Autism Therapy Dogs

I don't know, but they sound absolutely awesome. I will have to get my own dog when I can. I think any dog must provide some level of therapy. But, I know you are asking for special training.

I was wondering if you are sticking around whether you'd consider changing your username and avatar picture? You have a lot of points, so must be very active. It will make it easier for you to stand out. Otherwise we only see an NAS number - which all look the same. Don't worry if not - it's just an idea.

I guess it depends on what help you think a dog might be able to give you? Do you need a trained one, if anyone does them, or is it that a dog will help keep you calm and feel better about going out and when you're wobbly? If you want a calming companion to take you for walks and ease the way talking to people then can I recomend a rescue greyhound? These are retired racing dogs and gentle giants who want to cuddle and are happy to go for walks, they need a minimum of 20 minutes exercise twice a day and are really 40mph couch potatoes, they will race about like crazy things, for a few minutes then crash out barely willing to lift their heads to recieve a treat.

that is a great idea thanks .Yes I need a clamming dog.I am a cat person and have 3 cats so it must be one that adores my little lions do greyhounds like cats ?

Mind you the way my neighbours are at the moment I am thinking of getting a rottweiler that likes cats!

I've found that it doen't usually take long for cats to train a dog. I got a puppy Fearn who's now 5, because I couldn't find another rescue greyhound that was OK with cats, puppies are a lot of hard work, much harder than kittens, puppies don't come house trained, you have to do all that yourself, it's much more like having a child because you have to teach them so much.

Maybe you could volunteer at a local rescue and find out a lot more about if a dog would suit you, which breed, or mix, or one may just steel your heart. Lots of rescue's need people to walk the dogs, so this could be a brilliant way of getting started?

thanks will do that also looking inti guide dogs that aren't passing full training

Some do and some don't, some have a high prey drive, many of the rescue places will try and tell you that you can't have greyhounds and cats, but that you can have Spanish Galgos. Spanish Galgos have been used for live rabbit and hare coursing, whereas greyhounds are used to chasing an electric rabbit. My greyhounds loved the cats, Boris cat, when we first got him wound himself around thier legs and decided he wanted to be one of these big tall cats when he grew up. Fearn my lurcher, was more or less brought up by my cats, Boris taught her to hunt, I think he was curious about how much she could learn, he stopped after a while because her paws aren't as dexterous as a cats.

I think greyhounds are the most cat like dogs, they sleep almost as much, hounds are different to dogs in some very subtle ways, it's almost like they speak a different dialect and dogs don't always understand them as as with all misunderstandings sometimes arguments ensue.

Contact  www.greyhoundtrust.org.uk for more information

Great tip to reassure you my cats priority comes first as they were here first and have their own quirks

Cat Loving Man said:

I am a cat person and have 3 cats so it must be one that adores my little lion

A good question to consider is if your cats would welcome a dog into their pride.

If you want a trained service dog then you will get an adult dog and they often will be seen as a threat by your cats, so it is worth considering if you would make a dogs life miserable by bringing it into your den.

One source of candidates would be the guide dogs that drop out of training - you need to buy them (as they cost a lot to train) but they come pretty much with all the training you will need and a suitable temperament.

They often have something in their nature that prevents them from being good enough as a guide dog - maybe they cannot resist chasing a postman, get nervous with cars about that they cannot be trained out of or whatever - this is going to be discosed if you ask.

The other option is to get a puppy and train it as a service dog, that way it will be seen as less of a threat by your cats, will be much cheaper and you get to enjoy that delicious puppy stage.

All that said, most dogs go through a stage between 6 months and 18 months when they are like veloceraptors and will cause your cats some grief - just something to be aware of. After this they grow up and are typically much more mellow.

Cat Loving Man said:

I am a cat person and have 3 cats so it must be one that adores my little lion

A good question to consider is if your cats would welcome a dog into their pride.

If you want a trained service dog then you will get an adult dog and they often will be seen as a threat by your cats, so it is worth considering if you would make a dogs life miserable by bringing it into your den.

One source of candidates would be the guide dogs that drop out of training - you need to buy them (as they cost a lot to train) but they come pretty much with all the training you will need and a suitable temperament.

They often have something in their nature that prevents them from being good enough as a guide dog - maybe they cannot resist chasing a postman, get nervous with cars about that they cannot be trained out of or whatever - this is going to be discosed if you ask.

The other option is to get a puppy and train it as a service dog, that way it will be seen as less of a threat by your cats, will be much cheaper and you get to enjoy that delicious puppy stage.

All that said, most dogs go through a stage between 6 months and 18 months when they are like veloceraptors and will cause your cats some grief - just something to be aware of. After this they grow up and are typically much more mellow.

Mind you the way my neighbours are at the moment I am thinking of getting a rottweiler that likes cats!

I've found that it doen't usually take long for cats to train a dog. I got a puppy Fearn who's now 5, because I couldn't find another rescue greyhound that was OK with cats, puppies are a lot of hard work, much harder than kittens, puppies don't come house trained, you have to do all that yourself, it's much more like having a child because you have to teach them so much.

Maybe you could volunteer at a local rescue and find out a lot more about if a dog would suit you, which breed, or mix, or one may just steel your heart. Lots of rescue's need people to walk the dogs, so this could be a brilliant way of getting started?

Great tip to reassure you my cats priority comes first as they were here first and have their own quirks