A lady has Autistic dog...

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My mother told me that when she was walking her dog today she stopped to talk to a lady. The lady told my mother that her dog had Autism.
I have never came across any dog that has it, or any animal infact.
Can you professionally diagnose Autism in animals?

Oh bother.

I thought that was the lead-in to a joke.

"This Autistic dog walks into a pub..."

Short answer is no, you can't have a dog professionally diagnosed with autism. I'm sure there are dogs out there with unique minds though.

. . .The barkeeper says that they don't serve animals, leaving the dog to wonder how the barkeeper knew that he's an evolutionist.

Don't you think dogs are stimming when they wag their tails? And fetching the same ball or stick over and over again - that's pretty autistic behaviour!

I think it was a joke.

Well i guess if cats can be autistic.....

I believe such dogs were known as "sooners", because they would sooner s**t on your
living room floor as anywhere else.... but they are very clever at opening gates and finding
the best garbage cans.

I thought an autistic dog was called a cat.

This autistic dog walks into a pub, gets overloaded, has a meltdown, then goes home and reads all about electromagnetic radiation, which is its current obsession, while flapping its paws.

I have met dogs who were highly neurotic..

Dogs who have been abused, or dogs and/or dogs who are unable to participate in activities that they were bred for....etc...

Dogs who have been overbred can develop serious congenital personality disorders..in addition to messed up joints and whatnot...


Flakey's ex-girlfriend's dog was on doggie mood stabilizers....He was one messed up puppy, and eventually she had him put down.

I thought this was going to be about assistance animals.

I don't think this is an all together impossible thing. I'm no stranger to dog training. Autistic traits, just off the top of my head: OCD German Shepherd Dogs for instance are known to have OCD traits. They are extremely obsessive, these genes are valued in the breed & has been bred into them. One of my dogs (GSD) will play ball 24/7 & fall asleep with it in his mouth. If I put it away he keeps going back to the place it's hidden to touch, sniff & check in with his ball (through door, drawer what have you) He also washes his toys in the water bowl. Eye contact Keeping eye contact is threatening, animals in general will not do this unless they wish to threaten or unless they are in a trusting situation with their owner. I train my dogs to keep eye contact, it doesn't come naturally to them. Social issues Wolves though are very social in their own packs don't go out to wolf clubs & bars with other packs - many packs don't meet up in a huge group & all howl at the moon together. It's survival of the fittest out in them thar woods. Pet dogs aren't social unless socialized from very young pups, if they aren't they are loners & aggressive. I could go on but i need lunch.

Sorry folks, but it makes sense to me!

I have a neurotic border collie. He was abused as a puppy. He runs around in circles if you move his bed to a new spot and he tries to put it back, any loud noises cause him to run for cover, if you raise your voice at him he pees, he will only eat his food outside even when it - 35 Celsius, if I leave the house he digs holes but only when I leave, anyone else can go. He even perseverates about his basketball. If you pick it up he starts whining and looking very nervous until you give it back and he hides hit. The list goes on and on. I guess he fits right in with the other Aspies in our house.

I don't know whether it was autistic, as such, but I remember seeing a dog on one of the vet programmes that a woman had rescued. She loved this dog; she'd nursed it, fed it, exercised it; and yet she lifted it onto the examination table and it scuttled to the other end and leaned against the vet, who it had never met before. The vet handed it back to its owner; she let go, and it scuttled back to the vet again. They repeated this several times, each time with the same result; the vet couldn't believe her eyes. It was heartbreaking for its owner - she had invested so much in helping this dog, but it had no connection with her at all.

Flakey's ex-girlfriends dog (as mentioned above) was half border collie and half springer spaniel (i think)...
He had traits very similar to what you described...but kinda worse...add to that frantic barking and a tendancy towards biting people.

We had a dog that certainly had hightened senses, hearing and smell for instance, it could well have been autistic, wouldnt eat certain foods either such as potatos, it would just lick off the gravy.

And its dress sense was appalling!