Published on 12, July, 2020
My nearly 6 year old high functioning lovely son suffers with anxiety and lack of confidence. We think a family dog coud really help. We understand that the opportunity to get an assistance dog is extremely slim and we are not even trying to go down that road. We have contacted a dog trainer who will assist when we find the right dog and we are prepared to find and pay for a dog ourselves. The issue is that I like recue dogs as I think that breeding dogs is often irresponsible and no more than an opportunity to make cash. However, we need the right dog. Calm, gentle, willing to play and be trained. Ideally we need a young dog. We have started looking around the rescue centres where we live in Merseyside but we can't go on a waiting list so it's about touching lucky. Any advice or shared experiences would be much appreciated. Thanks, Tracy
Hello Tracy, I have time to answer properly now and I hope you read this and weren't completely scared off, it is usually friendly and helpful here and that is actually in the rules. I don't want to be part of an argument but I am not surprised that you were upset at the reply you got, it read as shouty and judgemental to me and others I suspect.
From what you've said it sounds like you have done your homework and understand that certain breeds of dog will be more suitable than others. It is good that you have found a trainer that will work with you, it could be the difference between having a lovely companion for your son and family and a pain in the backside that just adds to stress. I completely understand and agree with your attitude about puppy breeding and rescue dogs too, but as you have identified, your needs are quite specific and you need to minimise the chances of it going wrong, it would be very painful for your son to get attached to a rescue dog that ultimately had behavioural issues which meant that you couldn't keep it.
I'm an adult with ASD and have had two dogs in the last twenty years, both of which have been unofficial rescues, the first was an English Pointer that we got through a private advert, he was only 5 1/2 months old and I don't think he'd suffered any serious mistreatment but he was unwanted and had definitely been hit. It was years before he really trusted us, even though he was so young the damage had been done and he was the most beautiful dog but was quite difficult for a time. The family he came from had small children who I think had been allowed to hit and poke him, he had a long and very happy life but never was comfortable with children around.
Our latest companion is a daft Dalmatian on his fifth home through no fault of his own and he has a whole pile of bad habits from mild mistreatment and lack of continuity, however lovely he is, he loves kids though!
I guess my point is that while it would be lovely to give an unwanted dog a home, it is much easier to have one that fits into your family, home and habits if you start with a puppy of an appropriate breed and the right training, you won't have trust issues, which can go both ways. There are reputable breeders who do it for not entirely dubious reasons, or you might strike gold with a rescue puppy, but that is harder I know from experience.
I think it is a lovely idea and I hope you get somewhere with it so everyone gains a fluffy friend, an affectionate dog is an unbeatable friend.
Thank you. I think you are right about reputable breeders. I get sad when people breed just for the money but there are certainly advantages to getting a dog from a breeder. Harry is obsessed with 102 Dalmatians and that is his dream dog ! I think we keep looking at rescue and breeders and stay opened minded. Thank you for your very kind response