Dogs and autistic toddlers

[Mentalhealthcrisishelpplease]

Could you please share any experiences of dogs and young autistic children? I’ve read some lovely stories about how helpful dogs can be when it comes to socialisation and playing, and of course just the bond itself. Thank you

@Mentalhealthcrisishelpplease
I know autistic kids with dogs and the bond between them is amazing, if your on fb go on to the adha/autism support group and you will read all about it on that.

I'm thinking it depends very much on the individuals in question. My dog would be very anxious and upset around a child displaying unusual behaviours/having a meltdown for example (she's a little timid of children at the best of times) but some dogs take to it like a duck to water. You may be able to find a breeder for say, Golden Retrievers, who specialises in pups suitable for families with autistic children. Sometimes puppies that were originally bred to be Guide Dogs don't make the grade (being too friendly with strangers, for example) but would make a lovely family pet with the bonus of having generations behind it bred for their calm, empathetic temperament.

Agree probably depends on dog and child. My dd is not comfortable around dogs as she finds them too big/ jumpy /unpredictable. But she adores cats so lots of trips to cat cafe and 2 cats at home. Interestingly our older cat seems to know when she is upset and will seek her out and sit with her.

Agree, depends on dog and child.

Friends of outs got a dog for their autistic child. Child couldn’t care less about the dog. They have no bond, they got the dog when the child was about 8, they are 20 now.

I have an autistic 6 year old and he loves the cat- doesn’t like the cat touching him or approaching him though, it has to be on his terms and still a bit sketchy about stroking the cat (we’ve had him for 4 years) he doesn’t like little jumpy dogs, my mum has a jack russel and he climbs up me to get away from it and takes a good hour to go down and settle, but he likes bigger calmer dogs, my MIL has 2 labs and he was all over them, we don’t have a dog atm, but we are looking at getting one soon, mostly for my autistic daughter 11, she is a huge animal lover and would love a puppy xx

My DB got a dog for his DS, sadly, it didn't work out as he positively dislikes the dog. It's yet another generalisation that owning a dog will make life better.

Really comes down to the temperament and training of the dog. Some dogs would be amazing mine who’d I’d hoped might come to work as a therapy dog is a skittish muppet and there’s not a chance he could be trained as a therapy dog or indeed be happy in the constant company of small people!

So strange I am reading this now. DGS, on the spectrum, has just had a panic attack / meltdown. Our 15 month old cockatoo came and sat with him and nuzzled him and DGS is now laying calmly by my side trying to get to sleep.
The original reason for getting the puppy was DGS’s extreme fear of dogs. Route to school was carefully calculated to avoid going past known dog’s houses. He is now able to go past them all except for one house with two aggressive dogs who leap up at the fence.
In our case, it was the best thing my DD could have done though it seems from other posts it doesn’t always work out like that.

DGS not a toddler though. DD got the dog when he was 9.

I think it can work well, but my autistic 7yo hates dogs and always has done. He finds it so stressful even being near a dog, that I know he wouldn’t tolerate one in the house.

My 3 yr old is Autistic. He says "hi" and "bye" to the dogs when he sees them, likes throwing the ball for them but other than that he doesn't really give two fucks

I don't think there's a generic rule that all autistic kids benefit from dogs, as with non-autistic kids it's kid dependant.

My niece just ignores our dog. My nephew runs up to her, taps her on the side and then runs off (both autistic). I wouldn't say either have a special bond of any kind with her. She generally ignores them, but is gentle.

My autistic 3 year old cannot stand dogs. They frighten her and she has to be carried if she sees one, same with birds. All other animals she's fine with.

Thank you everyone. All very new to me