GSD watches over autistic children

[ASDogGeek]

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

[DharmasMom]

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

[ASDogGeek]

Dharmasmom thank you

[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

[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.

[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.

[KZoppa]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

[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.

[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.

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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.

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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.