Can my new pup be an assistance dog to my ASD son?

[KOKOagainandagain]

DS1 suffers from chronic and acute anxiety. Our last dog was PTS 3 months ago at the age of 13 and DS1's mental health crashed. We are picking up a new puppy at the weekend. This will be our 5th family dog and will, in any case, be highly trained. Can he be trained to be an assistance dog so that DS1 is not alone if and when he leaves the house? DS1 struggles to leave the house atm even working with OT and a counseller. If this is possible, how would I go about it?

What would the dog actually need to do for him?

The dog would enable him to go into normal social environments that he does not currently go into, or has not for the past three years, gone into. In the same way as other assistance dogs, enable a greater level of independence. He has currently to be accompanied by a parent or therapist. This is not great when you are 17. At the moment he struggles to leave the house and is very isolated. CAMHS are concerned. So, he could maybe go to a college and not be alone and would not be alone at break or lunch times.

Would they allow a non guide dog etc to be on college premises?
My dog is a great help to my MH. I never feel lonely with her. BUT as a pup she was a mouthing, untrained monster. The puppy stage is hard. I can't imagine the dog would be able to do this until at least a year. Many places say two for PAT etc training.
Could CAMHS answer your question about getting the dog approved as an assistance dog?

His OT is keen to use the need to socialise the puppy as a motivator to get him to push his own boundaries. But I am thinking that the dog will not be allowed in certain environments unless officially classified as an assistance dog.

Look up Dogs For Good and sign up for the next Family Dog course in your area. We've just done our course which was three sessions over three months and had lots of good ideas for training a family pet to help with autism. You won't get a service dog accreditation but you do get ongoing support and help with training.

It won't. Dogs in general are allowed in more places now though.

He would realistically not be starting college until Sept 2019. I am thinking with rigorous training that the monster phase would be over by then. For the dog, not DS1

To be an assistance dog there is years of training to be undertaken.
To be allowed in shops etc they have to be qualified and registered

You can't just get a dog and train it to be an assistance dog. They are carefully selected as puppies and go through years of training. Often they don't make the grade even then.

My advice would be to contact charities who train assistance dogs and see what they say.

www.assistancedogs.org.uk/

An assistance dog goes through years of training. Not by you (unless your qualified).
If your in love with the puppy see if they will take him on. But you will be without the dog for the training period.
I know a war vet who suffers from PTSD and fears people coming up behind him. He has a therapy dog to “watch his back”.
This fellow is currently at uni and his dog goes with him. He suitably chose a career path that would also allow pets.

I think some dogs can be classed as 'Emotional support animals', and , for example, be allowed to accompany people on planes in the cabin. I don't know any more about it than airline regulations, but it's maybe worth looking in to. If the dog can be certified as such by a health professional, the dog may be allowed to accompany him to more places than a standard pet.

Sorry, just read that emotional support animals cannot be registered in the UK currently....but there are petitions going around about it

Thank you all - I have been googling. Seems DS1 is too old for pets to assistance dogs and doesn't have a physical disability so wouldn't qualify for a trained assistance dog.

I have previously clicker trained at an amateur level so will see what I can achieve with the dog with time and dedication and a local professional trainer. Maybe contact autism organisations/dog aid organisations. Seems assistance dogs could be of huge help to those with 'invisible' disabilities that make independence impossible to achieve.

Obviously your dog needs to be chosen with care. Golden retriever springs to mind immediately.

But regardless of what you achieve the dog won't be allowed into college or indeed anywhere that dogs aren't normally allowed.

Actually, do you know what I would have to do to become qualified?

Wolfie - I used to have a uni lecturer who brought her dog into classes etc. He was not a service dog.

Different rules for students though.

I follow someone on Instagram assistancedogboris who I think has self trained but her dog is through the proper accreditation.

Thanks - I will check this out (once I work out how to follow someone on Instagram )

Surely the only way to know if the college would allow what will essentially be a therapy dog would be to ask? They may well make an exception

What breed of pup are you getting?

DS1 is in a bad place atm where keeping him alive is the immediate focus .

Part of that is having a future to look forward to and plan for but he needs support to achieve it and because of his age needs to build independence without parents or therapists 'cramping his style'. Hence planning a year and a half in advance.

Dobermann (dons hard hat). Have had 4 over the past 25 years. I know the cons. To my mind the pros, with a trained dog, overcome them. They are very intelligent and easy to train. My last dog was practically perfect and had a wonderful bond with my son - calm and confident despite meltdowns and constant stream of tutors and therapists visiting our house. Never aggressive with other dogs. Bombproof.

I think it’s a brilliant idea OP. Posting in solidarity as I know a little of what you are going through. Really hope it helps