Things We Learned From Dogs

Over the last few years, we have had various dogs involved in our work with Bay Area children who have special needs. Time and time again, we have seen these dogs teach us things that we could have never taught by ourselves. The unpredictable nature of dogs gives rise to countless lessons learned, and we would like to share a few with you.

(1) Doesn't matter what you think, you're never really in control 
Most of us find some degree of comfort in having control over how situations pan out. This  kind of control may be realistic if you live as a hermit on a mountaintop, but since we live with others, we soon learn that isn't possible. Life with dogs never fails to show us that the unpredictable will happen, and we will learn to adapt when the moment comes.

(2) It's OK to let someone else choose 
It feels safe to call the shots, whereas letting others choose exposes us to vulnerability. We once had an entire session with an 11yr old boy, where we took the dog for a walk and let him choose which direction to go. The boy was nervous at first, as he struggles with mental flexibility, but soon embraced the excitement and adventure that comes with following someone else's lead.

(3) We make rules for safety 
Should we let the dog off his leash and let him do what he likes? No! Unless the dog knows how to behave off-leash, that's a terrible idea. The children soon learn that they need to provide the dog with boundaries to keep him safe. They find themselves having to talk sternly, so the dog knows they're serious. They balance it out with encouragements and positive reinforcements - finding themselves in the position of a parent, teacher or caregiver.

(4) We all do awkward things, we all need a second chance
Once we were walking a dog and he ate some poop off the sidewalk. The child was so grossed out, and with good reason! Instead of overreacting and never speaking to the dog again, we talked about forgiveness. The kind of children that we work with often find themselves in awkward situations, where peers may have had "weird" thoughts about their unexpected behaviors. We have learned that relationships require the ability to forgive and move forward.

(5) Connection comes in all shapes and sizes 
Most people on the Autism Spectrum have a hard time connecting with other people, yet crave connection in general. We have seen children with Autism make eye contact and snuggle with a dog, when doing so with humans would be way to difficult. Dogs can help those of us who need an entry point to safe connections with other living beings.