Dogs for people with ASD

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Hello
I was wondering if any body knew any info on this subjects.

In my area, occasionally people with ASD who have problems with anxiety and depression are
given specially trained dogs who calm them (i guess)

anyone know how this works? just out of interest
personally i am more of a cat person (if anything)

Not really into dogs in a big way, nothing against them, just not for me.
Too time consuming.

Yikes, dogs are way too needy! But I think the idea is that dogs are pack animals, and as a human you become the Alpha, or dominant, they are trying to please you and they become submissive. Having a cat on your lap will do the same thing if they are contented and purring.

Cats unlike dogs see you as an equal, and are more apt to do whatever they feel is right for them...

Does that make sense?

DIVAIR

EDIT: Dogs, just like children, totally stress me out

sure, thanks for your input
although in some countries they do give specially trained dogs to people with ASD

Just found this page on autism speaks
autism service dogs

I looked over your link I feel pretty confidant that the right cat could do the same thing for a person The cats I've seen that would make a best mate/friend are always male Tabbys and for some reason Orange or Mackerel-gray/brown. My best buddy that I lost a few years ago was a giant Orange Tabby, he just adored me and always knew how to make me feel better He and I were totally bonded: it was like he was a dog the way he'd follow me around, whereas my wife was just, well, that woman "we" let in "our" house Sometimes his adoration got embarrassing

DIVAIR

yes, I am with you on the cat thing.
I personally love cats and generally get on with cats, and they mostly take to me.

I had two cats when growing up.
One grey long haired Persian who was really tame, and super friendly.
Who, due to his upbringing, you could treat him like a teddy bear and manhandle him and he didn't have a problem.

He and I bonded really well too. He was very funny. next door lived two little girls, who used to call for him like he was another little girl, used to come to the door and ask if the cat was allowed to come out to play. And if he was, they would take him and put him a dolls pram and push him around, as if he was their baby.

He also used to follow me around a lot. He even followed me to a pub (bar) which was a few hundred metres from where i lived, and which you had to cross a road to get to. When i got to the bar, i opened the glass door into the bar, and he walked in with me.

Although he got a bit spooked after that, but after i brought some soda, we walked back to the house together.
Funny cat. Miss him. Beautiful creature too. Like the cats you often see on cat food adverts.

Long fluffy creature with big bright orange eyes.

The other cat was a sweat heart too.

yes. miss the cats.

Cats can be service animals, but I don't think they're recognized as such in the U.S. It's mainly small horses and dogs. I don't think you could take a cat in public and go into businesses since they're not recognized, but you could definitely train a cat to do tasks for you, and then have them do that at home and places where cats are allowed.

My ideal service animal is plush.

My mom has a service dog (aria) And I'm learning to be a service dog trainer. Aria's trainer specializes in autism dogs, general service dogs, police and military dogs. Working with her is partly how I started to learn I was autistic.

I believe in medical service dogs, very strongly. Morgan my german shepherd that passed away saved my moms life. She could smell when my mom was going into renal failure and woke me up in the middle of the night. It happened multiple times. The doctors said the reason my mom isn't on dialysis now is because we caught it so early each time her kidneys were in toxicity.

Morgan also saved my life. I dont really talk about this. But I was in a dark place about 6 years ago, a bunch of repressed memories of a trauma from childhood came back. And I didn't realize I was on the spectrum so didn't completely realize what i needed to be healthy.
I would have severe panic attacks and flash backs. The first time Morgan came over and layed on me and put her nose against my neck near the artery. She stayed there for hours until I calmed down. about 5 minutes after my pulse came back down and breathing returned to normal she got up and lay back down in her normal spot on my bed. Each time I had a panic attack or shutdown, she would do the same thing. Now she was never taught this stuff, she just figured it out intuitively. But those are things service dogs are taught to do.

So I firmly believe service dogs can save lives. I'm here today bc of Morgan. When she died I did have a massive burnout though. I had a hard time coping without her. I still have Appa who also misses her. He stays by me all the time now.

Watch the show dogs with Jobs. You can get some idea of their training and stories.

My brother has a service dog for his anxiety-driven seizures. Not specifically an ASD-related item, but suffice to say a trained dog can do you well.

I say TRAINED because I had an untrained (and very sweet) lab/hound mix who I had to rehome because she was just way too active for my lifestyle. She adored me and was very friendly but also extremely clingy and routine-driven (deny or delay her a W-A-L-K and you'll regret it). She went to live on a farm and loved it so I figure she's pretty happy.

I like cats, but they do have some disadvantages.

For example they generally hate travelling in cars, and may panic and run away if taken somewhere new.

If I needed a constant companion, I'd probably get a whippet. They're fairly cat-like, as they love to sprint around in short bursts, but are quite happy to spend much of the time snoozing.

I have a cat. He's an emotional support animal to help with my autism and mental health issues. His companionship and cuddles helps reduce my panic, anxiety, depression, tics, and helps me recover faster from sensory overload. He also helps me socialize more because cats are a common interest for a lot of people and so he's something I can talk about. Where I live ordinarily doesn't allow pets but he's allowed to live with me because my therapist prescribed him as part of my treatment plan. So he's allowed under a federal housing law here in the United States, but if I'm remembering correctly, there isn't a similar law in the UK.

I'm also in the process of applying to get a service dog from an organization that trains them for people with disabilities. It will be a long time before I get a dog even if I'm accepted into a program since the wait times for the organizations I'm looking at are around 3-5 years. The dog will be different from my cat because it will be trained to do specific tasks to help me cope where as my cat helps just my his company. And because of its training a service dog will be able to come with me in public places like stores and restaurants and on the bus. Service dogs can be trained to do a lot of things based on what the person needs help with. Some of things I'm hoping a dog will be trained to do for me are to help me with my balance (which gets bad from sensory overload and anxiety) through the use of a special harness that I'll hold onto, retrieve my emergency anxiety medications if I can't get to them during a panic attack, help with my anxiety and sensory processing by standing between me and other people, find a specific friend or family member by scent if we get separated in public, nudging me to stop bad ticking episodes, and pressing its body weight against me for pressure to calm me down from anxiety or sensory overload since carrying a weighted blanket everywhere just isn't possible.

I think that service dogs for people on the spectrum is a good idea. I'd love to have a dog that would help me with anxiety, shutdowns and whether I should leave my place or stay home. If the dog thinks I should stay home, he'd yank me towards my couch.

Dogs are bred and trained for jobs, even if that job is just as a companion, humans specifically made them that way. It is why dogs can be trained to run onto a battlefield to help a fallen soldier or calm a human having a panic attack. It is why they are "needy" and why there are so many different breeds with different traits. Cat breeds are different mainly for their looks, they don't do jobs other than mousing or being cute, they could survive without humans because they still possess most of their original traits, like hunting and killing prey.

My German Shepherd is not specifically a service dog but, he is absolutely necessary for my well-being. Since we got him he has improved my life enormously; just seeing his beautiful face makes me happier. I walk at least two miles with him every day, someone usually wants to pet him so he allows me to meet new people with all of the attention and conversation focused on him. Once he even saved me from unknowingly standing on a rusted out storm sewer grate. He's also a furry, huggable (for me), personal and home protection system. I wish that I could take him everywhere as it would open up so many more possibilities for work and recreation.

I have had him since he was 9 weeks old and yes, training is a ton of work, time, and effort. Yes, sometimes he drives me nuts because he is from working dog lines, if he's not sleeping he needs to be busy. He is completely and absolutely worth it.
It is hard to put into words what a service dog, or even just companion dog, does for their human(s).

P.S. I haven't been on here for so long that I had to make a new account. It meant that much to me to share how a dog can help an Aspie.

If you have auditory sensitivity dogs are not a good fit. The barking is too loud. Even if your dog doesn't bark, other dogs around will bark at it when you walk it.

Indoor cats work better for us.

Cats and other animals used to be legally allowed to be service animals in the United States, but at some point that was changed so that now it’s only dogs and miniature horses (which, for anyone who doesn’t know, really are miniature, I think my dog (standard poodle) is taller than them).

I have an autism service dog, from the program Paws 4 Autism. He helps a lot with my anxiety and reducing shutdowns. Really hard to find a place that will provide a service dog for an adult with autism and nothing else the dog would help with (such as seizures), even this program is geared toward kids But at least not entirely exclusively, unlike other places.

Totally agree. It's hard to explain just how important and deep the bond is. When my Morgan died I felt like I lost one of my limbs. That's the best way I can describe it. (She was a beautiful german shepherd too). I had 12 wonderful years with her.

Also, as Dragonsanddemons stated most places for autism dogs are for kids. But you can go the route of training your dog to be a service dog if they pass the assessment.

That's how we got my mom's service dog Aria (a German shepherd/malinois mix). We got her at 6 wks old from the shelter she was so sick she almost died. But she pulled through and we had her assessed. She had the perfect temperament thankfully. We spent about $1200 on training, much less than the $15,000 for one already trained. The trainer came twice a week for almost a year and we had homework in between to work with her. This route you do a lot of the work yourself but it also creates a bond faster. I know her trainer has given discounts to people who really needed it and she said there are some places that will help with funding for you to go this route because the cost is so much less.

So Petya, I'm not sure if you live in the US but you can get your dog assessed if he already is good in public may only need a few lessons then they sign off on a checklist. Then you can take him everywhere as a service dog. Depending on where you live I can give you some contact info if you want. For example, Aria had to pass food refusal, stay in her place at a restaurant even if food was dropped directly in front of her. Stuff like that.

Also, some trainers will go with you to the shelter and help find a dog with a good temperament and fit for what you need then start the training. This saves cost from buying from a breeder and saves a life that could be euthanized too.

P.S. Hope that info helps. Sorry for my long posts on this. It's kind of my passion