Treatment-resistant mental disorders report says having an emotional support dog provides immense therapeutic benefits to individuals with psychological issues such as anxiety, depression, phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder.
In this report, we learn that you do not only have to have mental disorders to benefit from pet ownership.
In fact, if you need help in elevating serotonin or dopamine in the brain, all you have to do is adopt a therapeutic pet dog, and you will be amazed at how it even lowers triglycerides and cholesterol levels significantly.
So, if you are a city slicker, you probably could do with one of the best apartment living dog breeds as there are countless suitable emotional dog breeds for highrise city living accommodation.
An emotional support dog is also said to be a medical solution and therefore, must, in most cases, be prescribed by licensed medical professionals and individuals must have a verifiable and documented disability to receive accommodation to get an emotional support dog.
Are you wondering how exactly an emotional support dog can help a person? Well, below, we have listed ways in which the emotional support dog helps people.
Ways in which emotional support dogs helps individuals
Let’s look at the ways in which these emotional support dogs can help individuals suffering from anxiety, depression and other mental issues:
They give unconditional love: These emotional support dogs can help individuals who have been diagnosed with stress, anxiety and depression, feel love that has been hard for them to find.
They make the individual feel unconditional love and closeness that the individual hasn’t felt for a while and us struggling to receive from others.
This doesn’t really mean that an individual with an emotional support dog is unable to connect with other people, no! The dog is sometimes just there to help the person get back on their feet and then start to interact with others without any difficulties.
The dog’s help get rid of loneliness: Individuals who are dealing with anxiety, depression and other mental struggles every day with social activities.
Whether that involves meeting other people or just being in a public setting can be a massive challenge for the socially anxious.
So they turn to the solution of isolating themselves because of how uncomfortable they feel.
Medical professionals confirmed that these feelings of isolation and loneliness become less when the individual has an emotional support dog because the dog becomes an excellent companionship. And the individual will no longer be facing the whole day alone.
The emotional support dog will also increase the opportunities of the person socializing with other people, e.g. when taking the dog to the park, there’ll be many people there who would likely love to interact.
The Emotional support dogs provides calming effects: Individuals who suffer from mental problems most of the time have to deal with panic attack, they panic when they don’t feel safe or when they feel like they cannot trust anybody.
When the individual has an emotional support dog, it helps to calm them and stress levels will decrease. The individual may start to feel more safe with the dog around.
There is no secret that dogs can provide individuals who are struggling with an illness to have a reason for getting up and go for a much-needed exercise walking their dog.
So whether it is just getting out in the backyard to play or taking a walk around the neighborhood, many of a few benefits for owning a dog is being active and getting outdoors which has positive physical and mental effects.
If you are looking for the best dog breeds for emotional support, the first thing to look at is it’s temperament.
Now that you have read the benefits of having an emotional support dog, it’s time we look at our list of the top 10 best emotional support dog breeds:
1. The Golden retriever
The Golden retriever is a medium to large-sized dog breed and has origins in England, Scotland and the United Kingdom.
There are several reasons to why this dog breed is said to be one of the best emotional support dogs, first of all, they are very loyal and friendly, they bond pretty well with their owners, and they love being with their owners everywhere they might go.
The Golden retriever dog breed is also said to be the best for children diagnosed with autism, a mental disorder, with this dog the child will learn to be courageous in crowds and also have a raised self-esteem.
2. The Labrador retriever
Labrador Retriever dog breed is yet another awesome emotional support dog because of it’s wonderful temperaments on. The Labrador retriever has origins in Newfoundland and is known for being very intelligent, kind, calm-, tempered, agile, outgoing, trusting and very gentle.
The reason why this dog breed is said to be of the best emotional support dogs is because of their lively character, they are always happy and energetic and will encourage the individual to perk up even when not feeling great at all.
3. The German Shepherd
The German Shepherd is a breed of medium to large size and it has origins in Germany. The breed weighs 22 to 40 kgd and stands 55 to 60 cm tall. It’s got a double coat that comes in colors such as black, grey black or silver.
The German Shepherd is Said to be a good emotional support dog because of it’s intelligence, loyalty and obedience and also the fact that they love being around their owners all the time, they offer unconditional love and emotional support whenever needed.
4. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is another lovely dog breed that has origins in the United Kingdom and is named after King Charles II of Britain. The dog was bred to be a loyal companion and therefore are very Noble and royal too.
The breed is known for being sociable, fearless, affectionate, patient and very playful. It’s got a beautiful coat that comes in colors such as black and tan, tri-color, Ruby etc.
This dog breed loves to cuddle and is often referred to as the “comforter spaniel”, the dog is always lively and it’s terrific temperaments tends to make a huge difference in the lives of people living with mental issues.
5. The Chihuahua
The Chihuahua is a small dog breed that has origins in Mexico, it has many different characters but when trained and socialized well starting from a young age, it develops sweet loving personalities that can be translated well I to emotional support. The dog is very playful and loves to keep it’s owners engaged with playtime and snuggles.
6. The Pug
The pugs have a history in China they are a small breed that are well-known for their wrinkled skin and big, puppy-dog eyes, it has a smooth coat that comes in colors such as brown ,black, fawn, etc.
The breed is very energetic, and is also known for having a strong desire to please it’s owner and to make them feel better too.
The Pug dog breed is said to be a good emotional support dog because of it’s wonderful temperaments, it’s kind, loving gentle and very obedient.
The breed is great with individuals of all ages but is said to be best with children. The dog will help the individual with emotional needs feel loved, safe, comfortable and will be a great companion for the individual.
7. The Poodles
The poodle is another great companion with origins in Germany, it’s got a fluffy coat that comes in colors such as white, black, brown, parti, silver, gray etc.
The dog is super social, loved being around people and is great with kids too. They are known for being loyal, loving, friendly and obedient.
They love to sit and cuddle with their owners on the couch. The poodle is said to be a great emotional support dog because it has the ability to make individuals feel calm and safer.
So it’s great for individuals with emotional needs of been loved, appreciate, and feeling safe. The dog is energetic too it loves playing around, taking long walks etc.
8. The Yorkshire Terrier
TheYorkishe is a small dog breed that has origins in England, it’s got a fully coat that comes in colors such as Blue & Tan, Black & Tan, Black & Gold, Blue & Gold.
This dog breed is said to have the ability to help ease the symptoms of anxiety and depression, they are very intelligent and have a tendency to form a very strong bond with it’s owners.
They are very lovable, loyal, obedient and very easy to train too. They love being indoors which gives them time to cuddle with their owners and make them feel safe.
9. The Beagle
The beagle is another small breed dog known for it’s cute floppy ears and very fluffy soft coat.
The dog is said to be one of the best Emotional support dogs because they are very gentle, kind, obedient loyal, outgoing and lively they are also very active and entertaining and they’re also content to cuddle up with!
All these qualities make them to be the perfect candidate for a person with emotional support needs. But they have aciat that she’d like nobody’s business and will require regular brushing in order to be clean, healthy and happy.
10. The Corgie
This is another cute dog breed with origins in Pembrokeshire, this dog is said to be a great emotional support dog because it’s very affectionate, loving, loyal and obedient.
Its intelligence makes it be very easy to train, and it’s said to be great for people of all ages who are living with disabilities. They love to cuddle, like to be indoors, and offer unconditional love to their owners.
