How Does Your Autistic Child React to Dogs?

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What have you parents of autistic kids noticed about how your child reacts to dogs? I'm trying to consider the many different qualities of dogs and then pick out the right one for my profoundly autistic daughter.

My daughter never wanted to be near dogs because they'd try to meet her eyes and were to interactive. Then we were given an arctic wolf/German shepherd. I think he was a little autistic, too. He wouldn't approach anyone or stare in their eyes unless invited to do so. My daughter bonded with him. She loved to wrap her arms about his huge chest and liked how soft and smooth his long fur was.

For years we have had a really boring self-centered dog that she ignores so I know what kind of doggie temperament is completely out for her.

We finally got a new dog with a list of things we're doing to train her to be a good service dog but my daughter doesn't like the dog's doggy awareness of people. I think she misses the really fluffy soft fur of her other dog, too.
The one thing she really loved about the new dog, though was finding the poop and pee accidents and announcing what she found. She also seems to be communicating better. Maybe the dog's in-your-face behavior, stressing as it is, is still causing her to interact with the world more.

I'm wondering if I should get a big fluffy newfy or great Pyranees mix for her.

Hi! We have 4 dogs, each one of them has a very different personality. 2 of them are firm favs with my boys, particulary J ( who is still being evaluated) Lucky= is a big goofy rottwheiler with double hip dissplaysia and he is a big sook, who is scared lol of the dark, J walks around our yard mumbling to himself, Lucky follows.
Lucky and J lay on the back porch together or on the trampoline, he is great for a cuddle. Gizmo (another favorite)= Shitzu cross, is a smaller very fluffy dog, who we are almost sure has autism/adhd. Giz is so much like J he doesnt care what you do to him he loves you any way, he is fantastic with kids. He is so fluffy his hair covers his eyes most of the time. He is small enough for J to pick up if he wants to.
J likes to play with Gizmo's hair and his floppy ears. Micky is Gizmo's father and distrusts all kids, because when J was little he tried to help mum by washing the dog in a bucket of nappy soak and then putting the doggie in the clothes dryer( thank God it wasnt on). Beauty is a pomeranian and she pee's herself if anyone goes near her. The dog that my kids talk about the most though is my dog Duke he died a few years ago he was a staffodshire terrior and was fantastic with my kids. Extremely protective and very gentle with them. He didn't know he was a dog. These dogs are very intelligent, but are also a lot of work to start with. Good luck with your choice. I would try to checkout the pups parents to see what type of temprament the dog will have if you can. Sorry my post is so long. I love my dogs they are part of our family.

aurea, your long post is what I need. I have to think about the right dog carefully. The one we have now is a German shepherd/Australian shepherd. She's smart and she's learning to alert us when my daughter is going to have a seizure but there's no bond between her and my daughter.

I've been thinking about Rottweilers. They are so solid and big and don't jump all over the place. She might like one of those or a bull mastiff.

Fur covering the eyes-- hmmm, I'm wondering if that's a plus when around an autistic kid who doesn't want much eye contact.

As for Staffordshire terriers, they are so messed up in the US. Rival gangs use them to fight each other. Illegal drug dealers keep two or three around the house. They want to make them as mean as possible. I know Staffs aren't meant to be mean. What appeals to these freaks about that breed is that once it starts fighting, it doesn't back down very easily. The dog shelters a full of them.

We have a border collie and a shih tzu in our home. The Border Collie has slowy become my youngest son's emotional support dog. Border collie's are extremely intelligent and aware of their surroundings. They are quick to react and seem to make decisions on their own. When we got Pongo my son was afraid of him. Pongo would approach him, and as soon as he noticed my son becoming uncomfortable he would lie down. He did that until my son finally began sitting on the floor, just close enough to reach a full arms length to touch the dog. My son is 13, by the way. I soon began teaching Pongo commands such as "Fetch, Kid3" and he would look for and find my son. In the morning I would say "good morning" to my son but no one can touch him to wake him up. Pongo has learned that "good morning" means sit by the bed and put your paw on Kid3 until he gets up. And my son never complains when Pongo touches him. He was trained by me so he is not a qualified support dog but I sometimes wonder what he would be like if he was. When walking with me or Kid3 Pongo places himself between us and the people walking by. He makes my son stop before crossing the street by sitting when he gets to the curb. He will not move until given the command to walk (heel didn't make sense to my son so we have had to find commands that do).
Border collies can be short-haired or have long, fluffy hair like ours. They do bark, but can be taught to do so only when necessary. Pongo barks when someone enters our back gate or when Kid3 or my 7 year old daughter go out the door. He stops when we tell him it's okay. He is truly amazing. The only draw back is that he does have ALOT of energy and is always ready to go. He can chase a tennis ball for hours and doesn't seem to tire.
I've heard that golden retrievers and labrador retrievers are also excellent support dogs. The golden retriever also has fluffy hair and is much like a my dog.

I don't know about Canada's rules about making a service dog official but I read that the rules in the US are pretty loose. That means that you could decide that your dog is a service dog on your own and have the green coat and go anywhere. That's good and bad. I mean, you could, in theory declare a killer dog a service dog and walk into McDonald's with the dog.

I heard the border collies are good at solving problems and improving quickly.

That is scary. I wouldn't allow my son to take our border collie into a building with a crowd of people. Theywould both be very nervous and I don't know what would happen.

we have 2 dogs....Yoyo is a husky/shepherd/lab~VERY docile...dopey even. really good with people. The other dog, Marly, is brand new to the house and still getting adjusted to the noise and commotion in the house ( her previous owner was a single woman). Marly is a pit bull mix, and quite snuggly~ she'll even climb under the covers with you !
I think one of the more important things you need to think about ~ rather than just thinking about breed of dog~ is the dog's temperament. IMO, an easygoing dog would be best

You're right about needing an easygoing dog. I read a book about dogs for the deaf. It said that golden retrievers and labs usually had the best temperaments for taking into crowds which is why the seeing eye people prefer them but the author said that those breeds were usually too well behaved for the dogs for the deaf. They need dogs who can think on their feet in weird situations and do whatever it takes to alert their owners.

So somewhere in between is the perfect dog for autistic temperaments. I'd try a wolf hybrid again because he was so unexpectedly in tune with my daughter except that I think it's wrong to breed wolf hybrids. Our hybrid was really sensitive and I think he would have freaked out and never recovered if he had been passed on to another owner.

Another thing I think is that starting with a puppy is better than starting with a grown dog because I've noticed that grown dogs aren't sure about my daughter, while the puppy we got treated her like the rock star of the family because her entrances were much more dramatic than ours.

The two breeds of dogs I've had are Border Collies and American Staffordshire Terriers. Yes, some people in the US breed Am Staffs to fight, but there are also plenty of responsible breeders and dogs that make wonderful pets. I loved my Am Staffs. They were athletic, intelligent, loyal, docile, and easy to train. They're extremely affectionate dogs that live to please humans. They require a lot of human interaction and activity.

Border Collies are supposed to be the most intelligent breed of dog. They are working dogs. They are bred to run all day every day. They excell at any demanding job. If they don't have a job, they can become neurotic, destructive, and aggressive. They have strong herding instincts, which means that they will chase children and bite their feet. This is their natural response to the sight of a moving creature.

For the past 15 years or so, some people have been breeding Border Collies to be pets because they have become popular. If you want a pet Border Collie, you should seek out such a breeder. If you do not have livestock for your Border Collie to herd, it would be a mistake to get a Border Collie whose parents or grandparents were used for herding. These dogs will have herding instincts that can cause serious problems when children are involved. I speak from experience--I grew up with a Border Collie whose parents herded cattle.

These are both intense, high-energy breeds. Border Collies have more energy and require more activity (mental and physical). They are more independent and tend to think for themselves, so they are not always easy to train, despite their intelligence. Am Staffs are more dependent on people. They will follow you around the house. They are easy to train, but some people find them too clingy or too affectionate. You also have to deal with the fact that they are banned in some cities and some insurance companies will reject you for owning one. Both are delightful dogs if you spend enough time with them.

EvilKimEvil, what you said about Border Collies explains the self-centered dog we have that nobody really likes. We're good to him because he's a dog but he's not nice. He's a Border Collie/Sheltie cross. He was trained to be a hearing ear dog but got beat up and couldn't do the hearing ear work anymore.

He's very smart and wants to control everything and everyone. He won't show an interest in a dog toy unless the new dog shows an interest. Then he's all over it. He doesn't want anyone to interact with anyone else, animal or human unless he's running the show. He has nipped my daughter on occasion when she was having meltdowns. He now knows that crossing that line is extremely serious so he stays away from her but is still always bugging everyone else.

Your description explains a lot, that he had a lot of potential that was ruined.

I wonder if I would know a good Staffordshire terrier if I met one.

We have a chocolate lab dalmatian mix. His temperment seems to be after his Dalmatian dad. Which is weird because his dad was separated from the litter. My son liked him as an infant and toddler. He was really spastic and entertaining. He is very loyal and would protect him. He's kind of nervous though and paces a lot. I let him inside these days as he's aging and not liking to get stressed out in the yard. My son now doesn't like him because of the pacing, sniffing and staring. He also gets mad because the dog doesn't "understand English". My son is very sensitive to movement and unpredictable behavior.
He responded really well to my mom's dog, a Papillion something or other. Very sedentary, soft and "cute".

i would suggest if possible let your daughter meet with a dog before you get one, if possible several visits to see if they click, rather than getting a dog only to have to get rid of it because of incompatibility. another thing i might suggest is getting a female dog as they tend to be less agressive in general but still protective of their "pack"
i have 2 female dogs the one my son gets along best with is a rottie lab cross, she's a bit skittish, but i think it's the lab in her and just her personality.
retrievers are very loyal and have some energy but are syill fairly easy going too. my other dog is a rottie shepard retirever mix, she is lazy so she doesn't play with us a lot but would protect us.
hope this helps a bit.

I am not a parent, but when I was a child I couldn't stand dogs. They would run up to me and try to sniff or lick me. Sometimes a little rambunctious or so it looked. I hated that. Not a big deal now though.

I would feel awkward bringing my daughter around some dogs because she's so severe. Also, she would be so phobic in any new situation that I wouldn't be able to tell if the dog was the right one for her. I think she needs a large lazy dog. Except she's never been around a tiny breed. I wonder what she'd think about a relationship with a dog that's no bigger than a cat.

She only likes the cats when she gets them to stim with her with cat toys.

I can highly recommend a type of dog --

We have an Australian Shepherd, a dog that we brought into our family about a year after my son was diagnosed, and our son was about six years old. Aussie Shepherds (it would seem to me, in my humble opinion) have all the intelligence and herding instincts of a border collie, without the hyper behavior and need for constant work. Our dog is a lot like blessedmom describes her border collie, in that he honestly has been therapeutic for our son. He's a very social dog -- very much a family dog -- but with each individual he socializes differently and as much as that particular person desires. When my son was younger, he was less interested in playing with the dog, so our sweet dog didn't force the issue. Now, our son LOVES to play with this dog, and the dog is very happy to comply! He is very careful to never bite hard while playing, he has literally NEVER hurt any member of the family. I credit our dog with helping our son to socialize -- the dog makes it fun to play and interact, and literally teaches give and take.

When our dog isn't socializing with our family, he is sleeping. All day. He eats, sleeps, and socializes. The only detrimental thing I can say about this dog is that he gets jealous whenever we as a family hug each other -- he tries to get between us, and barks at us until we pay attention to him. Our family finds this hilarious -- it doesn't bother us.

I've had multiple dogs over the years, and this is by far the best dog I've ever had -- and I think this breed is specifically good for kids on the spectrum.

Kris

You might be right that Australian shepherd might be the right way to go. The puppy we got for her last year is half Australian shepherd, half German shepherd. She looks more like a German shepherd but she's been showing some traits that we never expected. She watches us all the time, always wants to know, without being in our faces what's going on. We give her problems to solve, like telling her that we put a piece of meat somewhere in the room. She understands the games we make up for her. She lies down and waits and observes when we have small animals around her.

If we had a full Australian shepherd, I think that my daughter would the its furriness.

I've been around service dogs that we trained specifically for autistic kids but I don't see what they're getting out of the dogs. The parents say that it gives the kids better connections. I want a dog for my daughter to keep her safe and alert us when there's something we need to do or know about. She needs more than a dog that's taught to do nothing except be trained to be practically invisible.

Once I saw a dad and an autistic kid and a dog between them. Both the dad and kid had leashes on the dog. The dad said that it was the best way to get his son to walk with him.