Can dogs suffer from autism?

I just read a comment on another thread which referred to it..

Is it possible?

I've heard that they can but I have no idea how true that is or indeed how it would be diagnosed. It's hard enough getting a diagnosis in a child.

Some say they can, some say they can't. I had a few people ask me whether Rupert was autistic and I looked into whether dogs could be and never found a straight yes or no.

Since autism is a failure to empathise and/or communicate I fail to see that you could know that a dog had it.

I have often said jokingly that collies are autistic---they like routine and pattern in their life. However autism is a lot more than that wherever it falls on the spectrum.

rune

yes true, lol many collies can feel like they are autistic really - routines and obbsessive behaviour and unable to communicate with other dogs
Not all of them tho, I dont know if you would say it is autistic but we have bred them to be a little 'different'

I've always said that Sneaks would be a candidate, if autism is possible in dogs! Interesting idea.

oh the amount of times me & my mum have said poppys autistic! she has to have her routines. 10pm is bed time & she will hassle my mum until she lets her out. she'll then come upstairs, get in her bed & wait impatiently for my mum to come & give her her squeaky toys (she can't have them in the day when tigers loose, tiger would get too excited & go into kill mode) her chewie & a biscuit. if a toy is missing she will not settle until she has it even if it's several hours before i realise why she won't sleep. she doesn't like been woken early on a morning either, she gets confused & will be unsettled all day after an hour or 2 sulking about being woken early. then theirs the tantrums if she's shut in somewhere, which she never is on purpose at the moment because she gets herself so worked up she actually makes herself sick! she does sometimes do silly things like go into the bathroom then the door closes behind her & she's stuck. soon as she realises she's stuck she panics.
i don't know if autism is possible in dogs but it would be interesting to know. although i'm pretty sure poppy can't be because i think one of the things with autism in people is autistic people find it very difficult to look people in the eye, poppy however seems to love looking me in the eye

I always have a high number of autistic children in the groups I run. I`ve never seen any behaviour that would be compared to that of a dog.
I think anyone attributing `autism` to dogs doesn`t know much about autism.
Sorry - but I find it quite insulting to sufferers from autism.

here is a quote from http://www.autismaware.co.uk/what-is-autism/


Here is some information about people with autism.

They may not speak. But they may use things like pictures or sign language to communicate.

They may not understand what other people say.

They may copy what other people say.

They may only talk about their favourite subject.

They may not take part in games or activities with other people.

They may like to play the same game or do the same thing every day.

They may be very interested in one thing and know a lot about it.

They may be good at remembering information.

They may do well at school, college and work.

I don`t think any of that sounds like the behaviour of a dog.
I teach kids with autism who have gone to Uni, who have married and hold jobs, who have eidetic memories, who are excellent mimics. Every one is different. But none of them would have welcomed someone saying they were like their dog.
It`s not right IMO to pick one trait - gets a bit obsessive or doesn`t communicate - and liken it to a person`s disability. It`s hurtful to those who are affected by it.

I had this discussion on an agility page quite recently...

No, and to be honest I think it's a bit of a ridiculous thing to think... Autism is a developmental disorder, people with autism don't quite understand the world how we do, it delays learning and therefore social skills are often lacking (I could go on).
Dogs can no doubt suffer from brain damage-whether before/during birth or a due to a later trauma but until autism can be diagnosed and 'seen' (it can't be at the moment) and someone shows me evidence of a dog with the condition I will never believe it.

Agree 100% with all of this.