Does an emotional support dog help with anxiety?
Should I get an emotional support dog for my daughter? We are relocating internationally and my oldest kid is using my younger one as an emotional crutch.
Please don’t kill me.
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penelope@penelopetrunk.com
The move will be very hard on the girls. A dog is a good idea. Increasingly I’m thinking that everyone with autism should have an emotional support dog. I don’t think I’d have any schedule at all without a dog. My son’s most effective emotional regulation tool is our dog. And the more I read about executive function the more I see that other than running intervals, being responsible for a dog gives the best boost to executive function. So I guess yeah, a dog is a good idea. Make sure the dog is really well trained before you get it. We bought a puppy. That was insane.
Penelope
Adopt an older dog once you’ve moved. Don’t give yourself the headache of international pet paperwork on top of everything else.
Hmm. I’ve been debating about getting another pet, after our family cat died, but it’s been a few years and we’re moving again and this time to a place with a fenced in yard. The “family” all thinks it would be good for me, somehow, but I know I’m the one who will do almost all of the care, so I’ve been reluctant. Still, the positives may outweigh the negatives. Thanks.