Can dogs have Autism/ Asperger's? - Page 1

I definitely think that they can! My dog Jordyn has many symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome. She is smart, but she hates gentle touches and acts like she doesn't know how to show her affection. I did some research and some say yes, some say no.

I don't think so, or it would be called something else.  Dogs do not communicate the same ways (obviously) so we cannot use human standards to measure dogs' communication development.

My doctor friend would disagree. She says the fact that psychotropic drugs (Prozak for example) work the same on humans and dogs indicates that our brains function very much alike. That being the case, I don't know why a dog couldn't have other similar issues like Asperger's. 

I don't know.  May have an inability to read communication signals from other dogs, repeating movements, avoiding eye contact and touch, attention to details especially under stress, fear reactions... but those could be from another cause as well.

Dogs are visual thinkers, think in pictures, and so do autistic people, so they have that in common, one reason they get along so well as therapy animals and such, especially flight-response animals like horses.  There have been autism-related studies on mice, you could look those up.

They probably can have the same issues but the way it is diagnosed is based on human forms of communication and social norms, so you would not call it the same or diagnose it the same way.  Is it really a sign of normal brain function for a dog to be very affectionate and touchy-feely?

Some things are the same but some things are different w/ dogs.  My dog went through this neurotic chewing plastic phase and got into my DH's prescription anti-convulsant (for epilepsy).  She ate six or more pills, each single pill dosed for a 250lb human and at a dose 4 times higher than his introductory dose (he had to slowly work up to the current dose) and it had no effect on her whatsoever other than her vomiting initially b/c the pills are so bitter.  The vet was baffled.  She also was on melatonin for a while and I know that works to soothe nerves but does not have the sleepy effect on dogs that it does on humans.  She would take two pills and if I take a half a pill it knocks me out.

The 2 are very similiar in general. I think it has more to do w/the person w/autism being closer on a primal level to the dog, then a dog being like a person on the spectrum.

So what is the spectrum for dogs?  I've personally never heard of it being diagnosed in a dog or heard a vet mention it.

^if you're asking me, I don't know anything about a spectrum for dogs. I was referring to Autism Spectrum Disorders.

I think it is something like failure to attach. You try not to take human behavior and compare it to a k9.
Always,
Cee

I do not think dogs can have autism / asperger's because while biochemically dogs share similar traits with humans on a neurological level autism and autism spectrum disorders are not the result of imbalanced brain chemistry.

People with autism / asperger's syndrome tend to live in the present and think visually, but oftimes demonstrate heightened senses as well. Dogs live in the present. That doesn't mean lack of problem-solving ability, but it limits them to reacting to current stimuli, or expecting an event based on external repetive triggers (pavlovian conditioning). People with autism spectrum disorders react similarly.

I suggest reading works by Temple Grandin, especially "Animals in Translation" and "Animals Make us Human." I don't claim to be an expert on autism, but high-functioning levels is something I know quite well. I would think an autistic dog would be rejected by the mother due to lack of response to her physical presence and licking.

A puppy that resisted the mother's touch would probably be pushed aside. It might even ostricize itself, especially if it couldn't deal with the sensation of littermates rubbing against it while feeding. Although many individuals with autism spectrum disorders are soothed by deep pressure, stroking and casual contact can be deeply distressing, causing them to remove themselves from the situation.

I'd surmise if an autistic pup were whelped it would either be rejected, or it might demonstrate failure to thrive for "unknown" reasons because it lacks the desire to snuggle and nestle with its litter mates.