Has having a dog been good for your dc?
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Anonymous
| If so; why/ why not? |
Anonymous
|
Older kid (in college) now has a service dog. Fabulous. Really centers the kid (autism, adhd, anxiety, depression).
Younger kid survived covid with our family dog. Also fabulous. (adhd surfaced from the lack of structure during covid, now better managed.) Spouse - who never had a pet before - really appreciates the fuzz therapy. Stressful job, fuzzy dog. It really works! Dog relationships for all three have been transformative. I grew up with them - we always had at least two dogs, and usually three. They're the norm for me, and I can't imagine life without at least one. And I suspect my lifelong experience with them helped with their learning how to live with and around them. Good luck! |
Anonymous
| Totally, makes her so happy. |
Anonymous
| Yes. Even though I wish he had more ownership in taking care of the dog. |
Anonymous
| Kids likes dog but we do all the work. Way too much work. Love the dog but never again. |
Anonymous
|
It took me a while to get to the point where I had capacity for a dog even though the kids were begging for one. I was too stretched. When I felt I could, I wrote a "contract" for the Kids laying out responsibilities and consequences. We read over it every day for a month. Then we all signed it and started looking for a dog. The kids were ages 9-6.
My primary criteria was "fit". I grew up on a farm and, in addition to all the regular animals, we raised/trained hunting dogs. But, this was a first family dog. The rescue groups were fabulous and about 6 weeks later we got an incredible Lab. He had no training but had an excellent temperament and was highly trainable. The Kids did a great job meeting the conditions of the contract. They learned a LOT about how to care for and train a dog. It was still a lot of work for me to oversee and teach them but well worth it. A year later, we started fostering dogs and that was also a fabulous experience. They learned so much they would not have otherwise. We lost our Lab last summer (after 12 years). ๐ What a huge difference he made. |
Anonymous
|
YES.
Initially my neurodivergent son, who is sensory-avoidant and germaphobic (ADHD/ASD profile) did not want to touch the dog that his little sister had asked for. Gradually he came to pet it on the head gingerly. Then the pandemic hit and he needed something on his high school resume, so he walked our dog, and started a dog walking business for the neighbors. It went very well, and he proved very responsible with their care. Now when he gets home from college, not only is the dog happy to see him, HE is so happy to see the dog! And he gives him large pets on his side with his full palm, not just the top of his head using his fingertips. So I think getting a dog was a great idea, even though DS took a long time to get used to him. It was never about whether the kids would take responsibility for a pet. It was about my son's emotional development and his sensory restrictions. I am happy that he has developed feelings for an animal, can pet him with mutual satisfaction, and that he can now touch things he'd never have wanted to touch before, such as picking up poo 
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Anonymous
<sigh> Oh, well. |
Anonymous
|
Op - ty!
We got a dog today after 2-3 years of looking and considering and I absolutely got cold feet (hence the q) bc I have a ft job and 2 kids (one of whom has sn obv). I took the leap and so hoping that the dog will be great for 10 yo with asd and adhd - so far he is thrilled and snuggled it the whole ride home. Good idea on the chore chart pp |
Anonymous
| Absolutely! A loyal and loving companion who keeps ADHD kid company when humans are overwhelming, plus has enjoyed taking care of another. |
Anonymous
| Pp whose adult dc has a service dog- how did that come about,? I'm interested because I think my dd might benefit from one, but I'm not a natural dog person so I don't know. |
Anonymous
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I think it can be helpful but itโs another huge time suck.
When my kid was under 5 I simply did not have the bandwidth to add another responsibility to my plate. I was so burned out from constant therapy and doctors appointments that I was already slacking on my own regular dentist and eye doctor appointments. Adding another creature that needed daily cleaning, feeding and attention would have broken me. |
Anonymous
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100%
My only issue is we can not go away spontaneously |
Anonymous
| has it given anyone's dc more confidence overall? |