# GSD watches over autistic children



## OzarksGSD

This story was compelling to me for several reasons, (1.) I, of course love GSDs and (2.) I have family members that are on the autism spectrum and I have worked with autistic students:

Puppy watches over children with autism - CNN.com


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## Samba

That is a great piece. Made me cry.


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## bellamia

ok ! that was really good. i have a niece of 4yrs who is severly autistic and sometime maybe they might think of a therapy dog. at this time they visit us every yr(from new jersy) and my brother in law is not a dog person infact since he works in NY he encounters schutzund gsds everyday! he has no clue about any lines etc so no use telling him. to him all gsds are scary! last time they visited my mia was only 3mths old , still scary to him. this time i am sending this link to him cause he shud no hw wrong he is about them!


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## ken k

good post, thanks


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## GSDolch

Great story.

Dogs in general are good for children with special needs (well, dogs that are trained for it and all of that)


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## Kiowa

I have a very good friend from the Army who has an autistic child. When she got out of the service, she got a Weimaraner as a pet. He immediately took to her daughter and she is working to get him certified as a therapy dog now so he can accompany them into stores and other places. The dog calms her daughter and can almost sense when she's going to have an issue. It's amazing to see. She found a trainer that will come to her home and work with them all together, also. I think it's just awesome how dogs sometimes just know. What an awesome story.


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## Smithie86

We gave Emi to a family with an auitstic child and helped them work with her. She has been incredible with Kathryn. My nick name for Emi was "earth mommie dog" and she lives up to it. They are a few mile from us, so Emi comes to stay with us occasionally and we get to see her a lot. She loves her job and her family.

KK1 Molinari Emi, SCh1 littermate to KK1 Molinari Enzo SCH3, IPO3, VK3, FH1 (4 x WUSV and 3x FCI) Handler Owner trained.


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## weber1b

I think smart dogs, like shephards, have a sense about things like this. My youngest son, who is now 18, has always been drawn to animals, and they are drawn to him. He was part of the reason our rescue group matched us with Clover in the beginning.

This kind of therapy for any development issue is so positive and so real, unlike some of the new and unproven therapies that get foisted on the public, who are simply yearning for real help.

Great story, thanks for sharing.


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## milkmoney11

I have an student with Aspergers (a disorder on the autism spectrum) and he wanted NO part of my puppy when I brought him in last week. 

I told them a few days before I was bringing him in and he became extremely agitated and told me he would not be in the room when the dog came in. Said he is not an "Animal Person". I let him go down to the speech therapist room during this time. 

I was a little disappointed because he is the kind of kid who seems like he would be great with dogs.


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## ILGHAUS

Just to straighten up the terms. 

*A Therapy Dog can not go into grocery stores, restaurants, or most places of business.* Legally they are still pets and their owner/handlers have no special Public Access Rights. Therapy Dogs can only go places where other well-behaved pet dogs can go and to visit facilities *where they are invited.* A Therapy Dog is trained to be well-behaved and work with their handler *for the benefit/enjoyment of others*.

A *Service Dog or Assistance Dog* as they are know in many places are *trained tasks that their disabled handler can not do for themself.* The owner/handler of a Service Dog has Public Access Rights and can take their Service Dog into *"most"* places where the general public is allowed.


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## KITTIEG

Thank you!


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## AutismDogGirl

OzarksGSD said:


> This story was compelling to me for several reasons, (1.) I, of course love GSDs and (2.) I have family members that are on the autism spectrum and I have worked with autistic students:
> 
> Puppy watches over children with autism - CNN.com


Hello I am 23 and I have high functioning autism. My Service dog is a White German Shepherd. She changed my life! German Shepherd are perfect service dogs it is a shame not many organizations train Shepherds as service dogs for autism






this is a video I made to show an issue with most autism service dog organizationss


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## GSDBESTK9

That is awesome!


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## KZoppa

Thanks for sharing! This is yet another testimate of why the GSD breed is so amazing.


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## DanielleOttoMom

Great post. Very touching story.....


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## KZoppa

@ ASdoggeek ~ Welcome to the board. thank you for sharing your videos.


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## Zoeys mom

My son is Autistic and my lab was the one who helped us through his meltdowns, comforted my son in social settings, taught him his ABC's seriously, and now helps him read,lol Nate won't sing or read to me, but at 6 he has to develop these skills so instead of arguing, fighting, and crying we send the Henry the lab to his room with a book and he reads to the dog

Zoe the GSD is his protector and doesn't like strangers around him. When he screams and cries she follows him and lays down nudging and licking him until he is calm. Neither have any training to do so, but both instinctively know he needs a little extra help in life. That video made me cry as Caleb has a very important job


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## Stogey

What a wonderful story ... thank you for sharing !


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## mssandslinger

completely touching!! I have an Autistic cousin, im going to send this to my aunt once i stop crying! lol


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## MrsMiaW

Thanks for the post, truly a wonderful story. 

ASDogGeek - Welcome and thanks for your videos. Your dog is beautiful!


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## AutismDogGirl

thank you very much I am very happy to be here.  Highland anine trains GSD for autism! Zoey's mom if you can train that as a task and maybe 2 other tasks to help you and your son then the dog wwill qualify as your son's service dogs it the USA it is legal to owner train your service dog as long as they are task oriented they are a service dog if the tasks help mittigate the disability.  message me if you have any questions


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## DharmasMom

ASDogGeek- Those videos were wonderful and your dog is beautiful!! Welcome to the forum!


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## AutismDogGirl

Dharmasmom thank you


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## Zoeys mom

AS- I wish Zoey's temperament were suited for therapy work but she's a little too reactive for her own good which is being worked on. She's especially overprotective of my son instinctively though and goes wherever he does like his little shadow. BTW my son has a red umbrella he used to carry everywhere to keep the sun from making his eyes cry


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## Shadow's mum

What a fantastic thread.  My younger son has aspergers,adhd,anxiety disorder, tourettes and ocd. Shadow our 11mth old GSD bonded with him first. She instinctively knows he is special. He is the only one I have discovered she will not pull on the leash when he walks her. She becomes agitated if he goes out of sight. She sleeps at his feet until he is asleep, then she moves. She is quick to try to console him if he is in meltdown. She is amazing, and all this without any specific training. My older son takes her with us sometimes when we pick the younger son up from school, she seams to know which of the kids that come to greet her are on the spectrum and she is even more tolerant with them. Wow wish we knew how to have her registered as a service dog, we are in australia.


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## Skotty009

That video was so great! I feel like it touches home for me. I have a 1yr old son who has Cerebral Palsy and he is the reason why we decided to get a GSD in the first place. As of now Skotty is still young and has lots to learn. We will be sending him through therapy training so he can be of service for my son.


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## KZoppa

Shadow's mum said:


> What a fantastic thread.  My younger son has aspergers,adhd,anxiety disorder, tourettes and ocd. Shadow our 11mth old GSD bonded with him first. She instinctively knows he is special. He is the only one I have discovered she will not pull on the leash when he walks her. She becomes agitated if he goes out of sight. She sleeps at his feet until he is asleep, then she moves. She is quick to try to console him if he is in meltdown. She is amazing, and all this without any specific training. My older son takes her with us sometimes when we pick the younger son up from school, she seams to know which of the kids that come to greet her are on the spectrum and she is even more tolerant with them. *Wow wish we knew how to have her registered as a service dog, we are in australia*.


 
you can actually look it up online with no problems. Any reputable training agencies in your area should have some recommendations on good service dog training and certification requirements. Also if you search for an agency that trains seeing eye dogs, they should be able to recommend a good certifications program as well. usually helps as well if your doctor writes a note acknowledging the dog is indeed beneficial to every day functions that most of us would find easy.


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## PDXDeutschhund

One of Dutch's littermates was being shipped off to Tennessee to be a therapy dog. I thought that was really awesome. I was a little surprised that they were using a pup from Oregon, but hey, I think it's great that his brother or sister was going to be making such a positive influence in people's lives.


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## ILGHAUS

I had posted back in April of the terms being used in this thread but for those who missed it:

A Therapy Dog and a Service Dog are not the same thing. 

*A Therapy Dog can not go into grocery stores, restaurants, or most places of business.* Legally they are still pets and their owner/handlers have no special Public Access Rights. Therapy Dogs can only go places where other well-behaved pet dogs can go and to visit facilities *where they are invited.* A Therapy Dog is trained to be well-behaved and work with their handler *for the benefit/enjoyment of others*.

A *Service Dog or Assistance Dog* as they are know in many places are *trained tasks that their disabled handler can not do for themself.* The owner/handler of a Service Dog has Public Access Rights and can take their Service Dog into *"most"* places where the general public is allowed. 

And while I am clarifying terms .... 

A *Seeing Eye Dog* is *a Guide Dog* trained from a specific organization in Morristown, NJ. *Seeing Eye Dog* is a trademark/branding name. 


> The Seeing Eye, Inc. is the oldest existing dog guide school in the world


Dog guides for people who are blind or visually impaired | The Seeing Eye, Inc.

*****
And some FYI ... 

It is almost impossible to owner train an Assistance Dog (Service Dog) in Australia. To find out more you can go to 
Australia | Service Dog Central



> *Australia*
> 
> Within Australia the main laws relating to assitance dogs are governed by the Federal Disability Discrimination Act 1992, Section 9. This legislation overrides all other local, state and federal government legislation.
> 
> Dogs are classified into three types
> Guide Dogs for the visually impaired
> Hearing Dogs for the hearing impaired
> Assistance Dog/Animal for other disabilities.


*******
One more addition:

A "doctor's note" is in fact considered a legal document and is a letter on letterhead and not just something written on a piece of paper. In the U.S. this is more for an Emotional Support Animal which is also different than a Service/Assistance Dog.


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