I hope they can help, or if not, maybe experienced dog-owners will have tips to offer.
Personally, I think what dogs need most is to be clear in their minds what is wanted of them. I'm going to contrast between a dog doing that in a way that isn't wanted, and trained dogs that do it in ways that are wanted.
I've had a mixed relationship with dogs because when I was small, two dogs unexpectedly attacked me. In neither case was I misbehaving, running around or anywhere I shouldn't have been. One was a guard dog with its owner but not where it usually was, so was doing what it thought it was trained to do, and the other was the family dog of a child I was visiting but who didn't know me and freaked out when I closed the door to a playhouse the other child and I were in. That left me wary. I'm still wary and if a dog suddenly appears in my field of vision, I've been known to leap out in front of traffic to get away.
Yet whilst still a child, I took a neighbour's dog for walks. I also looked after a different neighbour's dog as an adult and as a student au pair walked the family dog. And there's a slobbery thing that's moved in with a neighbour that insists upon fussing me.
I'm aware that people that deal professionally with dogs that attack say that almost every time it happens, the natural response of their owner is "But s/he's never done that before!"
Ah, but yes, the dog has done something like it before - it's protected its owner.
So why am I going on about dogs attacking? No, not to worry you. You see, dogs naturally protect their owners, but why go to all the hard work of attacking if your owner's given you a pleasanter way to do it? Look how dogs love to do all sorts of work.
I picture it as the difference between a dog that thinks the way to defend its owner is to move towards the 'threat' and a dog that thinks the way to defend its owner is to move towards the owner and provide a safe barrier between the owner and whoever or whatever is causing concern/difficulty.
It may sound a bit potty, but I think I can relate to the "Yes, but what precisely is required of me?" aspect of many dogs. It's the aspect of me, from my upbringing, that has left me with a desperate need to explain, explain, explain.
For me the beauty of this is you can channel "What is required of me?" into "Looking after Fiz." and "Yes, but what precisely is required of me?" into what you need from an emotional support dog.
Then you have happy dog. And a happier Fiz than otherwise.