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
Thank you for everyone's replies . Dc has decided to go on a different thread to consider the bigger issues raised. It's genuinely made me think. Can an autistic person ever be accused of being rude ? Is it wrong of a non autistic person to be offended or does that show a lack of understanding?Hopefully that's the end of it on this thread as i only ever wanted advice on dogs. Ive got some great advice and im excited about our new doggy family member. When we find the right dog I will post an update x
Back on subject, Pleeeease don't get a Dalmatian (sure you know this), they are the most wonderful creatures, my first dog was a liver spotted one who I bought all by myself as a puppy, I was devoted to him, but he was relentless in his need for attention and they usually are, including the one we have now who is 11 1/2, no one believes he's older than 3!
You definitely need a breed that will have humour but mature into some kind of sense quite young or you will all be tripley exhausted. That's also why I suggested reputable breeder as breeds very much have personalities, though obviously some of the pedigrees are predisposed to health defects too. It's a shame the Assistance dogs charity can't help even with a recommended breed/ breeder.
Persuade a friend to rehome a Dalmation so that Harry and your dog can visit and play and then leave it for them to be exhausted !!! Good luck. x
Thanks xx no donations for us
Just thinking of a relative's beagle girl, already the second one, they were/are lovely with kids (and everybody else).