Chihuahuas are small dogs with an easy going personality, making them great pets for families. Can a Chihuahua be a service dog and change difficult tasks like other working dogs? The answer is yes Chihuahuas can be a serving dog. It is confirmed by many dog Chihuahua parents.
Chihuahuas can be helpful for mental disabilities and make them stress free working like emotional support animals. Despite their small size they can be excellent working dogs. So, it’s important to know how Chihuahuas will do this role. In this guide we will explain the Chihuahua as a serving dog.
What are Service Dogs?
According to the American disabilities act(ADA) “a dog that has been trained to perform tasks for an individual with disability”.
Service dogs are professional and special working dogs, they are not pets. They may help people with disabilities such as:
- Mobility Assistance
- Guiding Assistance
- Hearing Assistance
- Medical Assistance (Alert, Sense, Support)
- Diabetic Alert
- Seizure Alert
- Autism Support
- Anxiety Support
- Sleep Support
- PTSD Support
- Allergy Protect
Can a Chihuahua be a service dog?
can be a good serving dog because they are alert, caring and agile which make them able for emergency tasks such as assisting the deaf and helping for epilepsy. But sometimes they can be aggressive.
Chihuahuas have social skills which help to get rid from stress and depression. So, they can be suitable for an emotional support dog.
Chihuahuas are loyal dogs which easily adjust with their family. Without training they can help you to come happy in your stressful life.
Chihuahua breed Overview
Due to the same size Chihuahua doesn’t fit the service dog. But it’s not mean that they don’t have the skills to be a service dog.
Chihuahua are affectionate, alert, courageous, very playful and devoted to their family. Their great sense of hearing and alertness make them great watch and guard dogs. Due to adaptive nature they can adjust just in apartments and large homes, from urban to suburban homes.
They have small coats so they need minimum grooming. So, it’s suitable for those who need a dog for less grooming. With proper training Chihuahuas can serve as valuable service dogs for an individual with disabilities.
Chihuahua as a service Dog
Service dogs are trained to perform particular tasks for people with disabilities, like guiding someone with visual impairment and alert someone who is deaf. The people having mental health, service dogs may be trained to perform task like:
- Bringing medicine while crisis
- Offering pressure therapy while an anxiety attack
- Providing items when to help their owner during panic attack
- During a night terror waking their handler
It’s important to note that all Chihuahuas are not suitable for service dogs. They have to undergo training and temperament testing to ensure they are able to perform their task safely.
Chihuahua as an Emotional support animal
Chihuahuas are working as emotional support animals. Emotional support animals offer emotional comfort to their owner. But they do not do specific tasks related to disability.
Chihuahuas are affectionate dogs that make them emotional support animals. Due to their small size they are easy to carry and provide comfort in various situations. They are cute dogs which can bring happiness in the owner’s life because of their cute actions and help to get out of anxious and depressed situations.
How to Train a Chihuahua to Become a Service dog?
If you are confident and have the ability to train the dog then you can conduct training by yourself. The US citizen are not allow to professionally train to their service dogs, since the ADA states:
“No, disabled people are allowed to train the service dog by themselves and do not need to use a service training programme.”
If you decide to train your dog yourself then you must be patient, consistent and disciplined. If you feel difficulty in training the dog then you can contact the professional trainer or nearest organization. You should consult first so that the trainer can evaluate your dog and advise the next step to do.
Most of the organizations offer various options such as group courses, board and train programmes, private sessions online, and a programme that checks behavioral issues. It’s important to note that training a dog professionally requires a lot of money and based on the programme, you need a lot of time to spend with your dog that can be hectic for you.
Online training sessions that offer all necessary learning material and support can be a great choice for you if you want to participate in the training process actively.
Tasks that a Chihuahua able to Perform
Chihuahuas are small dogs so they aren’t considered to be doing physical tasks. They can’t do difficult tasks like larger dogs, however many tasks that can be performed by small Chihuahuas not only relate to their owner’s physical health but their mental health as well.
Basic Obedience
Basic commands like sit, stand, drop, come and stay are the commands which are the process of every training process.
Alerting Tasks
These little canines also perform alerting tasks. They may be trained to alert their owner to many objects and sounds on their way. The alerting tasks can be effective for seizure attacks, dealing with low/high blood sugar, epilepsy, impaired vision, cardiac problems, hearing etc. Your pup also alerts you to take your medicine.
Tactile Stimulation and Deep Pressure Therapy
Chihuahuas can make psychiatric service dogs as well. They can also provide some tasks including deep pressure therapy and tactile stimulation. You can train your pup to jump in your lap and calm you down. Some skills that these little breeds can obtain like kissing, pawing, nose nudging and licking your arm, and can perform like the large dogs.
Retrieving Tasks
Chihuahuas can be trained to retrieve medication or other objects which can be done by small dogs.
Conclusion
Chihuahuas are small dogs with an easy going personality, making them great pets for families. Chihuahuas can be a serving dog. It is confirmed by many dog Chihuahua parents. Chihuahuas can be helpful for mental disabilities and make them stress free working like emotional support animals. Despite their small size they can be excellent working dogs.
According to the American disabilities act(ADA) “a dog that has been trained to perform tasks for an individual with disability”.
Chihuahuas can be a good serving dog because they are alert, caring and agile which make them able for emergency tasks such as assisting the deaf and helping for epilepsy.
Chihuahuas have social skills which help to get rid from stress and depression. So, they can be suitable for an emotional support dog.
Chihuahuas are loyal dogs which easily adjust with their family. Without training they can help you to come happy in your stressful life.
FAQs of can a Chihuahua be a service dog
