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Over the past decade there has been a rise in the number of people with Emotional Support Animals. This has caused some confusion around what it means to have a service, emotional support or therapy animal . Here, we explain briefly the differences between each of these animals, the training required for each different type, and debunk some common myths. Read on to learn the differences between each type of animal, which one might be right for you or your loved one, and how Dog Training Elite in Cleveland can help.
Not all training packages may be available at our Dog Training Elite in Cleveland location, please reference our pricing page for complete information on services offered.
ESA vs. Therapy vs. Service Animals: What's the Difference?
Service Animals
Service animals are animals that have been trained to assist individuals with tasks specific to their needs.
- Redirecting attention when an individual is beginning to feel overstimulated
- Reminding owners to take medication
- Waking someone who is having a nightmare
Service dogs are valued in the mental health, health care and disability community and are protected under ADA laws which allow owners to take their service dog with them everywhere they go. Dog Training Elite in Cleveland trains dogs to serve individuals with autism, diabetes and PTSD.
Dog Training Elite in Cleveland trains autism service dogs to benefit and assist children with autism. Autism service dogs can be trained to track their child in case of wandering and redirect a child’s behavior when they are starting to become overwhelmed.
PTSD service dogs help ground owners to reality, especially in public settings. These service dogs can also be trained to recognize signs of a panic attack and regulate emotional responses through pressure.
Diabetic service dogs can alert their owners to their low blood sugar and provide stability, safety and support.
Visit our individual web pages to understand more about the differences and benefits of autism service dogs, PTSD services dogs and diabetic service dogs.
Emotional Support Animals
Although all dog owners may feel the emotional benefits of owning a dog, the dog needs to be prescribed by a licensed mental health professional to a person with a disabling mental illness such as anxiety or depression to legally be considered an ESA. Emotional Support dogs can be of any age and any breed whereas service dogs usually begin training as puppies.
In addition to being prescribed by a mental health professional, owners may wish for their dog to undergo more specific training. If you are looking for emotional support dog training in your local area, Dog Training Elite in Cleveland has you covered.
The professional dog trainers of Dog Training Elite in Cleveland are experienced with training various types of therapy animals. Trainers work with a dog’s natural temperament to ensure a strong, loving bond between dog and owner. Training can be personalized to fit the needs of the owner.
It is important to note that Emotional Support Animals are meant for just that - emotional support. Dogs trained to assist with specific tasks that may be associated with a disability are service animals. Training a dog to be an Emotional Support Animal or a therapy dog is less intensive than training to be a service animal.
Therapy Animals
Therapy Animals are very similar to Emotional Support Animals, except that they are often used to bolster the mental health and wellbeing of a community, as opposed to just an individual. Therapy dogs are often seen serving in hospitals, rehabilitation or care centers with their owners.
Owners who feel their dog may be a good fit for this kind of community service can have them receive top-notch training from Dog Training Elite in Cleveland.
The most important thing to note as a difference between Emotional Support Animals, Therapy and Service dogs, is service animals are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act which states service animals must be able to accompany their owners wherever they go. Emotional Support and Therapy animals do not have the same protections and public establishments may have their own rules about ESA and therapy dogs.
Whether you’re ready to get a new lease on life with the help of a service dog, or strengthen the existing bond with your dog, Dog Training Elite in Cleveland has the experience and resources you need.
Our Balanced Theory
We base our training around the "Classical Conditioning" model (a.k.a. "Pavlovian" or "respondent conditioning"). This includes developing conditioned or automatic reflexes to commands. In its simplest form (after proper conditioning), when the owner says "sit," the dog automatically sits without thinking about it. Our unique techniques ensure our program is a success no matter what behavior we encounter.
Empowering Owners
We empower owners to train so their dog knows who to obey at all times.
Personalized
We deal with problem behaviors on a personal basis.
Environment Specific
We train wherever issues tend to arise (i.e. jogging, park, home).
Supportive
We support owners in the off-hours (when training is "not in session").
Involved
We work with all members of the household.
Simplified & Customized
We plan training around the owner's schedule and require only 20 min/day follow-up practice.
Continued Training
Additional programs / group sessions offered after in-home training.
Lifetime Investment
We follow up & are invested in the owner's success long-term.
Satisfaction Ratings
Our high client satisfaction rating sets us apart from competitors.
clas·si·cal con·di·tion·ing PSYCHOLOGY noun A learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired; a response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus and is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone.
We help your dog become a valued companion and beloved member of the family. Read what our customers have to say and then give us a call!
Josh and Lexi have been in my home for multiple sessions and not only are the professional and knowledgable, but they are really personable as well. We have a great time each session and my 7 year old dog has made tremendous progress in just 3 sessions. I can't rave enough about these guys, you will not be sorry if you choose them for your canine family!— Agata Stasiak
Posted April 13th 2024
I have so much more confidence in my dogs obedience thanks to elite dog training. Worth every penny.— Meredith Mazza
Posted April 10th 2024
The Puppy Package was just what I needed to set my little guy up for success! Even with all of my research, I still needed some help! Josh was awesome and patient and gave me the tools to train my puppy. I plan to continue my training with Josh to help build on Winston’s (and my) skills! I would recommend this for any dog owner!— Christy Gearo
Posted March 25th 2024
I can honestly wish I could give more than 5 stars. As Josh and Lexi are amazing. I couldn’t ask for a better set of training. Josh is absolutely incredible and I am proud to support him and anyone who works with or for him. I admit if I wanted to stop what I’m doing and become a dog trading this is certainly the organization that I would be part of. By far this has been the greatest training I have ever been a part of. I am motivated and so is my pup as we look forward to our next class every week.— Josh Pallardy
Posted March 25th 2024
Josh helped our dog, Rossi, learn so much! He was very experienced, knowledgeable, and answered all our questions and assisted with all our concerns. Would absolutely recommend him for any training!— Alarra Jordan
Posted February 24th 2024
Josh from Dog Training Elite is a fantastic trainer. Josh has helped us with the whole process of training our dog. From helping us select the best puppy to all of the training we have needed. With all of the hands on in depth training our dog has learned so fast and is excelling at public access and the group training. Josh has answered every question we have had and is training our dog to be a service dog and helping us through the whole process. I would 100% recommend Josh and Dog Training Elite Greater Cleveland for anyone who wants their dog trained.— thomas hartline
Posted February 22nd 2024
We rescued a 6mo aussiedoodle while having a 6mo baby, 3yo and 8yo. We were immediately overwhelmed and knew we needed support to have the family dog we dreamt of. Josh and his team are amazing. They are so professional, calm and collected. Their attitude toward our dog is that she can do it. She wants to know the ropes and to be a good dog. In just a few sessions, we noticed improvement in her obedience. Two months ago, we could hardly walk her on a leash as she pulled and chewed the line. Now, I can walk her and my double stroller with ease. I cannot recommend this team enough! She can hangout on our porch while the kids play and other dogs walk by, no problem at all. It is money SO well spent to invest in this training.— Mary Breslin
Posted February 22nd 2024
Andrea has helped us train our golden retriever to be a service dog for my child. She and her team are incredibly phenomenal and I would highly recommend them. Kiddo was admitted to hospital and Andrea even met us there to work with him on some hospital specific skills. They’ve become part of our family!— Tonya Knowles
Posted February 13th 2024
Josh and his crew are some great trainers. I appreciate everything they did with my dog Rhys, I’ve seen a dramatic change in Rhys’s behavior since working with them. Highly recommend working with them, make it easy to learn with them by breaking everything down and explaining what we did and how we did it. I can’t thank them enough.— Colin Ransom
Posted January 28th 2024
We have been working with Josh since our dog was a puppy. We started with the puppy training and transitioned into the adult program. Josh has been amazing! We have tried other trainers with previous dogs (including board and train) and this has been by far the best experience we’ve had. Josh teaches you and your dog at the same time. Not only do you learn the fundamentals but he teaches you so that you can teach your dog anything outside the scope of the class. I would recommend Josh to anyone!— Tony Sileo
Posted January 7th 2024
We are completely blown away with the "magic" that Josh brings to the training sessions. He is articulate and knowledgeable and shares that knowledge in a way that makes it easy to understand and follow. We saw an immediate change in our weimaraner after just the first session. It's made visiting friends and family so much easier.— Jeff Harbin
Posted December 23rd 2023
After going through 5 other trainers, we are super-grateful to have found Josh Lopez and DTE. He’s experienced, creative, dependable and committed to helping us resolve all our dog-training challenges. Having an older dog with established long-standing issues makes it more challenging, but he doesn’t give up. We’ve seen great success in several areas (dog aggression, not coming when called) and anticipate a long-term ongoing relationship with Josh. I recommend DTE highly— Beth Schuster
Posted December 23rd 2023
Josh has been fantastic at helping us get our puppy Nugget to a place where he is much better behaved. We went from a mindset of, "oh no we might have to rehome this new puppy that won't stop chasing our cats and kid," to a point where he listens to basic commands and is now a happy, welcome part of our household. Thank you so much, Josh, you're appreciated more than you know!— Sonya Acosta
Posted December 23rd 2023
Josh is awesome to work with and gave us all the tools to train our Bernese puppy to be better behaved. By far the best trainer I've used!— Andrew dutt
Posted December 23rd 2023
Josh has been training my shepard Emma, ( and myself) for a while now. His training techniques and attitude before, during and after classes FAR exceeds any and all expectations that I had. Emma is a very stubborn dog at times and he will give tips and tricks to help me. I really enjoy the group classes. Emma and I have both learned a lot and also made a couple of friends along the way.— Bill Pawloski
Posted December 23rd 2023
Training is amazing, Josh has worked with our dog and it is amazing how well behaved our dog is now.— Michael Hogan
Posted December 23rd 2023
My wife and I have a new puppy who was causing tons of stress in the home. Dog Training Elite has helped tremendously. Our dog, Nugget has improved a lot since we started the training. He is more obedient and confident. He also enjoys the training sessions. We highly recommend Dog Training Elite to anyone who wants to have a well-behaved and happy dog.— Jaime Acosta
Posted December 23rd 2023
Josh is an amazing trainer and makes you feel heard and helps with any question you have regardless of the time. He makes all the time for you and takes the time to get to know each person and dog individually. I highly recommend.— Olga Pierce
Posted September 5th 2023
I love my dog but he is a wild boy. One giant puppy. I have been trying to find the right trainer to get him started on his road to being a service (PSA) dog. We started with the Gold Obedience package and the difference the 5 weeks of training have made are night and day. Josh was a joy to work with. Kratos really liked him and worked well with him. I would recommend Josh to anyone looking for a experienced good trainer that cares. We look forward to group sessions and the continuing training over the next few months! Update: Kratos is now a fully trained (PSA) service dog. His obedience is amazing and lots of times even anticipates my next command or what I need him to do. He has learned behavior interruption, watch my six (we use this one a lot), and orbit. I couldn't be more pleased and would recommend Josh to anyone.— David Gilham
Posted May 13th 2023
Dog training elite did a great job with my Zeus! He listens now, understands his commands and much easier to walk now. Josh is great at what he does and I noticed a difference after our first class. He not only trains your dog he trains you to do exactly what you need to do to get results.— Stephanie Mackey
Posted December 6th 2023
Proud Sponsor of The Malinois Foundation
At Dog Training Elite in Cleveland, we believe that Service Dogs save lives. It is our mission to make these life-saving companions available to our Veterans, First Responders, Women Survivors, and Children with Medical Needs. Whether it be for PTSD, Mobility Support, or Special Needs, Dog Training Elite in Cleveland works with the Malinois Foundation to heal and empower these individuals with a specialized service animal, a partner in life, and a new best friend.