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I have an older dd who is mentally challenged with some autistic behaviors, meaning she can be loud, change gears and emotions like quicksilver at times.
She doesn't need a service dog and it would be hard in our household to have it be very specifically her dog - we have other pets for one. We all love our older dog, who mostly follows me, she's never been a dog that played games with us and when anyone gets loud (even in fun), she gets nervous and moves away. Very sweet and quiet.
I would like to get another dog in about a year that would be my dd's buddy though, who wouldn't be fearful of her moods and might help her calm down, would stay closest to her but not mind if dd wanted to pet the cat for instance. More playful and enegetic. Usually our pets have tended to pick one of us they cuddle with more than the others so I'm not sure how to have one "prefer" her.
Open to ideas, suggestions how to go about this. I know I prefer to get an older dog (meaning not a puppy) to tell more about their personality and how they do with other animals.
Last edited by midwestmom; 04-07-2012 at 07:52 AM..
Reason: clarity
I have an older dd who is mentally challenged with some autistic behaviors, meaning she can be loud, change gears and emotions like quicksilver at times.
She doesn't need a service dog and it would be hard in our household to have it be very specifically her dog - we have other pets for one. We all love our older dog, who mostly follows me, she's never been a dog that played games with us and when anyone gets loud (even in fun), she gets nervous and moves away. Very sweet and quiet.
I would like to get another dog in about a year that would be my dd's buddy though, who wouldn't be fearful of her moods and might help her calm down, would stay closest to her but not mind if dd wanted to pet the cat for instance. More playful and enegetic. Usually our pets have tended to pick one of us they cuddle with more than the others so I'm not sure how to have one "prefer" her.
Open to ideas, suggestions how to go about this. I know I prefer to get an older dog (meaning not a puppy) to tell more about their personality and how they do with other animals.
Thanks Driller. I've always heard good things about Labs. Wanted to add that dd is very social and is great at feeding our current pets (precisely on time lol), good at walking our dog, behaving appropriately with them. She really wants a buddy pet but talks loudly and will often do a lot of repetitive movements which seem to make our pets nervous about what she's up to. They do lie near her/settle in her lap easily until she starts these behaviors. Which is exactly when she needs her buddy to stick around.
Any ideas on how to help a pet bond more closely with her? I've read its best if they're younger but when we had a puppy in the past, they learned quickly to only listen when I was in the room, not good at the consistency you need to train a puppy well.
Why don't you take the whole family to the shelter, (or go yourself ahead of time and try to narrow it down to a few possibilities, going over your needs with the staff) and see which one seems to bond with her best. It's a crapshoot trying to get an animal to bond with a certain member of the family. 2 of our cats are supposedly my daughters, but they both bonded more closely to me, probably because I'm around more. With the first one I tried to be a little more distant with him at first, trying to nudge him toward her more, with the next one I just let it be what it is.
I think Labs and Goldens are both very intuitive at knowing humans who need them. Either dog breed would be great. Is there a service dog group in your area? Usually there is a very long wait to get a trained dog, but you may be able to tail one of the trainers and pick up tricks.
I do find that younger dogs tend to identify with the one who feeds and walks them the most.
Katie [corgi] puts up with my sons Loud screeming & such! I think it more the dog tho than breed. Like one said check the local shelters & watch how the dogs react to your DD Loudness LOL Maybe even a dog that partial deaf might help. One not upset by loud noises like thunderstorms, etc.
this may not be a "normal" suggestion for a semi service dog... (i say semi ecaus it seems more likle youll be using her as a companion/comfort animal than a actual working service dog) but given this is an older child, a slightly older PITBULL, amstaff or staffy bull might be perfect. these breeds by nature LOVE kids and will typically choose a kid over an adult anyday as thier favorite person, they are sweet highly affectionte and playfull, highly trainable and if properly socilized never meet a stranger, they also tend to be incredible forgiving of outbursts loud noises ect...just find one thats been well socilized.
i dunno about labs, its the only breed ive personally ever had issues with, every "biter" ive known has been a lab or lab mix, theyve become so popular that theres alot of bad breeding...combined with the labs higer energy level and lack of soocilization...
a golden however could be great, sweet, soft natured, id look for something past the 2yr point (there hyper pups and dont fully mature untill about 2 yrs old.
a well bred spaniel might work out well
in terms of the bonding process, let her take care of as many of the dog chores as possible, food in partiuclar, also if shes up for it, get them involved in some kind of dog sport (agility ect just for fun) the training time strengthens the bond.
Can you just take a likely dog and train it to be a therapy dog, or do you mean getting a "real" therapy dog, that is, one who is certified and already trained?
A friend with an autistic daughter found his dtr. responded very well to their adopted Dane, so when the Dane died, he got another puppy who looked identical, and dtr. responded well to the new dog. I don't think the dog does anything special from training, just that the girl bonds well with her. I don't know how you get a new dog to *be* a therapy dog without professional training, puppy or otherwise.
I want to thank you all for the good ideas, there are some other breeds out there I hadn't really considered. I do agree that a dog's specific personality can be just as or even more important. Our present dog was supposed to be one breed and over time we found out she's more likely this other breed we never even heard of - she lacks the skills of most tollers which weren't qualities we cared about anyway. Mattie, thanks for suggesting Canine Companions. We don't really need a "real" therapy dog. My dd is a pretty social young adult (when she knows you) and has no physical limitations, her behavior is pretty steady but she talks almost a steady stream - to us, to herself, our pets. Thinking out loud helps her figure things out. Some days I wish she came with a volume control, she can be get pretty loud without realizing it, while moving back and forth/sideway and may tantrum a few times a month. Because she gets louder than most even in conversations and her movements are unpredictable but not hyper - our pets get wary and move away from her. I don't have to worry about dd being an escape artist and wandering away.
But she really wants a dog that will want to stay by her, play fetch and run around with her, like most kids only she her behaviors make our older pets hesitant to come when she calls them, etc.partly because they're senior animals too. Seeing the mention of Canine Companions, maybe a companion/therapy type dog that couldn't quite pass the requirements? I think she'd be fine with a well-mannered, easy going dog she could bond with. Probably would be a good idea if they did some training or activity together to help the process.
I'm just not sure how to tell if a certain dog would buddy up to dd specifically. Thanks for the tips foxywench. We've had the same experience as subject2change where the pet picked another of us for their own reasons.
We adopted our current dog from a rescue/foster and she is awesome, but it never occured to us to ask about playing. We'd never met a dog before who didn't like to romp around - we have a toller retriever who doesn't retrieve and we've tried teaching her. I really want to take our time to be sure it would be a good match for dd and the dog.
Last edited by midwestmom; 04-08-2012 at 08:10 AM..
Reason: added info
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