Difference Among Therapy, Emotional Support & Service Dogs

Interested in therapy dogs for adoption (or training a dog you’ve adopted)? Curious about the differences between a service dog vs. an emotional support dog? Learn the differences among therapy dogs, an emotional support animal (ESA) and service dogs, including their roles, training requirements and legal rights.

What is the Difference Among Therapy, Emotional Support, and Service Dogs

The difference among a therapy, emotional support and service dog depends on the services they provide. The same breed could possibly work in any of these roles.

Unlike therapy dogs, service dogs and their human companions must be allowed access to buildings (including restaurants, libraries, supermarkets, and churches), transportation systems, and other public areas and services.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines service dogs as any guide dog, signal dog or other animal who is trained to aid an individual with a disability. For example, some dogs are trained to pull wheelchairs. Others are taught to alert individuals to the sounds of the telephone, oven timers, alarm clocks, smoke alarms and even a baby’s cry. Service dogs are not considered pets.

Therapy Dogs

Therapy dogs usually provide physiological or psychological therapy to individuals other than their handlers. Therapy dog adoption can help those in need of some mental support.

Assistance Dogs International describes a therapy dog as a pet dog trained to bring comfort, love, and affection to people in various settings. Owners of therapy dogs can volunteer to bring their animals to visit places like hospitals, schools or nursing homes, where their presence is appreciated. Alternatively, they could be practitioners having the dog working with them in a professional setting. It’s important to note that therapy dogs do not have the same legal access rights as service dogs, so they cannot go anywhere that service dogs are allowed. 

Therapy dogs are not given any special rights to places where regular pets can’t go. Some organizations offer training programs to ensure these dogs are friendly and can comfortably interact with strangers.

Therapy dog training often includes basic obedience commands such as sit, down, stay, walk on a loose lead and socialization exercises with other dogs and people. Their owners bring them into various educational and healthcare facilities to provide comfort and companionship to individuals during visits as a part of animal-assisted therapy. It’s important to note that therapy dogs are not service dogs or emotional support animals since their primary role is to benefit others rather than just their handlers.

A therapy dog’s primary role is to provide comfort in various settings (hospitals, schools and nursing homes). Therapy dog temperament should be gentle in order to provide their services, and they are also thoroughly trained for public rights access.

Another key difference between therapy dogs and service dogs is that service dogs benefit their owners, whereas therapy dogs benefit others. Also, the dogs must enjoy the work (e.g., interacting with people, traveling to new places, etc.).

If you adopt a therapy dog, they’re bound to be gentle and kind. There is a common misconception that therapy dogs need to be a certain breed or raised to be therapy dogs from a very young age. On the contrary, therapy dogs come in all breeds and sizes!

Emotional Support Animals and Dogs

Emotional support pets provide what’s in their name—emotional support. They’re a great help to people needing mental support and emotional comfort.

ESAs include any domesticated dog with emotional support dog training. An ESA dog’s behavior needs to be gentle enough to allow you to pet them.

Emotional support dogs, at the same time, are not service dogs, meaning they are not trained to perform a task that alleviates a disability per the ADA. While cuddling may be common for an ESA animal, this is not common for service dogs. However, this is not to say that service dogs do not receive love and affection from their owners.

Other benefits of ESAs include:

• Increasing pleasure 
• Reducing pain  
• Reducing depression 
• Enhancing social interaction and engagement 
• Alleviating loneliness 
• Regulating heart rate and blood pressure

ESAs are protected under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), meaning that individuals with these dogs can live in housing that’s otherwise designated as “pet-free.” A letter from a licensed mental health professional needs to be provided to gain access to pet-free housing with an ESA. Emotional support dogs are not given legal rights to be in public places by the ADA. Emotional support dog travel is limited.

Some of the best breeds for ESA dog adoption include Golden Retrievers or Labrador Retrievers because they are eager to please and easy to train. 

Service Dogs

A service dog is a dog that works for individuals with disabilities, including but not limited to blindness and deafness. Service dogs are trained to perform a wide variety of tasks including, but not limited to, pulling a wheelchair, bracing, retrieving, alerting to a medical crisis and providing assistance in a medical crisis.

Here’s what it takes to be a service vs. therapy dog. The difference between a service dog and a therapy dog is that service dog training starts with having all the characteristics of a therapy dog plus a few others. For example, certain breeds are chosen for specific types of service. In the United States, 60 to 70 percent of all working guide dogs for the blind are Labrador Retrievers. Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds are next in popularity. These dogs are chosen because of their service dog-like temperament, versatility, size, intelligence, and availability.

Guide dogs must be hard workers. Service dogs working as guide dogs to people who are blind should be large enough to guide people in a harness and small enough to be easily controlled and fit comfortably on public transportation and under restaurant tables. Other service dogs, such as allergy and seizure detection dogs, do not need a harness.

You may find that some service dogs seem to “stretch the envelope” when it comes to fitting comfortably in public places. One such dog, Hooch, is a massive Rottweiler who is a service dog for a man named Daniel. Although Hooch weighs in at more than one hundred pounds, he manages to wrap himself around the pedestal of a cafe table and be as unobtrusive as possible! 

The biggest comparison gap between a service dog vs. an emotional support dog is that the ADA protects the rights of individuals with service dogs, unlike with therapy dogs or ESAs. Service dogs must go through rigorous training requirements and are, as defined by the ADA, “any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Tasks performed can include, among other things, pulling a wheelchair, retrieving dropped items, alerting a person to a sound, reminding a person to take medication or pressing an elevator button.”

A service dog adoption (or placement) can be a life-changer for those with disabilities needing help with their daily routines. Most service dog’s careers reach about 10 years, and then they retire to their leisure. A service dog’s lifespan is no different on average than any other dog of their breed.

Service dogs come in all sizes, too! The best breeds depend on the service needed. Some of the different types of service dogs may include: 

• Guide dogs to help blind people navigate. Some of the best breeds for guide dogs include: 
• Labradors 
• Golden Retrievers 
• German Shepherds 
• Signal (or hearing) dogs to help deaf people identify sounds. Some of the best breeds for hearing dogs include: 
• Labradors 
• Golden Retrievers 
• Poodles (standard or miniature) 
• Autism service dogs to support people on the autism spectrum, for which any appropriately trained dog may work excellently, depending on the person’s preferences and needs. 
• Psychiatric service dogs to support those prone to go through psychiatric episodes such as veterans with post-combat injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety. Some of the best breeds for helping people with PTSD or for reducing anxiety include: 
• Golden Retrievers 
• Labradors 
• Mobility assistance dogs to help people in wheelchairs. Some of the best breeds for mobility assistance dogs include: 
• Rough Collies 
• Samoyeds 
• Labradors 
• Golden Retrievers 
• German Shepherds 
• Great Danes 
• Other working dog breeds 
• Medical alert dogs trained to recognize seizures, for which any breed of dog may work excellently, depending on the person’s preferences and needs.

Compare Therapy Dogs vs. Emotional Support Dogs and Service Dogs

The following chart compares the differences among the dog types, therapy dog and service dog vs. emotional support dog, including training, public access rights, legal protections and travel restrictions.

For more expert tips with information about your new dog, explore our other dog and puppy information articles.

Sources Cited

Nancy Darling, PhD. Don’t Confuse Service, Therapy, and Emotional Support Dogs. Psychology Today. Updated January 23, 2023. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/thinking-about-kids/202301/dont-confuse-service-therapy-and-emotional-support-dogs

Definition of a Service Dog vs. Emotional Support Animal vs. Therapy Dog. American Humane. https://www.americanhumane.org/app/uploads/2018/05/Definition-of-Service-Dog_3_7_18.compressed.pdf 

Jan Risen. Service, Working, Therapy, and Emotional Support Dogs: What’s the Difference? American Kennel Club. Updated April 8, 2024. https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/service-working-therapy-emotional-support-dogs/

PTSD Service Dogs. Purina US. https://www.purina.com/dog-chow/service-dogs-for-veterans/facts-benefits 

Types of Service Dogs and How They Benefit People with Disabilities. United Disabilities Services. Updated February 15, 2020. https://udservices.org/types-of-service-dogs

A Randomized Trial of Differential Effectiveness of Service Dog Pairing Versus Emotional Support Dog Pairing to Improve Quality of Life for Veterans with PTSD. Department of Veterans Affairs. January 5, 2020. https://www.research.va.gov/REPORT-Study-of-Costs-and-Benefits-Associated-with-the-Use-of-Service-Dogs-Monograph1.pdf

Assistance Dogs International. Glossary. https://assistancedogsinternational.org/resources/adi-terms-definitions