The best method to train your ESA–2023

For people that are suffering from mental health issues, overcoming the challenges posed by everyday circumstances can often become difficult to manage. This is because these individuals have to counter both their internal struggles and the demands posed by external challenges and hurdles. For people struggling with mental health issues, such situations can be improved with the help of emotional support animals. These emotional support animals provide their handlers with the love and care they need to overcome the challenges that the world has in store for them.

As realesaletter is dedicated to providing the best resources and support for those who are training their emotional support animal. Our team of licensed therapists can help you understand the best methods to train your ESA and provide you with the tools you need to succeed. We understand that the bond between an ESA and its owner is essential, and we are committed to helping you build a lasting relationship with your furry friend. Let us help you create a healthy and supportive environment for you and your ESA.

Before you are able to enjoy these benefits, you need to train your emotional support animal, such as an ESA dog, to provide you with the emotional companionship you require in your tough times. There is no restriction on the type of animal that is considered an emotional support animal.

Once your emotional support animals have completed their training, you should aim to get them licensed through an ESA letter. A real esa letter is a document recognizing your mental health problem and your need for an emotional support animal for companionship. An ESA letter is to be obtained from a licensed mental health worker that is currently practicing within the state that you are residing in. These mental health providers include psychologists, psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, mental health counselors, and clinical social workers etcetera. If you are in contact with such a mental health provider, you can get their assistance in getting an ESA letter. Otherwise, you can attain the help of online ESA letter providers that link you to such a mental health practitioner who can cater to your ESA letter needs.

But you need to choose an animal that is healthy, active, able to provide you with the support that you need, and one that poses minimal danger to other people around you. Traditional choices for emotional support animals include dogs, cats, and birds. However, some people choose to have more exotic animals like hedgehogs, pigs, foxes, and even snakes. You need to carefully consider your choices and pick an animal that best meets the aforementioned requirements.

There are different types of ESA letters available from which you need to pick the type that best suits your needs and demands. For example, an ESA Letter for housing lets people struggling with mental health issues obtain a residence with their emotional support animals in places where they do not usually allow animals. Thus, given that you have an ESA letter, the landlord is bound to provide you with reasonable accommodation. In other words, the landlords cannot discriminate against you on the basis of having an emotional support animal.

Training is a prerequisite for benefitting from the company of any emotional support animal. You want to train the emotional support animal in the best way possible so that you can receive assistance in time of need. The first part of training any animal is potty training. For this, you should feed your emotional support animal at specific times of the day, and keep a track of the animal’s movement. You need to take the animal outside when it's time to defecate, and then reward the animal with a treat.

After this, you should train your animal to be responsive to other cues, such as a cue to sit down, stand still, come towards you etcetera. The next part of training emotional support animals is teaching them techniques to alleviate stress and anxiety. This can be done by teaching emotional support animals to apply pressure to different parts of their body. In training your emotional support animal, you should make sure you employ positive reinforcement instead of negative reinforcement. This is because habits developed through negative reinforcement do not last long. They last only as long as the reinforcement is provided. On the other hand, habits developed by positive reinforcement stick with you long after you stop giving them treats. Thus, it is important to train your animal using positive reinforcement instead of negative reinforcement.

The training of your emotional support animal should continue as long as three requirements are completely fulfilled. First, the emotional support animals should be able to perform the desired task for a prolonged period of time. Otherwise, there is still the need for training which you need to provide them. Second, the emotional support animals should be able to perform the desired task even when you are not around. For example, even if you are not present to monitor them, they still should be able to defecate at their designated area. And third, emotional support animals should be able to perform their designated task in the presence of different stimuli that serves to distract them. These stimuli could include the presence of other animals or other human beings.

There are various other benefits associated with having an ESA letter. Many airlines allow emotional support animals to board flights with their handlers in the cabin area if the emotional support animal letter is provided. Moreover, some departments and malls do not allow animals to enter their buildings. Or even if they do, they charge a certain amount of entrance fee. Given that you have an ESA letter depicting your dependence on the emotional support animal, they would either allow you to take your animal with you with a reduced fee or completely free of cost.

Useful Resources:

Harmful Effects of Raw Meat for your ESA Cats - Guide

Basic guidelines on how to take good care of your emotional support pet

How to spot a fake ESA letter: a beginner's guide

Can a landlord verify an emotional support animal letter?

Can we renew the old ESA letter?