidence-based PTSD treatment goals. For instance, tasks like checking corners or turning on lights may unintentionally validate fears and hinder habituation, a key process in PTSD therapy.
Ultimately, the study concludes that healthcare providers play a crucial role in ensuring veterans are paired with the right type of support animal. Their clinical insights can directly inform training organizations to tailor dog behaviors to match individual treatment goals, enhancing long-term outcomes and quality of life.
Source: Porter, M., Winkle, M. Y., & Herlache-Pretzer, E. (2021). Considerations for Recommending Service Dogs versus Emotional Support Animals for Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. People and Animals: The International Journal of Research and Practice, Volume 4, Issue 1. Authors are affiliated with University of Tennessee Health Science Center, University of New Mexico, and Saginaw Valley State University. https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/paij/vol4/iss1/4
