Although emotional support animal do not have to be as highly trained as a service dog, there are some things you will want to consider when choosing a dog intended for emotional support or training one you already have as a pet parent. Most dogs possess the natural tendency to be devoted to their pet parent, after all, that’s what makes them man’s and woman’s best friend. However, there are some dogs that may be too rambunctious, overly-excitable or just too timid to help people in their darkest moments. That isn’t to say that these pup-personality-types can’t or will never be able to be an emotional support animal, it just means they may take more training to do so. Everyone knows that dogs help lower blood pressure and their owners also tend to have a greater sense of well-being. You love your dog and he or she waits on your every word and adores you. What you may not know is that there’s a big untapped potential there – for nearly any dog – if you struggle with stress, worry or mental disorders. I want to share a quick exercise that you can use to teach your dog to help stop anxiety, panic or to just relieve stress. Your dog doesn’t have to be trained as an ESA (emotional support animal) or PSD (psychiatric service dog) to do this for you and you don’t even have to have a diagnosis to find it calming.