Pet Dog

[AndreaA]

Hi,

 

My son has ASD and is four. I have a younger child of 3 too. Can anyone offer advice of a suitable dog companion for us all please. I took them to the nearby Greyhound Rescue yesterday and we spent 3 wonderful hours walking their dogs. Surprisingly the boys were not overwhelmed or put off by the size and reacted in a calm manner. I would not usually go for these dogs because of the size. S has SPD too so triggers can make him run off and it is awful in supermarkets or shopping in general. I read about working dogs for children with autism. Has anyone had an experiences with this? I am looking into this with my eyes open and want to take time finding the right dog for us as a family but also to increase his ability to cope in certain environments if he has a focus and something that can make him feel grounded. Sorry to go on and on. I have rung round rescue centres and the general concensus so far seems to be labs or greyhounds. What do you think and has anyone had experiences with taking on a dog? Many many thanks.

 

 

[JsMum]

I researched dogs and having them for children with special needs we were often on walks and J would respond quite positivitly on a walk with a dog and his walker, I felt confident that a dog would increase his social and communication and I looked into what type of dog and we went for a springer spaniel.

 

The first 6 months went really well, the walks not only helped J but they gave me a breather too so increased our relationship, then Js mental health deteriated and he became angry and distressed often hitting out at me and sadly the interaction with the dog was no longer positive, it was very difficult to get the dog trained as J would intervene and destract the dog, over time our dog became very difficult to manage, pulling on the lead, jumping at people, that it started to add to the pressure of a child with special needs and now a dog with behavioural problems, a friend saw our struggle and offered to rehome the dog, We didnt want to at first, but then I knew it was only fairer on the dog and the dog was going to a good home so i felt it was the best decision. It broke my heart, still does, 2 years later, I researched it loads, but for us it was too much responisbility, its a lot harder than it looks, if things had of remained the same as when J just walked along with the dog and his walker then that would of been fine, but it didnt work out for us and therefore I am sharing this story as I wouldnt want anyone going throw the same as us.

 

JsMumxxx

 

[purplehaze]

I researched this a few years ago and looked into this-

 

http://www.dogsforthedisabled.org/partners...mAssistanceDogs

 

I have too say although we didn't end up with one of those dogs as my son was too old-we did get a dog from our local rehoming centre and she is a cross between a spaniel, terrior and may be a little collie-she is the most loveable dog we could ever ask for!

 

I looked into this for ages before I decided to get a dog-as my son had very agressive behaviour-but I always noticed he was really calm around dogs and was always asking for one.

 

Since the day Poppy (came with the name) arrived my son has been much calmer and also a few months after she arrived she had 5 puppies (no one knew-not even the rehoming's vet ) and it taught him so much about love-he looked up one day and just said Poppy loves her puppies doesn't she-my son doesn't like kisses, hugs, and really lacks empathy most of the time-it was amazing!!!

 

Poppy has been scared of a lot of things especially when we take her out-so I kind of feel she was supose to be with us and vice versa (2 peas from a pod-my son & Poppy)!!! Apart from my son hasn't had puppies

 

She is the best dog ever-infact she is lying at my feet while I type this. xxx

Edited February 14, 2010 by purplehaze

[justine1]

I love springer spaniels.I dont know how good they are with kids but I have seen lots with kids and seem fine.They are quite small as well so easy to manage.Though you need to be careful as I have heard recently on the news they become to interbred and now having deformities.Those with extra large, bulging eyes are a no,no.

 

I hope to get one eventually as Sam loves dogs.My brother has a Scottish highland terrier he is sooooo lovely with kids,a real sweetie.But he costs alot,needs special diet and has an allergy to grass seeds,so needs to go to the vet regularly esp. in summer.This is common in most of this breed.

[Lynden]

We've always had Cavalier King Charles spaniels and they've been fantastic with kids, and they don't need huge amounts of exercise either. However, our last pup was a Lhasa Apso and he was fantastic too. We always get little dogs because I didn't have time to offer hours of walking, though they did get walked daily. Sadly we had to rehome him when we moved to London but when we move into our own property down here as opposed to renting we will get another dog and it will either be a cavalier king charles or a cavapoo (cavalier crossed with a poodle).

 

My friend has a big old collie cross though and he is amazing with children, really fantastic. He does need a fair bit of exercise though.

 

Lynne

[chris54]

From time to time the subject of having a dog and the potential benefits comes up in our household but I do not feel I have the time or energy needed to care for a dog as I feel they should be cared for.

 

But if you or someone has the time to walk the dog each day, 2 hours or more a day depending on breed is what the experts say a dog should get, and you have the energy, both physical and emotionally, then if it was me I would go for something like a collie, but as I said I just dont have the time or energy at the present time as much as I would like to have a dog again.

 

And dont forget how much having a dog costs, food and vets costs. (Have you ever noticed how much space is devoted to selling cat and dog food in the supermarkets). We never used packet/tined food for our dogs, you dont want to know what my sister feeds her pedigree show dogs, its the latest idea apparently.

[AndreaA]

Thanks all. Will take into consideration and keep looking I think. There is so much to take into consideration. I think the important thing is to include him in the decision.

 

Thanks agian.

[Sally44]

I don't know alot about the temperament of different breeds. But working dogs for the blind tend to be laborador, which must be for a reason.

[Samsam]

Labrador and Golden retrievers are probably the best "family dogs" as they have a very calm, loyal temperament and are very intelligent. I met someone at breastfeeding conference who is a lab breeder and she said that in her experience all of the labs she has ever had the black labs are the calmest with yellow in the middle and chocolate labs being a bit looney.

 

If you type any breed into wikipedia then it will give you an idea of the dogs temperament. I grew up with a cross collie/lab and she was amazingly intelligent, loyal but she had that protective guarding streak that comes with the collie breed.

 

I will say however that every single dog has its own temperament and as long as you live by a pack mentality with the humans in the house being the pack leaders and the dog being at the bottom of the pack chain, then you will end up with a loving, caring, calm and obedient dog. But this means doing things that seem a little different to what you'd expect, such as not allowing the dog to eat until everyone else has finished eating because in the wild dogs have a food pecking order and it should be the same for a pet dog.

 

As much as I am a huge fan of rescue dogs I think unless you have have an exact history of the dogs upbringing a puppy should be bought instead of a dog so the dog can grow up being used to the extra noise and different behaviours that some of our children display as the rescue centres don't take all these things into account when testing to see if a dog would be suitable for re-homing.

Edited February 15, 2010 by Samsam

[chris54]

Another thing to think about, do you have someone you can really rely on to look after a dog when you go on holidays or days out, you dont always want, cant always take a dog with you.

 

My sister doesn't really go on holiday as she doesn't like the idea of putting her dogs in kennel's.

 

I hope you dont think I am only looking at the negatives but it really annoys my when people have pets, dogs and then dont look after them properly, or expect other to just put up with them being around just because they like the idea of having a dog them selves.

 

When it comes to working breeds dont forget they need even more exercise if they are to be happy dogs.

[NobbyNobbs]

i wouldn't advise a rescue dog for anyone with children unless they're completely trained. we got a rescue dog who was supposedly just in need of some training (which we did), but wound up having to send him back to the rescue centre after he started pulling the kids off the climbing frame by biting their ankles! he stole everything and chewed it and although he was a lovely dog he just wasn't suitable for a family home. our other dog we had from a puppy and he was always well behaved because he was used to the way we do things.

 

i think the most important thing to remember is you've got to be able to give up time to walk him, give up money to pay for food and vets and you've got to be willing to put him into a dog training class as soon as possible (or devote many many hours to doing it yourself)

[ullean's mum]

i wouldn't advise a rescue dog for anyone with children unless they're completely trained. we got a rescue dog who was supposedly just in need of some training (which we did), but wound up having to send him back to the rescue centre after he started pulling the kids off the climbing frame by biting their ankles! he stole everything and chewed it and although he was a lovely dog he just wasn't suitable for a family home. our other dog we had from a puppy and he was always well behaved because he was used to the way we do things.

 

i think the most important thing to remember is you've got to be able to give up time to walk him, give up money to pay for food and vets and you've got to be willing to put him into a dog training class as soon as possible (or devote many many hours to doing it yourself)

We have 3 children with autism in our house and up until a couple of yrs ago had a black lab,we found him to be a wonderful companion for the kid's,we now have two newfoundlands and they are just the most laid back and loving dogs ever,yes they are big but if the kid's get to know them from pups then they don't seem to notice how big they get,my son couldn't be without our oldest newf,good luck in your search.

[lynne]

 

 

We too had a rescue dog and it proved to have problems and had to be put down. So the next time we went to get a dog we were more careful. We had our last dog from Dogs Trust. What an excellent organisation. They match the dog to the family. We saw a lab at the dogs trust centre but the rescue staff said they would not consider giving us the dog as it has already tried to attack 2 of the staff. They consulted with the other staff at the rescue centre and than identified 3 dogs that were suitable. All three dogs were in the kennels at the back (not on display).

 

Needless to say we have had Mia for 2 years. She is a beautiful clever dog. We do fly ball with her and agility. Our son loves getting her to jump over the obstacles. A way of keeping him and the dog fit.

 

 

The dogs trust aslo have a behaviourist person to work with dogs with difficult behaviour.

 

 

[lil_me]

We got a lab/springer cross rescue several years ago. Oldest loved it in the other persons house, hated it when we brought him home. 2nd rescue he adored, she went out to foster 2 years ago & he and regular dog been buddies since. Had another dog too for 18 months (long story was ours and after 7 years microchip found her back with us) DS2 loves any dogs.

 

Lab/springer we have is soft as muck, never even growls never mind bark/bite at anyone, more than happy to have anything done to him and comes back for more, he's an angel. He's more spaniel size but looks like a chocolate drop lab with floppy ears. People would think he'd want loads of walks, yes he loves a walk but if we can't go he's happy to plod around the garden/house.

Edited February 16, 2010 by lil_me

[Juno20]

I have a labrador (yellow) and am also training to be a dog behaviourist.

 

I belive that dogs are amazingly beneficial to all people they come into contact with. The are proven to increase leavels of seratonin in the body and have an amazing calming effect providing they themselves are calm and relaxed.

 

Labradors can be very good calm family pets if obtained from the right breeder and brought up in a calm consistent maner, I would say of all the breeds they are the most willing to please and easy to train dogs which is why they are so often used as assitance dogs. Don't be fooled though, they are also known to be difficult as puppies, and are can be very distructive and boistrous until they reach maturity at around 2 years of age.

 

There are many other totally suitable dogs to live in the family home and the main thing is to do your research. Too many people buy the wrong type of dog and dont realise how much time and effort goes into training them to be a nice family pet.

 

As it happens Greyhounds are one of the very best house dogs and need very little excersize (surprizingly) and are more than happy to laze about all day on a comfy bed and be fussed and stroked. They normally have excellent temperaments and really do make far better pets than many of the more popular breeds.

 

If i were looking for an easy calm and healthy breed of dog then a greyhound would almost definaltly be top my list.