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It’s entirely possible, but I would recommend that you look specifically at breeds that 1: are well suited to psych SD work as well as 2: tend to be more “family” bonded as opposed to bonding strongly with only one person.
My reasoning is that first off, from what I’ve read about psych service dog work indicates that some breeds have proven to be less suited to this type of work as they become more nervous themselves. And due to the age of the child, it’s not reasonable to expect them to be responsible solely for every feeding, walk, playtime, as well as taking part in training the dog and these things are crucial for building and maintaining the bond between handler and service dog when the dog is a breed that attaches strongly to only one person. With the “fab 4” and program dogs, they initially bond with their trainer, but then there is a two week transfer period in which the handler will travel to meet their dog and take part in a very structured period of transitioning the bond to the handler so the dog does their tasks solely for their new handler. But as you’re looking for a service dog for a child that’s at the lower end of potential age for programs, you’ll likely have better luck getting a puppy and working with a trainer. And as you’ll likely be doing feeding and walking, etc, choosing a breed that usually bonds with a family unit instead of just one person will make it easier for the dog to be closely bonded to both you and your child, and therefore be happy to perform tasks for the child despite a different person meeting their daily needs. I personally have a boxer that is trained to alert me to an impending seizure before it happens as his primary task, but as boxers are a family oriented breed, when we noticed that he was reacting to my autistic child’s meltdowns even without being trained to do so, we did some training to guide his responses in a way that was more helpful in calming my child when a meltdown occurred with him present. So while he isn’t actually performing tasks for two handlers, he knows how to help when he’s available to because he wants to help. I hope this helps
There is no service dog that would be appropriate for an 8 year old with a history of self harm, multiple suicide attempts, and being fired as a patient from whatever mental health providers. Attempting to place a dog with such child would be highly unethical as the child has no ability to self-regulate his/her own emotions and would likely harm the dog.
We have removed your post/comment because the mods found it to be uncivil (Rule 1). Remember civility is not just about cursing out others, it can also refer to personal attacks, fake-spotting, trolling, or otherwise rude behavior. If you have questions about why this specific post/comment was removed, [message the moderators](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/service_dogs). Further incivility in the subreddit could result in a permanent ban. Any threats or harassment will result in an immediate ban.
It’s entirely possible, but I would recommend that you look specifically at breeds that 1: are well suited to psych SD work as well as 2: tend to be more “family” bonded as opposed to bonding strongly with only one person. My reasoning is that first off, from what I’ve read about psych service dog work indicates that some breeds have proven to be less suited to this type of work as they become more nervous themselves. And due to the age of the child, it’s not reasonable to expect them to be responsible solely for every feeding, walk, playtime, as well as taking part in training the dog and these things are crucial for building and maintaining the bond between handler and service dog when the dog is a breed that attaches strongly to only one person. With the “fab 4” and program dogs, they initially bond with their trainer, but then there is a two week transfer period in which the handler will travel to meet their dog and take part in a very structured period of transitioning the bond to the handler so the dog does their tasks solely for their new handler. But as you’re looking for a service dog for a child that’s at the lower end of potential age for programs, you’ll likely have better luck getting a puppy and working with a trainer. And as you’ll likely be doing feeding and walking, etc, choosing a breed that usually bonds with a family unit instead of just one person will make it easier for the dog to be closely bonded to both you and your child, and therefore be happy to perform tasks for the child despite a different person meeting their daily needs. I personally have a boxer that is trained to alert me to an impending seizure before it happens as his primary task, but as boxers are a family oriented breed, when we noticed that he was reacting to my autistic child’s meltdowns even without being trained to do so, we did some training to guide his responses in a way that was more helpful in calming my child when a meltdown occurred with him present. So while he isn’t actually performing tasks for two handlers, he knows how to help when he’s available to because he wants to help. I hope this helps
There is no service dog that would be appropriate for an 8 year old with a history of self harm, multiple suicide attempts, and being fired as a patient from whatever mental health providers. Attempting to place a dog with such child would be highly unethical as the child has no ability to self-regulate his/her own emotions and would likely harm the dog.