Re: Having a pet (i.e. dog).. has it helped your child?

[Guest guest]

I feel like our dog has helped my son quite a bit. He was supposed to be a

service dog but we were unhappy with the way it turned out. We got the dog from

this service dog organization. My understanding was that I was to " participate "

in the training and I signed a paper that said that. What I didn't know was

that they were expecting me to DO all the training and they would train me. I

had enough on my plate with being autistic and his sister being a toddler.

We had to move before the training was complete and never could get anyone to

help us where we moved. We finally just gave up on it and our dog is a pet.

The first thing we noticed was that suddenly understood the need to get a

person's attention before making a request. Prior to this would walk in

circles saying, " I want my sippy cup " if he was thirsty. Then he started going,

" Mom? " because he suddenly understood that to get the dog to respond he had to

say the dog's name! It was amazing. Spanky ( named him) loves and

sleeps with him every night. is learning to train him and he can start

conversations by asking people about their pets. Spanky barks when 's bus

gets here and plays with Spanky all the time. Lately, he's even been

giving up computer time to go play with the dog! Woo Hoo. His connection with

the dog has become especially strong in the last year or so. He loves his dog.

My daughter is jealous because Spanky really is 's dog. I don't know how

we'd ever introduce another dog now. Spanky is 8 years old!

Miriam

>

> Have any of you gotten a pet (we're considering getting a dog) for your child

and found that it has helped with your child's development and increase his/her

well-being?

>

> We're considering getting a dog, but it's expensive to take care of, so I'm

weighing the benefits vs costs.

>

> Thanks,

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Friend,I have a little dog for my son the Best thing I ever did .He talks to him like a person,sits with him,take him outside,it is a New Hamshire Terrier named Uno,he loves it and the dog is very loving.It is worth every penny in my all ready tap out buget of me a single parent.Angel Blessings

From: melody_autumn06 <melodyh2006@...>Subject: ( ) Having a pet (i.e. dog).. has it helped your child? Date: Monday, March 29, 2010, 1:37 PM

Have any of you gotten a pet (we're considering getting a dog) for your child and found that it has helped with your child's development and increase his/her well-being? We're considering getting a dog, but it's expensive to take care of, so I'm weighing the benefits vs costs.Thanks,

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I don't know about development, but I'd swear by pets for ALL kids. They just seem to bring out the best,,,,,from what I've seen.

It really is simple. Just treat others kindly and with respect.

Robin

From: melody_autumn06 <melodyh2006@...>Subject: ( ) Having a pet (i.e. dog).. has it helped your child? Date: Monday, March 29, 2010, 12:37 PM

Have any of you gotten a pet (we're considering getting a dog) for your child and found that it has helped with your child's development and increase his/her well-being? We're considering getting a dog, but it's expensive to take care of, so I'm weighing the benefits vs costs.Thanks,

[Guest guest]

I think it will depend on the child.. But I have found that having a pet for my 5 year old (educational dx for Autism) has been an amazing help to her.. But at the same time her focus is Animals. She loves them ALL. She has a Standard Rex Rabbit. That is her pet,I think it has helped her socially..

I hope this gives you a bit of encouragement. If you don't want to go into the cost of a Dog maybe a small animal like a Rat,Guniea Pig,or Rabbit?

Best of Luck to you!

From: melody_autumn06 <melodyh2006@...> Sent: Mon, March 29, 2010 1:37:09 PMSubject: ( ) Having a pet (i.e. dog).. has it helped your child?

Have any of you gotten a pet (we're considering getting a dog) for your child and found that it has helped with your child's development and increase his/her well-being? We're considering getting a dog, but it's expensive to take care of, so I'm weighing the benefits vs costs.Thanks,

[Guest guest]

I would try a hamster first. My daughter lost interest in the

dog (we got the dog when she was 5 years old). Now she has

a bunny, hamsters, fish, lizards (all rewards, for her not me, for cooperating

with medical tests for her growth issues).

The dog is a lot of work. We don't have a fenced in yard and I

am the one walking the dog and cleaning up after the dog.

I feel sorry for this critters and I am the one that is

organized enough to care for them.

The hamster my daughter can manage. She takes it out and holds

it and she feeds it. She is 12 years old. She takes the

small animals to the 4H show and does a lot of talking.

Pam

>

> Have any of you gotten a pet (we're considering getting a dog) for your child

and found that it has helped with your child's development and increase his/her

well-being?

>

> We're considering getting a dog, but it's expensive to take care of, so I'm

weighing the benefits vs costs.

>

> Thanks,

>

>

[Guest guest]

My caveat on this topic is to be aware of how your child "reads" nonverbal cues. We've had our cats longer than our daughter (she's 7), so they are a permanent part of the family. I thought that because she had always been around them, she would learn early to understand how to treat animals and understand the cues that mean "danger." Not true.

Kylie has developed an obsession for Elvis in particular. Elvis is incredibly stubborn, so he puts up with a lot from her. She will maul him with hugs and get right in his face, but he only lets this go so far. He will and has, struck out at her in self-defense. It's never out of the blue. He gives her plenty of warning: ears back, body shrinking way, hissing. It doesn't stop her. It's like she doesn't see it at all. We ask her if she saw the cues and she just shrugs and says "But I love him!" I tell you, if that cat could, he would have filed a restraining order by now.

She almost completely ignores the other cat, which is too bad because we think he'd like to be "her cat." I've started calling him "Therapy Cat" because he's the one that comes to her when she's upset and crying and tries to comfort her. He's recently started curling up with her in bed at night and she's okay with that, until he starts bathing himself (she doesn't like that because it means he's ignoring her) or she just gets tired of him. Then she kicks him out and slams the door after him. We then get to listen to him cry at the door until she falls asleep and I go up and let him back in.

I guess what I'm saying is, know your child. When she allows it, Jack can be very good for Kylie. However, Kylie isn't very good for Elvis. ;-)

~Cheryl S.

[Guest guest]

Before dx, I got my son a puppy for his 1st birthday (cliche, I know). We did a LOT of research and avoided puppy mills (but did go with a reputable breeder), we did buy a breed that fit our lifestyle and family. It has been so good for our son, that when my husband's job was talking about shipping him to England to work, I asked the psychologist if he would write papers for me to take the dog IN the plane with us to keep my son calm. We ended up not moving. My son has always gotten along better with animals than people. He will tell us "Nina (dog) looks sad today" but I've never heard him say that of a human. He will tell me she loves him (but has never mentioned that I love him) or that she's thirsty, but has none of these thoughts for people. It has improved his

compassion, vocabulary, ability to communicate, interest in other things besides his obsessions, calmness etc. That dog saved my son's life no less than 3 times in 2 years. I know we got lucky with this particular dog, but like I said, we did a LOT of research as to what exactly would be the right kind of dog. We did formal obedience training in our home. I believe pets are EXCELLENT for aspies, but that is my personal experience. Our chores are broken up into, me walking the dog, and the two boys taking turns each morning to put out her food and water. Then I take her every 2 weeks for a bath. We got a giant breed dog, as he was rough with animals, the dog can handle this a bit better than say a hamster. I did not want to hear tears one day because he rough handled a rodent to death on accident. This probably won't be as problematic for an older child. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being

the hardest dog ever to take care of, ours is about a 3. She does shed, needs to be brushed and nails clipped every 6-10 days but is relatively lazy and doesn't get excited or jump on people. She outweighs me by about 30lbs but due to her training does not pull on the leash or chase anything. Most times I can find her laying on the floor with the boys using her as a pillow. She's never bolted out the door or pottied on my floor (except a few accidents as a puppy). Sorry this is so long winded but I'm trying to emphasize when you find the RIGHT pet for your situation, it's a GOOD thing! Be prepared and do lots of homework first and then you can enjoy your pet. I really recommend Cesar Milan's training stuff too, he has leashes and training tips that really work. hth. Connie

>

> Have any of you gotten a pet (we're considering getting a dog) for your child and found that it has helped with your child's development and increase his/her well-being?

>

> We're considering getting a dog, but it's expensive to take care of, so I'm weighing the benefits vs costs.

>

> Thanks,

>

>

[Guest guest]

If you decide on a dog, I would pick a breed that has a great disposition. We

finally got a dog for our family about 2 years ago and while I think it's a

positive thing overall, I would have gone with a different kind of dog. My son

has times when he's very vocal and runs around and our dog reacts strongly to

that, jumping up on him & barking furiously (which then freaks my kid out).

Also, I would try to have your child spend some time with the dog before you

make the final decision. Each dog is different and you want to see if they're a

good pair.

>

> Have any of you gotten a pet (we're considering getting a dog) for your child

and found that it has helped with your child's development and increase his/her

well-being?

>

> We're considering getting a dog, but it's expensive to take care of, so I'm

weighing the benefits vs costs.

>

> Thanks,

>

>

[Guest guest]

We got a cat for our DS who's an Aspie and just turned 11. He prefers cats to

dogs but loves all animals. It's been a very positive experience even if he

does get upset for a bit if the cat claws him. Our DS even cleans the litter

box he wants the cat so badly. Imagine a kid with an acute sense of smell

cleaning a litter box. We were sure that would put him off wanting a cat, but

it didn't.

I do think it's important to match the type of animal to your child. Do you

have room for a dog? Will he mind a dog barking or a cat being aloof? Do

research to find the best fit, but I think a pet can be a very positive addition

to your family.

Bronwyn

>

> Have any of you gotten a pet (we're considering getting a dog) for your child

and found that it has helped with your child's development and increase his/her

well-being?

>

> We're considering getting a dog, but it's expensive to take care of, so I'm

weighing the benefits vs costs.

>

> Thanks,

>

>