# Can an aggressive dog get emotional support dog certification?



## JaydeY (Apr 12, 2017)

I am not gonna take her onto a plane or go into Starbucks or anything, I just want to get more options when finding a place to rent. We are seeing trainer, but she probably will never be a totally friendly and trustworthy dog within close range of strangers and strange dogs on leash.

I don't feel comfortable sharing my condition, but I am totally allowed an emotional support dog in Canada. She has no bite history and never will because I will always supervise.


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## thegooseman90 (Feb 24, 2017)

Not 100% sure but since it's the middle of the night and you probably won't get many answers right now I'll give it a go. But I don't think you can. If I remember right there was another thread talking about service dogs and part of getting them certified as service dogs was talking them around people and proving they weren't aggressive towards peopl.


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## cloudpump (Oct 20, 2015)

JaydeY said:


> I am not gonna take her onto a plane or go into Starbucks or anything, I just want to get more options when finding a place to rent. We are seeing trainer, but she probably will never be a totally friendly and trustworthy dog within close range of strangers and strange dogs on leash.
> 
> I don't feel comfortable sharing my condition, but I am totally allowed an emotional support dog in Canada. She has no bite history and never will because I will always supervise.


I wouldn't do it. I'd always worry about being caught. Where are you looking? Maybe a fellow Canadian can assist you via pm.


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## JaydeY (Apr 12, 2017)

thegooseman90 said:


> Not 100% sure but since it's the middle of the night and you probably won't get many answers right now I'll give it a go. But I don't think you can. If I remember right there was another thread talking about service dogs and part of getting them certified as service dogs was talking them around people and proving they weren't aggressive towards peopl.


Yeah I discarded the idea that my pup could become a service dog a long time ago. But emotional support dog is not a service dog? From what I know the dog does not need any training and I can't seem to find any information about disqualifying a dog because of aggression.

I know it sounds crazy, but all I want is better housing convenience and I am not gonna use any other benefits associated with the emotional support dog status.


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## Kazel (Nov 29, 2016)

thegooseman90 said:


> Not 100% sure but since it's the middle of the night and you probably won't get many answers right now I'll give it a go. But I don't think you can. If I remember right there was another thread talking about service dogs and part of getting them certified as service dogs was talking them around people and proving they weren't aggressive towards peopl.


ESA is a whole different ball game, in the US at least than a service dog. As far as I am aware of all you need(in my area in the US) in a current(in the past year) letter from a doctor/psychiatrist or somebody of that nature. It allows you to have the dog in no-pet housing and _possibly_ take it on planes with you. It is not like a service dog though, so you can't take it to public places that don't normally allow pets like the grocery store.

US Info: https://www.animallaw.info/article/faqs-emotional-support-animals

I am having trouble finding things that are for Canada which is what you need, what I'm finding is several years old and either says no ESA or it is area dependent. Perhaps you would have more luck searching for yourself? Even when I add in Canada to the results all I get back is US posts or unhelpful posts that answer no question.




JaydeY said:


> Yeah I discarded the idea that my pup could become a service dog a long time ago. But emotional support dog is not a service dog? From what I know the dog does not need any training and I can't seem to find any information about disqualifying a dog because of aggression.
> 
> *I know it sounds crazy, but all I want is better housing convenience and I am not gonna use any other benefits associated with the emotional support dog status*.


 That is basically the only benefit to them. However even though a dog doesn't have to have any training, having an aggressive dog and/or untrained dog as an ESA isn't doing people any favors in the long run.


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## JaydeY (Apr 12, 2017)

cloudpump said:


> I wouldn't do it. I'd always worry about being caught. Where are you looking? Maybe a fellow Canadian can assist you via pm.


Haha I am not worried about housing right now, my current landlord allows dogs. But I am thinking of moving to a more expensive city in the states due to work + other reasons, and most apartments there don't seem to allow dogs.


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## JaydeY (Apr 12, 2017)

Kazel said:


> ESA is a whole different ball game, in the US at least than a service dog. As far as I am aware of all you need(in my area in the US) in a current(in the past year) letter from a doctor/psychiatrist or somebody of that nature. It allows you to have the dog in no-pet housing and _possibly_ take it on planes with you. It is not like a service dog though, so you can't take it to public places that don't normally allow pets like the grocery store. Dog doesn't have to have any training, but having an aggressive dog or untrained dog as an ESA isn't doing people any favors in the long run.
> 
> US Info: https://www.animallaw.info/article/faqs-emotional-support-animals
> 
> I am having trouble finding things that are for Canada which is what you need, what I'm finding is several years old and either says no ESA or it is area dependent. Perhaps you would have more luck searching for yourself? Even when I add in Canada to the results all I get back is US posts or unhelpful posts that answer no question.


Lol I am thinking of moving to an expensive city in the states thus the problem. I think I need to get the emotional support dog certification in Canada before arranging renting in the states with no pet policy apartments prior to my arrival. 

My dog is not aggressive with me at all and she is an emotional support dog to me, but I do realize having an emotional support dog label on an aggressive dog might destroy the emotional support dog image. But I am not gonna make her wear her vest, she will just be a regular dog who can be hopefully allowed to move into no pet apartments. She is very crate trained by now so it really should not bother other residents in any way.

And yeah to the last paragraph! The laws surrounding emotional support dog and even service dogs are super confusing in Canada, it looks to me that as long as you pay some website, you get a certification. I find it hard to believe.


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## thegooseman90 (Feb 24, 2017)

Oops sorry for the misunderstanding. There's a lot of pet friendly housing options here in the US. At least in central Florida there are. Most places just require and extra pet deposit in that case. Have you checked around to see what it's like in the area you're interested to live?


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## JaydeY (Apr 12, 2017)

thegooseman90 said:


> Oops sorry for the misunderstanding. There's a lot of pet friendly housing options here in the US. At least in central Florida there are. Most places just require and extra pet deposit in that case. Have you checked around to see what it's like in the area you're interested to live?


Yeah the prices there are crazy, 2.5x where I live right now even without counting the difference between CAD and USD lol. The ones with best prices I have found tend to disallow dogs, most of them allow cats though. I want to ask them what behaviours they don't like from dogs and see if I can prevent that (she is very crate trained by now so it shouldn't be a problem), but they just tell me no dogs.


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## thegooseman90 (Feb 24, 2017)

I hear ya. It takes a lot of shopping around to find the right place sometimes. It's a little easier where I am maybe. Wish I had some helpful advice but keep up the search and I'm sure it'll pay off


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

Probably not. I'd want to know how the dog acts aggressive and under what circumstances it is aggressive but unless you felt like you could keep it 100% under wraps and never have anyone but yourself witness it, which I doubt, then no the dog is not suitable to be an emtional support dog.

The reason is that these dogs get special permission to be places pets aren't allowed (in this case only housing and airplanes, ESA's cannot go to Starbucks with you by law) And if your dog threatens someone, you have just contributed to the problem which is reaching the point where new regulation is probably going to be imminently introduced making this harder for everyone.

Assuming it is a GSD (because of the forum) I'd say no even faster. 

"This means the animal is fully toilet trained and has no bad habits that would disturb neighbors such is frequent or lengthy episodes of barking. The animal should not pose a danger to other tenants or to workmen. "


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## ILGHAUS (Nov 25, 2002)

thegooseman90 said:


> Not 100% sure but since it's the middle of the night and you probably won't get many answers right now I'll give it a go. But I don't think you can. If I remember right there was another thread talking about service dogs and part of getting them certified as service dogs was talking them around people and proving they weren't aggressive towards peopl.


Just to clear up a bit.

In the U.S. an aggressive dog can not be a Service Dog, an Emotional Support Dog or a Therapy Dog. These are three different legal classifications.

Also, here in the U.S. there is no Federal Law stating that a SD must be certified as there is no federal agency set up at this time to do so. Nor is there any federal law requiring there to be such started. 

Any dog that is certified as a SD could have been done so In-House if they were a Program Dog and the agency that raised and trained the dog gives out their own certifications. Most SDs that wear a tag or has paperwork of certification have been done so by an Internet group of which the Dept. of Justice states that they do not recognize the certs of any value.


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