Children with autism can sometimes benefit from having a dog in their lives. Autism Service Dogs of America uses Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, and Golden-Labrador mixes in their program to provide service dogs for autistic children. If you are looking for a dog as a pet for your autistic child, a Golden or a Lab would be a good choice. However, there are other breeds you may also want to consider.
According to one article from the Psychiatric Service Dog Society, large working dogs can make a good choice for autistic children. These dogs include Newfoundlands, Saint Bernards, and Mastiffs. These dogs are all very large and are able to provide “Deep Pressure” therapy, giving the child the sense of a big, firm hug when they are with the child. All of these breeds are intelligent, obedient, have good social skills, strength, and they are natural guardians. Any child would feel safe and protected with one of these big dogs around.
One web site, www.autismkey.com, suggests that children with moderate to high function autism should be able to go to an animal shelter and adopt a dog. However, there is a reply on the same web site which states that this is not a good idea:
From Patty Dobbs Gross, Executive Director of North Star Foundation, North Star Dogs, a nonprofit organization that provides autism assistance dogs to children:
“I would like to offer a word of caution about the concept of “rescue a child and rescue a dog” in terms of creating an autism assistance dog placement. At North Star we believe it is an unsafe practice to partner rescue dogs with children with autism, even if they are on the high functioning end of the spectrum. At North Star we specifically breed and socialize our North Star dogs to possess a temperament conducive to working with children on the spectrum. The same qualities that make children on the spectrum sometimes difficult to gain acceptance with their peers may well come to play when working with dogs, who are apt to notice things such as not granting enough body space. When children are bitten, they are likely to be bitten in the face, so great care should be taken when forming these partnerships, both in terms of selecting an specifically socializing the right dog for the right child as well in properly educating the child served as to how he or she should communicate and handle their assistance dog….”
If you would like to provide a dog for your autistic child, then the best choices seem to be the following breeds:
Labrador Retriever. The Labrador Retriever is highly intelligent, gentle, and very easy to train. These dogs are highly intuitive and “biddable.” This means that they want to please and they can bond closely with their owner. They are the dog of choice for assistance programs and they seem to be one of the best dogs for autistic children.
Golden Retriever. The Golden Retriever is another highly intelligent breed and they are also very gentle. They are loving and sweet dogs and very easy to train. They are also “biddable” and want to please their owners. They are the other dog that is most frequently used for service dog programs and they are often used by autistic children.
Newfoundland. The Newfoundland is a gentle giant, protective and calm. They are intelligent and obedient, and they can bond very closely to their owner. If you are looking for a dog that will make your child feel safe and protective, and give the sense of a big, physical hug, this is a great choice. A great breed with children.
Saint Bernard. The Saint Bernard is another gentle giant. These dogs are strong and protective. They are sweet and calm. This is another breed that can make a child feel safe. Another great breed with children.
Mastiff. The Mastiff is a very old breed. They are quite large but they are very relaxed and can make a child feel safe and protected. They are gentle and easygoing. No one bothers you if you have a Mastiff with you. Also great with kids.
These are some of the breeds which have been shown to be great with autistic kids. There are others. Any dog which makes a connection with your child can be a good choice. There are many web sites which discuss autism and dogs and many news articles online about the subject. If you have questions, talk to one of the agencies that trains dogs for autistic children and see which breeds they recommend.
