Support/Service dog for a dog-resistant teen

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We are considering a German shepherd/hound who is 1.5 and has been an inside dog. He "gets his feelings hurt" and pulls his ears back to tell you about it. My son(15) and I both are pretty picky about dogs. there are a couple dogs we tolerate well and a couple dogs we just love. My son is doing the research to see if this will be doable long term, cost, effort, training, etc. Once he thinks he can handle the responsibility and cost issues have been addressed, we would meet to dog and get a feel for him. Then we would want to do a trial run of 3-4 days minimum but a week would be better. Then once that trial passed and he became our son's dog, training would begin, our son doing the training himself. At least that's what I'm thinking right now. He would have to already be a pretty good dog because even though my son is tall, he's barely over 100# so he wouldn't be able to keep control of the doggo if he decided to run. I'm thinking this would be a great way to keep my son active, give him the security and emotional support he needs without having to find words, a service/support dog would also be a support in social situations that make my son nervous, and would be a great help at keeping him company if my husband and I are away from home for an over-night or more. The cleanliness and lots of barking are hard boundaries for me. I can handle a little "Someone's here" barking and some dog hair on my clothes isn't a big deal, but much more than that would be too much for me. My son is also already responsible for sweeping the hardwood floors and mopping, so those changes would already be on him to deal with. What I'm wondering is 1-has anyone ever trained a dog themselves, 2-if so, do you have any pointers or other things I haven't thought of? This doggo sounds like he's emotionally sensitive and I wouldn't want to cause more emotional trauma to him if we can figure out how we would feel about the dog before even meeting him. Also, Thank you in advance for taking the time to delve into this topic with me.

Do you mean an emotional support animal, or a service dog? Service dogs do specific tasks that they're trained to do to help people with a disability and are different than just an emotional support animal.

Have you guys had a dog before? Also, I think it'll be hard to find a younger adult dog already w/ basic training (not to run or pull on the leash, potty inside, etc.) that will also have the proper temperament + receptiveness to become a service dog. And you might have to look at quite a few dogs before you find one that might be a right fit to be an SD, but even then people have their dogs "wash out" of becoming an SD all the time.

If you just want your dog to help your son at home that would be much easier, but if he wants to take the dog in public he'll have to do somewhat rigorous training to have the dog behave well enough and the dog be receptive to it. You also should really help with the basic training of the dog, at least a bit, no matter what you do w/ the dog because it may not listen to you if you don't.

If he's dog-resistant, I suspect a dog might not be suitable/might be more trouble than benefit.

If it's to be an emotional support animal it doesn't have to be a dog. What about a cat, rabbit, guinea pig or bearded dragon?

OP talks about training, so it's likely they do mean an actual SD. I think by law, iirc, an SD has to have at least two trained tasks that aid the handler's disability. (This information is easily available on the ADA website, if I am wrong)

I have seen SDs for autism on tiktok. One task I've seen several utilize has been a way to keep other people from crowding the handler. One tiktoker dubs this task "orbit" - the dog walks in circles around the handler to keep people from coming close.

Thank you all for your feedback! I was thinking a service dog that could go with him into public and help him stay calm. Another animal may be able to do the same thing, though the behavioral requirements of a service animal would be strict, which I agree with completely. The services performed would be more of an emotional support, helping him prevent a meltdown...which would fall under emotional support in my mind. He has decided that a dog is bigger then he would really like and I have suggested that he research to see if anyone has certified another animal like a cat. He has calmed down a lot since he was little, but I worry that he just keeps those emotions inside. As I become more familiar with autism, the idea of him just keeping those emotions inside doesn't sit well. An animal would help him work out those feelings without having to use words. Thank you all again for your input! There are a lot of really great points you bring up! We will keep those in mind moving forward.

Wow! A service snake! What a sight that must be! I am loving all the very valuable input! There are so many good points and things I didn't know about this topic. I'm not sure what my son will decide to do, but he IS capable of acting for himself on this issue. I'm very thankful for all the info so that I can guide him and answer questions. I DO agree about training. No matter what animal he might choose, it would have to be able to behave like a service animal in public, even if it is unable to get official certification. He would be able to have it with him for most situations. I also agree that pressure would be a great benefit and should be a relatively straight-forward task if the animal were trainable.

I am a cat person, but many years ago I reluctantly got a pit bull. I wanted to beat him to death many times when I first got him. I would be very stressed out and he would choose that time to sit in front of me and whine for a walk. NO! I'd say, but to shut him up, I'd get the leash and we'd go walk. I learned that I liked taking walks. They make me feel better when I'm stressed out.

Since I am not a dog person and at that time I was living alone, I tried to get him to sleep in his crate. More whining. I let him sleep at my legs just so I could have silence. He still sleeps at my legs 12 years later, but now he's in between me and my husband.

I'd forget to eat until he'd appear in front of me again. Boof! Oh yeah, okay, I guess we can eat. I was pretty much only eating coffee and salad back then. I incorporated some meat and fish so he could share. He still gets the last bite of anything I eat, so I make sure to eat things that are okay for dogs.

I recommend you guys give a dog a chance. They force you out of yourself and the bad stuff just melts away.

But if a dog isn't feasible, a cat?

So glad it worked out well for you! My son decided against a service animal of any sort and says that it might be better to wait until later and see if it's more necessary as he gets older. He says that he doesn't think he needs one enough to compensate for all the difficulties in getting one. Thank you for your response!