Emotional Support Dog Training – How to Train Your ESA?

Emotional Support Dog Training focuses on equipping your companion with the essential skills for daily life. While an emotional support animal doesn’t legally require task-specific training like a service dog, training emotional support dogs ensures they are well-behaved, which is crucial for maintaining your housing rights.

Do Emotional Support Dogs Need Training?

Emotional support dog training helps your companion learn basic obedience and socialization. This training ensures your dog behaves appropriately, preventing issues that could lead to removal from your housing.

Proper training protects your housing rights under federal law, even though formal task training is not legally required.

What Is an Emotional Support Dog?

Emotional support dogs  or any other ESA provide comfort and support to individuals with emotional or mental disabilities. These dogs do not require specific training to perform tasks related to their owner’s condition.

Emotional support dogs are allowed to live with their handlers in housing situations where pets are typically not allowed under the Fair Housing Act (FHA). Landlords must allow emotional support animals, yet they can request their removal if the dog is destructive, aggressive, or causes frequent disruptions.

What Are Emotional Support Dogs Trained to Do?

Training an emotional support dog focuses on basic obedience and good behavior to ensure they remain under control in common areas. This training ensures your dog is a polite companion in all settings.

Socialization also involves gradually exposing the dog to various people, animals, and environments, ensuring calmness and non-reactivity.

Emotional support dogs are primarily trained to provide a calming presence and emotional comfort, while being well-behaved and calm in public spaces and housing situations. Their role involves being present and affectionate, offering consistent support to their owner. They are not trained to perform specific tasks, such as guiding or retrieving medications.

Begin Your Dog’s Public Obedience Training

How to Train an Emotional Support Dog?

Essential Commands for Emotional Support Dog Training

1. Potty Training

Potty training is one of the first things to focus on when training an emotional support dog. This essential skill prevents accidents indoors and ensures your dog is a welcome resident. Consistent routines and positive reinforcement establish good habits quickly.

2. Sit and Down

Teaching the commands sit and down is essential for emotional support dog training, providing basic manners. These commands are useful in elevators, hallways, and other confined public spaces. They encourage your dog to remain calm and respectful.

3. Stay and Come

The stay command is important for emotional support dogs to learn for safety in public spaces, while come is a natural follow-on. These commands are critical for preventing your dog from wandering off or getting into unsafe situations.

4. Leave It

The leave it command is crucial for emotional support dogs to prevent them from picking up harmful items in public. This command also stops them from bothering other people or animals.

5. Deep Pressure Therapy (Optional)

Deep Pressure Therapy (DPT) can be taught to emotional support dogs to help during anxiety attacks, offering a calming presence. This specialized training provides comfort during stressful environments.

Begin Your Dog’s Public Obedience Training

5 Practical Tips for Emotional Support Dog Training

Effectively training emotional support dogs involves consistency and positive methods to cultivate a well-behaved companion.

1. Teach basic obedience commands

Reinforce good behavior by teaching essential commands such as sit, stay, and come. This foundational obedience training ensures your ESA responds reliably.

2. Focus on proper socialization

Socialization involves gradually exposing your dog to various people, animals, and environments to ensure calmness and non-reactivity around other dogs.

3. Work on fear and anxiety

Address any fear or anxiety your dog displays, as a fearful dog cannot effectively support a human experiencing similar emotions.

4. Stick to the training routine

Consistency is paramount in dog training; regular training sessions reinforce commands and behaviors, solidifying your dog’s understanding.

5. Keep your finger on the pulse

Continuously monitor your dog’s progress and well-being, adapting training as needed to support both emotional and physical health.

Training Options: Course and Professional Support

Begin Your Dog’s Public Obedience Training

Emotional Support Dogs vs. Psychiatric Service Dogs

Emotional support dogs are not protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and do not have the same public access rights as service dogs. This means they are not typically permitted in non-pet-friendly restaurants or stores.

Psychiatric service dogs are trained to perform specific tasks that directly assist individuals with mental health disabilities and are trained to behave obediently in any public place.

As of 2026, most airlines are not required to accommodate emotional support animals for free in the cabin, treating them as standard pets.

Learn How to Train a Service Dog

Important Legal Distinction

Can Any Dog Be an Emotional Support Dog?

Yes, any dog can become an emotional support animal if it provides comfort to a person with a qualifying mental health condition. There are no breed restrictions for emotional support animals, but temperament and behavior are crucial.

How to Make Your Dog an Emotional Support Dog

You must qualify for an emotional support animal by having a recognized mental health condition. A licensed mental health professional must assess your need for a support dog and provide an official ESA letter.

Frequently Asked Questions About Training Emotional Support Dogs

Start Emotional Support Dog Training the Right Way

Emotional support dog training isn’t about complex tasks — it’s about reliable behavior, calm focus, and responsible ownership. While the law does not require formal training, a well-trained emotional support dog is essential for protecting your housing rights, avoiding conflicts, and ensuring your companion can truly support your emotional well-being.

By focusing on basic obedience, proper socialization, and consistent routines, you create a dog that is respectful, non-disruptive, and welcome in shared living environments. The right training approach also strengthens your credibility as an ESA handler and reduces the risk of issues with landlords or property managers.

If you’re looking for a structured, step-by-step approach to public obedience and travel-ready behavior, a dedicated training program can help you build these skills with confidence.

Public Obedience Training Course

Start Dog Training Course for Travel and Public Obedience

Turn your dog into a calm, reliable, and well-mannered companion at home, in public, and while traveling. This 100% online course teaches real-world obedience that holds up around distractions like people, dogs, noise, and movement.

Through short, easy-to-follow video modules, you’ll fix common issues such as leash pulling, barking, and “selective hearing,” while building focus, engagement, and polite behavior anywhere you go.

Why This Course Works

• Public-proof obedience, not just at-home commands
• Simple daily training structure with short sessions
• Positive reinforcement methods for puppies and adult dogs
• Downloadable PDFs so you always know what to train
• Lifetime access, certificate of completion, and full support

If you want a dog that stays focused in parks, cafés, sidewalks, airports, and busy public spaces, this program gives you a clear, step-by-step path to confident, travel-ready obedience.

See the Training Program