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Which Breed?


thowra
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I have a 'lazy' JRT x foxy......but it's probably due to us keeping her well exercised (twice a day, combo of leash walk/off leash/run) and we have a second dog.

She is a lovely little girl and great with kids, but she is still a little guard dog and NOT good with cats or anything small that runs! They are ratters after all ; P

If you are looking for a calm, steady dog a JRT/foxy is prob NOT what you are looking for! Esp a pup!

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if you contact the Whippet club in your state Thowra they could put you onto a breeder close to you & answer all/any questions you may have :D

the best things about whippets is they easy to bath/dry, damp towel can even do the job. oh they can also be bed hogs :laugh: great feet warmers though, they are loyal & pick a member of the family. if you do pick a whippet, let you son feed the pup, & as they grow together the bond will be great. :D :D

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if you contact the Whippet club in your state Thowra they could put you onto a breeder close to you & answer all/any questions you may have :D

the best things about whippets is they easy to bath/dry, damp towel can even do the job. oh they can also be bed hogs :laugh: great feet warmers though, they are loyal & pick a member of the family. if you do pick a whippet, let you son feed the pup, & as they grow together the bond will be great. :D :D

That's a good idea too, explain your situation and perhaps they may know of an appropriate dog for you.

If your son has his heart set on a JRT, I think approaching JRT rescue would be better than contacting a breeder. The rescue may be able to find you a suitable dog who is a JRT mix, and in all honesty, for an autistic child a pure bred JRT is probably not an ideal breed. While the JRTs are great for kids with their inexhaustible energy and lovely temperament, they might be a little too full on for an autistic child. A JRT rescue will likely be able to match you with a mixed breed JRT which may be a little calmer than the average pure bred, but still enable your son to feel as though he got the dog HE wanted.

There is lady who works in JRT rescue here on DOL, she may know of a suitable dog for you. I will try to find her for you and direct her to this thread.

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Not sure where all this full on JRT's are. but like any breed there are calm ones and full of energy ones. If you like to contact me and let me know where about you live etc I will have a look at what we have and if we have a dog that I think will suit will let you know, we also have a trial period of a month.

Also most Jacks are not snappy, this is usually a playful thing they do when they are young and should be trained out of them but some people think it is funny and then it becomes a habit because they don't know any better, but we often get some in rescue within the young ones and this is trained out pretty quick.

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I think it's really important to consider what your child likes doing with a dog.

Does he like patting, cuddling, and quiet time with a dog? Does a dog exert a calming influence on him just by being around?

Or does he like to play fetch, or take the dog on walks?

Some breeds would be better suited to one or the other, so this will help you make a good choice :)

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I agree with the last two posters!! I think you need to look at what you want to do with the dog THEN look at appropriate dog breeds.

i.e. I have someone with an autistic child (younger than yours) looking at a Finnish Lapphund (coated so not appropriate for you) because they want a calm, solid dog for her but also a dog that will go out on picnics/walks as they are very outdoor orientated. They also like the look of a spitz breed. They began with a list of traits then looked at breeds that fitted.

This is a dog that you will have to care for 12+ yrs so you should make sure it fits in with your lifestyle, rather than having to change your lifestyle to suit the dog. That being said there is always some variation in temperaments of breeds so you might be able to find a compromise- like a slightly quieter JRT from rescue (which do exist). A whippet might suit but is that the dog you can see yourself living with?

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i'm not sure how your son is with dogs, but there is no way i would have a whippet with my son, he sometimes isnt as careful where he puts his feet.

i think they are a great little dog, but my concern would be that the child could unintentionally hurt the dog, i guess it would be the same for a JRT too.

we had a beagle on our list of breeds, but ended up going with our girl who is an ex renbury poundie.

does your son have a preference in size? My ASD son loves them big, the bigger the better for him, he used to love the dane x at the dog park

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i'm not sure how your son is with dogs, but there is no way i would have a whippet with my son, he sometimes isnt as careful where he puts his feet.

i think they are a great little dog, but my concern would be that the child could unintentionally hurt the dog, i guess it would be the same for a JRT too.

we had a beagle on our list of breeds, but ended up going with our girl who is an ex renbury poundie.

does your son have a preference in size? My ASD son loves them big, the bigger the better for him, he used to love the dane x at the dog park

I have to say I'm a bit puzzled by this. Whippets are larger than beagles. :confused:

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i guess it was that they were a little bit more solid in body shape

our previous boy was a staffy, he'd been sat on, walked on, loved lots, and had always been there for our Autistic son.Dog are cleaver they know there is something a little diffrent with kids like my Son.It's an amazing bond a dog makes with a child with special needs, but i have seen it go wrong too many times, with a dog getting hurt unintentionally by the child, and the dog either ends up snaping at the child,or being too scared to interact.

Afterall there is just not the childs welfare to consider, but the dogs as well, and i've seen it time and time again, that the dog ends up being rehomed ( or worse), cause it just isnt working.

this is just my opinion, from a parent who has a child like the origional poster, her son may not be as serverly Autistic as mine, so he may be more aware as to what is around him

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i guess it was that they were a little bit more solid in body shape

our previous boy was a staffy, he'd been sat on, walked on, loved lots, and had always been there for our Autistic son.Dog are cleaver they know there is something a little diffrent with kids like my Son.It's an amazing bond a dog makes with a child with special needs, but i have seen it go wrong too many times, with a dog getting hurt unintentionally by the child, and the dog either ends up snaping at the child,or being too scared to interact.

Afterall there is just not the childs welfare to consider, but the dogs as well, and i've seen it time and time again, that the dog ends up being rehomed ( or worse), cause it just isnt working.

this is just my opinion, from a parent who has a child like the origional poster, her son may not be as serverly Autistic as mine, so he may be more aware as to what is around him

That applies whether special needs or note its up to adults to ensure any dog is safe & if it needs time out to do so accordingly .

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all

Just wanted to give an update!

We ended up getting a mini foxie female pup, who my son absolutely adores and she seems to adore him back, going looking for him when he is at school and crying when she can't find him! Please meet Taya!

Taya.jpg

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Guest RosieFT

sooo cute. We have a smooth fox terrier and she is fantastic with all kids, including my nephew who is 5 and has autism.

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Unsure of where 'mini foxy' was suggested?? Not a breed as far as I'm aware so hope your 'breeder' is supportive....

Although it is cute, have fun with her!

I just am unsure why people bother asking for suggestions of they don't take anything on board...maybe I'm just tired and grumpy, but jmo...

Edited by Missymoo
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Unsure of where 'mini foxy' was suggested?? Not a breed as far as I'm aware so hope your 'breeder' is supportive....

Although it is cute, have fun with her!

I just am unsure why people bother asking for suggestions of they don't take anything on board...maybe I'm just tired and grumpy, but jmo...

The kid asked for a puppy, and the kids friend had one so that's what they got. The kid's happy, so really that's all that matters!

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