A service dog is individually trained to perform specific tasks for a person with a disability, such as guiding, alerting to sounds or seizures, or interrupting a PTSD episode, and the law protects its right to go where its handler goes.
A therapy dog is a pet that a volunteer handler brings to hospitals, schools and care homes to comfort other people, and it has no special access rights.
An emotional support dog comforts its own owner just by being there, but in most of Canada it has no public access rights either, and airlines only have to accept one under strict conditions.
On Remembrance Day, we remember the dogs who served too
On November 11, Canadians pause to honour the people who served, and many of us also think of the animals who served beside them. One of the best known is Gander, a Newfoundland dog who became the mascot of the 1st Battalion, Royal Rifles of Canada, and went with the regiment to Hong Kong. During the Battle of Lye Mun in December 1941, Gander charged the enemy several times to protect wounded soldiers. When a grenade landed near seven wounded men, Gander picked it up and ran with it, and died in the blast. In 2000, Gander received the PDSA Dickin Medal, often called the animals’ Victoria Cross.
In Ottawa’s Confederation Park, the Animals in War Dedication, unveiled in November 2012, honours the mules, horses, pigeons and dogs that served in Canada’s wars. Its bronze statue shows a medical service dog. Dogs still work with the Canadian Armed Forces today, and thousands more work beside Canadians with disabilities every day, including many veterans.
This guide explains the difference between service dogs, therapy dogs and emotional support dogs in Canada, what the law says about each, and how to behave when you and your own dog meet one.
Service dog, therapy dog or emotional support dog: the short version
| Service dog | Therapy dog | Emotional support dog | |
| Who it helps | One person with a disability | Other people: patients, students, seniors | The owner |
| What it does | Performs trained tasks linked to the disability | Offers calm, friendly visits | Comforts by being present, with no specific task |
| Training | Intensive, task-specific training from a specialist organization or specialized trainer | Good manners, plus an evaluation by a therapy dog program | No special training required |
| Public access | Protected by provincial law and human rights codes | Only where a facility invites the team | Generally none beyond places that allow pets |
| Can you pet it? | No, not while it works | Usually yes, after you ask the handler | Ask the owner first |
What is a service dog?
A service dog performs specific, trained tasks that help a person with a disability live more independently. The federal Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations describe a service dog as one that an organization or person who specializes in service dog training has individually trained to perform tasks for a person with a disability. The Canadian Transportation Agency lists examples such as guiding people with visual disabilities, alerting people with hearing loss, pulling wheelchairs, detecting seizures and supporting people with mental health disabilities such as PTSD.
The key word is task. A dog that makes its owner feel better simply by being close is a wonderful companion, but that comfort alone does not make it a service dog. A psychiatric service dog, on the other hand, may interrupt a panic attack, wake a veteran from a nightmare or create space around its handler in a crowd. Those are trained tasks.
Service dog laws in Canada: it depends on your province
Canada has no single national service dog law or certification. The Canadian General Standards Board began work on a National Standard of Canada for service dogs in 2015, then withdrew it in 2018 because its committee could not reach consensus. As a result, the rules depend on where you live. A few examples:
- British Columbia: The Guide Dog and Service Dog Act offers voluntary certification. A team qualifies by receiving a dog from a school accredited by Assistance Dogs International (ADI) or the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF), or by passing a public safety assessment. Certified teams have access and tenancy protections, and the Act makes it an offence to deny access to a certified team or to falsely represent a dog as a guide or service dog, with fines of up to $3,000. Therapy and emotional support dogs cannot certify under the Act.
- Alberta: Under the Service Dogs Act, qualified service dog teams carry a free Alberta Service Dog Identification Card with the handler’s and dog’s photo. Dogs qualify through an approved Alberta provider, an ADI-accredited program or a government assessment, and owner-trained dogs can apply for an assessment.
- Ontario: Under the accessibility standards for customer service, an animal counts as a service animal if staff can readily identify it as one through visual indicators such as a vest, or if the person provides a letter from a regulated health professional, such as a physician, nurse, psychologist or occupational therapist, confirming they need the animal because of their disability. Guide dogs for people who are blind also fall under the Blind Persons’ Rights Act.
- Nova Scotia: The Service Dog Act offers voluntary certification and provincial identification cards for teams from accredited schools or teams that pass a public safety assessment.
Everywhere in Canada, human rights law protects people with disabilities from discrimination, and that protection can cover service dog users who have not certified under a provincial act. If you rely on a service dog, check your own province’s rules before you travel or move.
What is a therapy dog?
A therapy dog is a well-mannered pet that visits hospitals, long-term care homes, schools, libraries and university campuses with a volunteer handler, usually through an organization such as St. John Ambulance. Therapy dogs bring comfort and calm to many people, but they do not have the legal access rights of a service dog. They go only where a facility invites them.
St. John Ambulance runs one of Canada’s best known programs. It does not train therapy dogs. Instead, it evaluates the handler and the dog together in a mock visit with a range of stressors. Its published requirements include a dog at least one year old (ideally two) that has lived in a permanent home for at least six months, responds to basic commands like sit, stay and down, and does not mouth people’s hands, jump on people, growl at other dogs or have accidents indoors. Handlers commit to weekly visits for at least a year and complete a criminal record check.
What is an emotional support dog?
An emotional support dog provides comfort to its owner, often someone living with anxiety, depression or another mental health condition, just by being there. That support can be life changing, but an emotional support dog does not perform trained tasks, so in most of Canada it has no special right to enter stores, restaurants or other places that do not allow pets.
Air travel is the main exception. In a 2023 decision, the Canadian Transportation Agency ruled that carriers must accommodate emotional support dogs, but only dogs and only under strict conditions. The traveller needs proof from a physician or health professional that they receive treatment for a mental health disability and need the dog, a veterinary certificate sent at least 96 hours before travel, and a carrier that fits under the seat in front, with the dog inside it for the whole flight. Carriers can refuse a dog that behaves aggressively or that the owner cannot control.
Travelling with a service dog
Under the federal accessible transportation rules, carriers must accept a service dog on board at no extra charge and give the dog enough floor space at the handler’s feet. The Canadian Transportation Agency says travellers should notify the carrier at least 48 hours before travel and be ready to show that a specialist organization or person trained the dog to help with a disability-related need. The handler must keep the dog under control throughout the trip.
Service dogs and your taxes
The Canada Revenue Agency’s Medical Expense Tax Credit can include the cost of a specially trained service animal and its care, such as food and veterinary bills, for people with certain impairments. Since January 2018, it can also include an animal specially trained to perform specific tasks for a person with a severe mental impairment. Emotional support alone does not qualify. Check the CRA’s current medical expense guide or speak with a tax professional before you claim.
How to behave around a working dog
A service dog at work is concentrating on its handler’s safety. A distracted guide dog can miss a curb, and a distracted alert dog can miss a seizure warning. A few simple habits help:
- Do not pet, call, whistle at or make eye contact with a working service dog. Talk to the person, not the dog.
- Never offer food.
- Offer help, not questions. It is fine to ask the handler whether you can help, but do not ask about their disability.
- Keep your own dog close and calm. Do not let your dog approach, sniff or greet a working dog, even if your dog is friendly. Give the team plenty of room on the sidewalk, in the elevator and in store aisles.
- Therapy dogs are different. They are usually happy to meet people, but always ask the handler first.
That last point about your own dog matters more than many owners realize. A dog that lunges or barks at a service dog can set back months of training or leave the working dog anxious in public. If your dog struggles to stay calm around other dogs, our complete guide to reactive dog training is a good place to start.
Can my dog become a therapy dog?
That depends on your dogs behaviour, and their temperament. Therapy programs look for calm confidence around strangers, no jumping or mouthing, polite behaviour around other dogs and a dog that follows its owner’s lead in a busy, noisy room.
Bark Busters does not train or certify service dogs. What we do is help you and your pet dog build the calm, reliable manners and clear communication that a therapy dog evaluation tests. Our trainers work with you in your own home and in real situations, so your dog learns to stay settled when a stranger reaches out, a truck rattles past or another dog walks by. Your Bark Busters trainers can help you understand if your dog has the temperament for therapy work as well.
To learn more about how we train, read our complete guide to dog training methods, or see our earlier post on how to interact with working dogs. When you are ready, use find a trainer to book an in-home visit with your local Bark Busters trainer.
Every Bark Busters program includes our Life Of Dog Support Guarantee, so your trainer stays with you and your dog for life.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a service dog and an emotional support dog in Canada?
A service dog performs specific trained tasks for a person with a disability and has protected access to public places. An emotional support dog comforts its owner by being present, does not perform trained tasks and generally has no special access rights, except limited rights on flights under the Canadian Transportation Agency’s 2023 decision.
Do service dogs need registration in Canada?
There is no national registry. British Columbia and Nova Scotia offer voluntary provincial certification, Alberta issues identification cards to qualified teams, and Ontario accepts visual indicators or a letter from a regulated health professional. Online “registrations” that anyone can buy do not give a dog legal service dog status.
Can a store ask if my dog is a service dog?
Rules vary by province. In Ontario, a business can ask for documentation from a regulated health professional if staff cannot readily identify the animal as a service animal. In British Columbia and Alberta, certified teams carry provincial identification cards.
Can my dog become a therapy dog?
If your dog is at least one year old, calm with strangers and other dogs, does not jump or mouth, and responds to basic commands, your dog may suit a program like St. John Ambulance’s. The program evaluates you and your dog together.
Can I train my own service dog?
In some provinces, yes. British Columbia, Alberta and Nova Scotia let owner-trained teams qualify by passing a public safety assessment. Service dog training is highly specialized, so most people work with an accredited service dog organization.
Sources: Canadian Transportation Agency, Your rights when travelling with a service dog and its 2023 decision on emotional support animals; Province of British Columbia, Guide Dog and Service Dog Certification and the Guide Dog and Service Dog Act; Government of Alberta, Service Dog Identification Card; Ontario Regulation 191/11, s. 80.45; Government of Nova Scotia, Service Dog Act; Standards Council of Canada, CGSB service dog standard notice; St. John Ambulance, Therapy Dog Program; Veterans Affairs Canada, Service dog pilot study FAQ; PDSA, Gander, Dickin Medal; Animals in War Dedication. Checked November 2026. Laws change, so confirm current rules with your province.
Free guide: Want your own dog to be a polite neighbour in public? Download our Dog Etiquette guide (PDF) for simple manners that help when you meet working dogs and their handlers. You can find more handouts on our Free Dog Training Resources page.
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