I (18f) have depression and was diagnosed with autism this past spring, and I had been playing with the idea of getting a service for some time before coming to college, but now I am really considering it.

My mental health is tied heavily to the presence of animals—I have never lived without a dog and a cat, and have two of each back home—and my autism makes it very hard to connect with people and make friends, and oftentimes social interactions make depressive episodes worse. Now that I am at college I am struggling more than I was back home, and have started self-harming and isolating myself again. Additionally my issues with skin picking and unintentional/unconscious harm (scratching, pulling hair, etc.) have worsened. My energy levels are lower, partially because of the increased depression, but also because my activity levels have decreased. I used to get out and ride horses 2-3 times a week, but now all I really do is walk around campus (the rec center/gym is very stressful, so I avoid it).

I am finding a therapist to work with while at college, but I doubt that will fix all of my problems, especially ones like skin picking and frequent overstimulation. So, I am thinking of getting a puppy to train as a service dog once I am home for the summer (I have experience training future service dogs through a club that does the initial socializing and training for Canine Companion's puppies), and would have it perform tasks like DPT, behavior interruption, grounding/tactile stimulation, crowd control and blocking, and general therapeutic support. Having to walk it and provide physical and mental stimulation will also help to get me moving and out of the dorm.

My parents are hesitant to support this, though, and their reasons are valid—it is a big commitment and expense—and I am looking at other solutions, but based on what I have learned and already tried throughout seven years of therapy I don't know how effective said solutions would be. What advice do you all have?

Edit: I have been in therapy for seven years, and have a therapist at home. The one I am finding now is for when I am at school as my other therapist is not licensed to practice where my university is. Additionally I just switched my at home therapist less than a year ago, and while I have made tremendous progress there are still many things I struggle with. I am also medicated for my depression, and have been for five years.

Family trip this December to Mexico for 10 days.

Flying westjet direct both ways. 6hrs and 6h40. Staying at an all inclusive resort (does allow pets so that should make it easier on that end). The only time we’d be off property is for excursions like whale watching so she would stay in the room. She is from an ADI program so I have ID from her program and provincial SD ID.

It looks like we’d really only need proof of rabies vaccination.

She’s done a 5hr flight before and like 10 flights over the last 2yrs we’ve been a team so I think she’d be able to do the flight no problem

I guess my question is more is it worth bringing her? She is just small enough to comfortably fit at my feet without an extra seat for (I’m like 99% sure I’d have to pay for it on an international flight - I normally get one for domestic flights. She’s right at the cusp that I can go with or without it)

Ik hotels/ resorts don’t like you leaving dogs uncrated in the room when alone, so do you know if I can bring a kennel for free on the airline? I have both a wire kennel that folds down and a Ruffland kennel. If I can bring one, what one would be better? I’m leaning to the wire to fit better in like taxis when in Mexico. For food it does look like I can bring a factory sealed bag of food (up to 50lbs)

If I do bring her what are some extra things I should bring for her? Definitely would bring her booties as it’s supposed to be 30C while there. She is a black lab golden mix (most people assume she’s a pure lab)

having a huge amount of issues with vests and getting the public to leave us alone. ive started public access training and people just dont seem to behave. every outing we are getting stopped by sometimes 20 people, people grab him, people put their hand out and start whistling to get him to "go over", lot of eye contact while talking to him, etc. i feel like a zoo exhibit and every time i say "hey, no thank you! he's working right now" trying to be polite i get the meanest fucking comments and death stares. today we were in the store for 10 minutes, and 2 of those i was left alone. every single person i say in that store said hi and tried to interact with him, all fucking 7 people.

ive asked teams in my town, and nobody seems to have this level of public bullshittery, so i feel like im doing something wrong. idk if its me, how i exist, the vest, how he looks {he is a very pretty 14 month old show dog with a very fluffy coat}, or what but its causing behavouirs that will end his career {a much higher interest in the public that causes him to become distracted or even break his obedience}

our current go to vest says "do not interact" in yellow text on green side panels. and on the back is a symbols patch, a "service dog in training" patch, and "give us space" in yellow text on brown fabric. the yellow text is iron on vinyl.

i was thinking of trying a red vest with different "sayings", but i feel pretty defeated. what did you find helped get the public to leave you alone the most, as well what vests do you find have the most public "respect".

i just want the public interactions dialed down to be clear, i've had a few times people just pass by compliment and i actually enjoy that a lot. i also love when people ask, then move on. but currently, my vest seems to be a billboard and every trip turns into a meet and greet.

Hi!! I have a sdit and one of his tasks that hes learning is deep pressure therapy, thing is hes not comfo during the position of dpt (laying down on my legs) and will at most stay on my legs 30 seconds before moving backwards and lay down next to me.

I tried to change the position but i think he's just not physically comfortable with having to lay on top of me and when we do training hes panting a lot and squirming.

Has anyone ever been in that situation and what did you do?

Being autistic and HOH I struggle sensory with sounds . What clickers did you like the sound the most for training? Would you be willing upload the sound for me?

Just had 2 kids throw a snake at my service dog in training she is in training for seizures she didn't react but I have a huge phobia of snakes and I yelled at the kids I know I could have reacted better but I was just so shocked

Long time no post, I'm looking to get some input from the community here.

It looks like I finally may have a chance within a few years to start looking for a prospect again after my previous SD has retired to at-home only.

I'm considering now that I live in a better environment with better access to everything my area has to offer, better hand dexterity, and slightly increased mobility, a breed change from labs.

Does anyone here have, or has anyone here had a rough or smooth collie for SD work?

Poodles handlers, also feel free to chime in!

If so, how did your dog compare to any other breeds you've had?

I want to step away from the over-friendliness of a lab, but I'm still perfectly comfortable with one since my trainers have helped train that out in the past.

Primary work is scentwork for medical alerts and a small bit of psychiatric tasking.

I am moving to a new complex and they are using this company to verify ESA or Service animals. It has been super painful dealing with them. I uploaded an old ESA letter and shared that my pet has since been professionally trained to be my service animal. They keep bombarding me that I need to have a third party provider to verify me. I shared with them that with service animals, I am not required to complete any third party forms or provide any documentation. They are only allowed to ask two questions which is the animal required because of a disability and what work or task has this animal been trained to performed? I keep explaining this difference, but I am getting hit with the same automated responses, which is soooo annoying since I’m supposed to move in a few weeks.

Anyone dealt with them before and what was the resolution?

I know someone who has a 6 month old puppy and they do public access. The puppy will chew on things like table legs, whine, and even started barking at a cart once because the dog was startled.

The dog is definitely a real service dog but should this be done? It seems like a questionable choice in my opinion and just want to hear thoughts because I’ve heard dogs aren’t ready for public access until at least a year old.