August 29, 2025 • 12 mins
What's The Difference Between an ESA and Service Dog?
Confused about the difference between service dogs and emotional support animals? You're not alone. This eye-opening discussion with professional groomers Shannon and Tanya from Hound Therapy cuts through the misconceptions surrounding these important animal roles.
The conversation dives deep into why these distinctions matter legally and ethically. Service dogs protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act undergo years of specialized training, costing thousands of dollars, to perform specific tasks for individuals with disabilities. They're carefully matched by height and weight to their handlers and trained to navigate complex environments without disruption. By contrast, emotional support animals provide valuable companionship but don't require specialized training and aren't granted the same public access rights.
Shannon and Tanya tackle the uncomfortable truth about misrepresentation—how some pet owners falsely claim service animal status to avoid housing restrictions or gain access privileges. This behavior ultimately harms those with legitimate disabilities who depend on their service animals. "The more we abuse something," they explain, "the less that everybody else is able to use it that do need it."
The hosts also share insights about military working dogs, explaining their specialized training and the challenges they face after service. Their compassionate yet straightforward approach helps listeners understand not just the legal differences between animal classifications, but why respecting these distinctions matters for our communities.
Whether you're a pet owner, business operator, or just curious about working animals, this episode provides essential clarity about the roles our animal companions play in supporting human wellbeing. Call 469-367-0009 to schedule your pet's next appointment with Hound Therapy or visit Houndtherapy.com to learn more about their services across North Texas.
To learn more about Hound Therapy visit:
https://www.HoundTherapy.com
Hound Therapy
3509 E Park Blvd.
Plano, TX
469-367-0009
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Tail Talk Grooming Chronicles with Hound
Therapy, the podcast where wetalk all things pet grooming,
daycare academy and more.
Hosted by Shannon and Tanya ofHound Therapy serving pet owners
across North Texas, we're hereto share expert tips, hilarious
pet stories and the inside scoopon keeping your furry friends
(00:25):
happy and healthy.
Our motto humanity over vanity.
And don't worry, we don't bite.
Let's get started.
Who let the dogs out?
Who?
Speaker 2 (00:37):
let the dogs out.
Emotional support animals andservice dogs both play vital
roles, but they are not the same.
In this episode, shannon andTanya break down the legal,
behavioral and trainingdifferences so pet parents and
professionals alike can betterunderstand their unique purposes
.
Welcome back everyone.
(00:59):
I'm Sofia Ayiveth, co-host andproducer, back in the studio
with Shannon and Tanya,professional groomers at Hound
Therapy.
Hi ladies, how's it going today?
Speaker 4 (01:09):
We're good.
We're getting ready tohopefully step out of summer,
get into fall.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yes, fall is a fun time, yes, yes.
So today I know we're clearingup one of the most common
misconceptions in the pet worldESA versus service dogs, and why
(01:36):
that distinction really matters.
So, ladies, can you tell uswhat is the biggest difference
between an ESA versus a servicedog?
Speaker 4 (01:42):
I'm going to let Tanya break down just the ADA
and what they mean.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
So an ESA for long version is emotional support
animal.
So that emotional supportanimal really doesn't need any
specific training to do theirjob.
Their job is to providecompanionship, which most dogs
should already be doing for you,but some people need that with
(02:10):
you know anxiety issues, thingslike that.
They needed just a little bitmore PTSD.
Yeah, They'll all have thoseESA dogs.
And ESA dogs are not protectedthrough the ADA, which is
Americans with Disabilities Act.
So for your ESA dogs, they'renot protected to go into stores
or restaurants, discount forapartments or anything like that
(02:34):
.
You can and will be told no.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
And not always.
A lot of restaurants are animalfriendly.
So if you're in a place whereanimals are allowed and your dog
is well behaved, the key thingsto mention is emotional support
and American Disabilities Act.
So a disability somebody whohas a dog that is there to help
a disability.
That dog has gone throughbreeding.
(03:00):
It has gone through training,usually two to four years
depending on the dog.
It is height and weight matchedfor the person that's using
that dog.
It's specifically trained toeither open and close doors.
It's trained to walk bywheelchairs and around
wheelchairs.
It's trained to urinate anddefecate outside of a building.
(03:20):
It is a dog that is used forservice and for somebody who is
needing a service Not to saythat an emotional support is not
a service that needs to bethere, but that does not make
your dog a service dog.
That a Yorkie cannot weighenough pounds in any version of
(03:42):
a Yorkie to pull somebody up offthe couch.
It's just not going to happenand there is nobody that is so
little and short that Yorkie isgoing to be able to auto-correct
them when to step up over acurb or not.
So, that said, those are thethings that we are looking for.
Esa, now almost any store.
It's illegal for a store to askyou it's a federal offense to
(04:04):
say, excuse me, what's yourdisability or what is your dog
here for.
So a lot of people are usingthese two ESA dogs because they
want cheaper pet deposits fortheir rentals, or they want to
be told they can move in and asmuch as I can appreciate, that's
great.
But for the people who do havePTSD, who do need that support,
(04:24):
who do need a dog, the more weabuse something, the less that
everybody else is able to use itthat do need it and the more
rules that come with it Correct.
So, that said, it's not thoseanimals aren't there.
All animals should support you.
They should.
That doesn't provide a service.
They are there to give you thatlove and emotion.
They give you just as much asyou can get.
(04:46):
When you take and you abusethose two or you recreate, say,
I have a service dog, we're ableto do this and you walk in with
a yorkie or a dog that poops onaisle 10 and is sniffing the
child's butt next door andthey're grabbing dog treats off
the aisle as we're walking.
The store owner whether I don'tcare what kind of
certifications you've got, ifyour dog is disrupting their
(05:08):
business, they're going to askyou to leave and they have the
right to do so.
You're going to end up with abigger problem or a conflict and
you can still end up in thesame debate of well, my dog's an
ESA, my dog's a service animal,that's great.
He just took a massive dump onaisle 10, so you can't stay here
.
It's common sense.
The dogs that have that kind oftraining are usually very well
(05:30):
behaved.
They at the very least havebasic sit, stay down.
They have their basic sevendown and they're not going to
disrupt, just as if you have anADA dog.
There are a lot of places thatyou cannot take.
A dog that has gone throughextenuous training amounts of
this person is solely dependent.
(05:50):
They can't go into a lab.
If we're testing for somethingand a dog hair gets into it,
that could be bad, problematic.
So there are still places thatdogs are not allowed and that's
for a reason, the places wherethey are allowed.
It's amazing that theserestaurant owners and the patios
(06:10):
and that we've kind of lowereddown our guard as a community
and said, hey look, these petsare part of our family.
That's great, but we need tomake sure that we just like our
children, we send them to school, we make sure that they learn
how to talk to other dogs andpeople, we make sure they're
civilized humans.
Yeah, we don't counter surfingand taking somebody's burger off
(06:31):
the plate as they're walking byor worse.
Yet we got a hiker and she'slike, oh yeah, he's just nobody
wants that in a restaurant.
Use those things with thecommon courtesy as much they are
intended.
Know the words, do not step up.
I have an ESA dog, I mean A.
You're already kind of tellingon yourself.
You're like I need emotionalsupport, which is great if you
(06:53):
don't care, if everybody knows.
But it's not a service dog.
If it's a Yorkie, it's anemotional support dog and it's
not used for a discount.
All dogs should be supportingyou.
In order to get those, I thinkthey're cracking down a whole
lot more on the certificationsthat you've got to get.
To get those, you need to gowith some therapy.
You need a therapist, needs tosay, yes, this person is
(07:14):
competent and capable to takecare of a dog and it's competent
and capable enough that youknow it can live inside a
facility and it's well-trained.
And this person, without thisdog, is not.
His or her quality of life isgoing to be detrimental.
Without said animal and withoutthat third party interference,
(07:37):
apartment complexes and rentalowners are putting their foot
down and saying, hey look, wecan't, we can't all have an
emotional support dog.
There are dogs that arewell-trained, that you can prove
.
They've got dogs that can stepout diabetes.
You've got heart issues andthose are just those can be
(07:59):
shelter dogs.
I mean, sometimes they have theability to do so.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
There's also seizure dogs, for sure.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
So those are.
There's a lot of reasons thatwe need dogs.
You can strap a vest If youhave a dog.
That's great.
With recall, autistic children,autistic adults there's a
thousand dogs should and havealmost always in time have been
used as a partner.
They've been used as partnersand hunting.
They're a team.
(08:26):
We go together as a team.
The dog can't live without me,and you know I can't live
without it.
That said, if you're hunting,you're a team.
We go together as a team.
The dog can't live without meand you know I can't live
without it.
That said, if you're hunting,you get more reward with your
dog because your dog can travelfurther and farther.
If you are emotionally drainedat the end of the day and you
just need that extra love andyou know unconditional love your
dog can provide that.
So those are things that is aneed, but they can't feed
(08:48):
themselves without you.
Then they turn into a wild dogor you know we don't want that.
So keep in mind that somebodythat has a service dog that is
an ADA dog, an ADA approved dog.
They have waited years andthey've paid thousands for the
amount of training and breedingthat they need for the correct
dog to assist them in whatevercapacity is needed.
(09:12):
An emotional support dog is anydog that emotionally supports
you.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
So you can face penalties if you misrepresent
your ADA dog or service dog oran ESA.
So if you have an ESA andyou're like it's a service dog
and you get caught, you can facepenalties for that.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
Especially if you're in a federal building or on an
air, on an airline.
There's a lot of abuse betweenthe two phrases, so we just
wanted to break it down for youguys.
And I'm just going to tagreally quickly too on a military
dog.
Dogs that work for the militaryare trained by specialists.
They also are trained byspecialists.
(09:49):
They also are trained by veryspecialized and localized
training.
They're used for a very certainpurpose.
Those dogs are usually notrehomed if they can't be rehomed
with a vet that's used them.
So if a veteran, somebody whoserved in the military, doesn't
take that dog, that dog willtypically have its own type of
PTSD and is not going to beplaced in a home due to triggers
(10:13):
.
It's unfortunate I don't knowof another way to say it, but
those dogs are usuallyeuthanized by the time of their
service is done, whether they'rehealthy or not, because they
can't be rehomed safely forthemselves or for the people
that are adopting them.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
It's unfortunate, but you it's the ugly truth.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
We'll always tell you the ugly truth.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
And it's sad.
There's a.
There's a story I can add alink later of a vet who actually
went back, used a service dog.
Once you're no longer inservice, that dog goes to the
next handler.
It was a bomb dog and that's.
You know.
Bomb dogs have been since, youknow, before Vietnam.
They've been used and havesaved hundreds and thousands of
lives.
They are detrimental to thepeople that they serve and she
(10:58):
fought for hers.
She was retired and was done.
They were going to euthanizehim and she got signatures.
She said I will take him.
You know it was a heartwarmingstory, but it's not the many.
Unfortunately.
It's not how it goes for mostof those dogs.
They were bred to serve ourcountry and that's what they did
, and they do it well andthey're not usually placed in
(11:21):
homes after.
So let's not walk around withour dogs with the military vests
, claiming that they're.
To me it's disrespectful to say, hey, look, you know I have an
American Disability Act dogthat's wearing a service vest
from the army, because that dogdidn't earn those.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
And it's the same way for people, for me.
Speaker 4 (11:43):
Yeah, I'm not walking around wearing, you know, a
Purple Heart.
That wasn't earned for me.
Those dogs work hard for us andthey should be recognized and
viewed so.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Yep, wow.
Thank you so much, shannon andTanya, for shedding light on
this very, very importantsubject.
It is so important for petowners to know the facts,
appreciate your insights, asalways, and we will see you on
your next episodes.
Great Thank you on your nextepisodes.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Great, thank you.
That's a wrap for this episodeof tail talk with hound therapy.
Ready to book your pet's nextgroom daycare stay or grooming
Academy tour, call us at 4, 6, 9, 3, 6, 7 0 0 0 9.
That's 4, 6, 9, 3, 6, 7 0 0 09to schedule an appointment, or
(12:31):
visit us online atwwwhoundtherapycom, serving
north texas with expert pet care.
Until next time, keep thosetails wagging.
Welcome to Tail Talk Grooming Chronicles with Hound
Therapy, the podcast where wetalk all things pet grooming,
daycare academy and more.
Hosted by Shannon and Tanya ofHound Therapy serving pet owners
across North Texas, we're hereto share expert tips, hilarious
pet stories and the inside scoopon keeping your furry friends
(00:25):
happy and healthy.
Our motto humanity over vanity.
And don't worry, we don't bite.
Let's get started.
Who let the dogs out?
Who?
Speaker 2 (00:37):
let the dogs out.
Emotional support animals andservice dogs both play vital
roles, but they are not the same.
In this episode, shannon andTanya break down the legal,
behavioral and trainingdifferences so pet parents and
professionals alike can betterunderstand their unique purposes
.
Welcome back everyone.
(00:59):
I'm Sofia Ayiveth, co-host andproducer, back in the studio
with Shannon and Tanya,professional groomers at Hound
Therapy.
Hi ladies, how's it going today?
Speaker 4 (01:09):
We're good.
We're getting ready tohopefully step out of summer,
get into fall.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yes, fall is a fun time, yes, yes.
So today I know we're clearingup one of the most common
misconceptions in the pet worldESA versus service dogs, and why
(01:36):
that distinction really matters.
So, ladies, can you tell uswhat is the biggest difference
between an ESA versus a servicedog?
Speaker 4 (01:42):
I'm going to let Tanya break down just the ADA
and what they mean.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
So an ESA for long version is emotional support
animal.
So that emotional supportanimal really doesn't need any
specific training to do theirjob.
Their job is to providecompanionship, which most dogs
should already be doing for you,but some people need that with
(02:10):
you know anxiety issues, thingslike that.
They needed just a little bitmore PTSD.
Yeah, They'll all have thoseESA dogs.
And ESA dogs are not protectedthrough the ADA, which is
Americans with Disabilities Act.
So for your ESA dogs, they'renot protected to go into stores
or restaurants, discount forapartments or anything like that
(02:34):
.
You can and will be told no.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
And not always.
A lot of restaurants are animalfriendly.
So if you're in a place whereanimals are allowed and your dog
is well behaved, the key thingsto mention is emotional support
and American Disabilities Act.
So a disability somebody whohas a dog that is there to help
a disability.
That dog has gone throughbreeding.
(03:00):
It has gone through training,usually two to four years
depending on the dog.
It is height and weight matchedfor the person that's using
that dog.
It's specifically trained toeither open and close doors.
It's trained to walk bywheelchairs and around
wheelchairs.
It's trained to urinate anddefecate outside of a building.
(03:20):
It is a dog that is used forservice and for somebody who is
needing a service Not to saythat an emotional support is not
a service that needs to bethere, but that does not make
your dog a service dog.
That a Yorkie cannot weighenough pounds in any version of
(03:42):
a Yorkie to pull somebody up offthe couch.
It's just not going to happenand there is nobody that is so
little and short that Yorkie isgoing to be able to auto-correct
them when to step up over acurb or not.
So, that said, those are thethings that we are looking for.
Esa, now almost any store.
It's illegal for a store to askyou it's a federal offense to
(04:04):
say, excuse me, what's yourdisability or what is your dog
here for.
So a lot of people are usingthese two ESA dogs because they
want cheaper pet deposits fortheir rentals, or they want to
be told they can move in and asmuch as I can appreciate, that's
great.
But for the people who do havePTSD, who do need that support,
(04:24):
who do need a dog, the more weabuse something, the less that
everybody else is able to use itthat do need it and the more
rules that come with it Correct.
So, that said, it's not thoseanimals aren't there.
All animals should support you.
They should.
That doesn't provide a service.
They are there to give you thatlove and emotion.
They give you just as much asyou can get.
(04:46):
When you take and you abusethose two or you recreate, say,
I have a service dog, we're ableto do this and you walk in with
a yorkie or a dog that poops onaisle 10 and is sniffing the
child's butt next door andthey're grabbing dog treats off
the aisle as we're walking.
The store owner whether I don'tcare what kind of
certifications you've got, ifyour dog is disrupting their
(05:08):
business, they're going to askyou to leave and they have the
right to do so.
You're going to end up with abigger problem or a conflict and
you can still end up in thesame debate of well, my dog's an
ESA, my dog's a service animal,that's great.
He just took a massive dump onaisle 10, so you can't stay here
.
It's common sense.
The dogs that have that kind oftraining are usually very well
(05:30):
behaved.
They at the very least havebasic sit, stay down.
They have their basic sevendown and they're not going to
disrupt, just as if you have anADA dog.
There are a lot of places thatyou cannot take.
A dog that has gone throughextenuous training amounts of
this person is solely dependent.
(05:50):
They can't go into a lab.
If we're testing for somethingand a dog hair gets into it,
that could be bad, problematic.
So there are still places thatdogs are not allowed and that's
for a reason, the places wherethey are allowed.
It's amazing that theserestaurant owners and the patios
(06:10):
and that we've kind of lowereddown our guard as a community
and said, hey look, these petsare part of our family.
That's great, but we need tomake sure that we just like our
children, we send them to school, we make sure that they learn
how to talk to other dogs andpeople, we make sure they're
civilized humans.
Yeah, we don't counter surfingand taking somebody's burger off
(06:31):
the plate as they're walking byor worse.
Yet we got a hiker and she'slike, oh yeah, he's just nobody
wants that in a restaurant.
Use those things with thecommon courtesy as much they are
intended.
Know the words, do not step up.
I have an ESA dog, I mean A.
You're already kind of tellingon yourself.
You're like I need emotionalsupport, which is great if you
(06:53):
don't care, if everybody knows.
But it's not a service dog.
If it's a Yorkie, it's anemotional support dog and it's
not used for a discount.
All dogs should be supportingyou.
In order to get those, I thinkthey're cracking down a whole
lot more on the certificationsthat you've got to get.
To get those, you need to gowith some therapy.
You need a therapist, needs tosay, yes, this person is
(07:14):
competent and capable to takecare of a dog and it's competent
and capable enough that youknow it can live inside a
facility and it's well-trained.
And this person, without thisdog, is not.
His or her quality of life isgoing to be detrimental.
Without said animal and withoutthat third party interference,
(07:37):
apartment complexes and rentalowners are putting their foot
down and saying, hey look, wecan't, we can't all have an
emotional support dog.
There are dogs that arewell-trained, that you can prove
.
They've got dogs that can stepout diabetes.
You've got heart issues andthose are just those can be
(07:59):
shelter dogs.
I mean, sometimes they have theability to do so.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
There's also seizure dogs, for sure.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
So those are.
There's a lot of reasons thatwe need dogs.
You can strap a vest If youhave a dog.
That's great.
With recall, autistic children,autistic adults there's a
thousand dogs should and havealmost always in time have been
used as a partner.
They've been used as partnersand hunting.
They're a team.
(08:26):
We go together as a team.
The dog can't live without me,and you know I can't live
without it.
That said, if you're hunting,you're a team.
We go together as a team.
The dog can't live without meand you know I can't live
without it.
That said, if you're hunting,you get more reward with your
dog because your dog can travelfurther and farther.
If you are emotionally drainedat the end of the day and you
just need that extra love andyou know unconditional love your
dog can provide that.
So those are things that is aneed, but they can't feed
(08:48):
themselves without you.
Then they turn into a wild dogor you know we don't want that.
So keep in mind that somebodythat has a service dog that is
an ADA dog, an ADA approved dog.
They have waited years andthey've paid thousands for the
amount of training and breedingthat they need for the correct
dog to assist them in whatevercapacity is needed.
(09:12):
An emotional support dog is anydog that emotionally supports
you.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
So you can face penalties if you misrepresent
your ADA dog or service dog oran ESA.
So if you have an ESA andyou're like it's a service dog
and you get caught, you can facepenalties for that.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
Especially if you're in a federal building or on an
air, on an airline.
There's a lot of abuse betweenthe two phrases, so we just
wanted to break it down for youguys.
And I'm just going to tagreally quickly too on a military
dog.
Dogs that work for the militaryare trained by specialists.
They also are trained byspecialists.
(09:49):
They also are trained by veryspecialized and localized
training.
They're used for a very certainpurpose.
Those dogs are usually notrehomed if they can't be rehomed
with a vet that's used them.
So if a veteran, somebody whoserved in the military, doesn't
take that dog, that dog willtypically have its own type of
PTSD and is not going to beplaced in a home due to triggers
(10:13):
.
It's unfortunate I don't knowof another way to say it, but
those dogs are usuallyeuthanized by the time of their
service is done, whether they'rehealthy or not, because they
can't be rehomed safely forthemselves or for the people
that are adopting them.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
It's unfortunate, but you it's the ugly truth.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
We'll always tell you the ugly truth.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
And it's sad.
There's a.
There's a story I can add alink later of a vet who actually
went back, used a service dog.
Once you're no longer inservice, that dog goes to the
next handler.
It was a bomb dog and that's.
You know.
Bomb dogs have been since, youknow, before Vietnam.
They've been used and havesaved hundreds and thousands of
lives.
They are detrimental to thepeople that they serve and she
(10:58):
fought for hers.
She was retired and was done.
They were going to euthanizehim and she got signatures.
She said I will take him.
You know it was a heartwarmingstory, but it's not the many.
Unfortunately.
It's not how it goes for mostof those dogs.
They were bred to serve ourcountry and that's what they did
, and they do it well andthey're not usually placed in
(11:21):
homes after.
So let's not walk around withour dogs with the military vests
, claiming that they're.
To me it's disrespectful to say, hey, look, you know I have an
American Disability Act dogthat's wearing a service vest
from the army, because that dogdidn't earn those.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
And it's the same way for people, for me.
Speaker 4 (11:43):
Yeah, I'm not walking around wearing, you know, a
Purple Heart.
That wasn't earned for me.
Those dogs work hard for us andthey should be recognized and
viewed so.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Yep, wow.
Thank you so much, shannon andTanya, for shedding light on
this very, very importantsubject.
It is so important for petowners to know the facts,
appreciate your insights, asalways, and we will see you on
your next episodes.
Great Thank you on your nextepisodes.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Great, thank you.
That's a wrap for this episodeof tail talk with hound therapy.
Ready to book your pet's nextgroom daycare stay or grooming
Academy tour, call us at 4, 6, 9, 3, 6, 7 0 0 0 9.
That's 4, 6, 9, 3, 6, 7 0 0 09to schedule an appointment, or
(12:31):
visit us online atwwwhoundtherapycom, serving
north texas with expert pet care.
Until next time, keep thosetails wagging.
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