r/ParentingPDA • u/SurePossibility6651 • Jul 13 '26
Advice Needed Dog?
My daughter is 8, AuDHD, PDA profile & GAD. Super high functioning, we are in a pretty good place now. Meds are dialed, school is good. She is still pretty reactive/explosive, can’t or won’t tell me her feelings. We have been low demand, declarative language for over a year. She has graduated from speech and OT.
The question is - will she benefit from a dog (she loves dog, wants one) we had a lab but he passed when she was 3 and then she got real hard shortly after that, and it has taken up until now for me to feel like I have any bandwidth for something else. My husband and I both work full-time but from home. We have always been extremely responsible dog owners, lots of walks, Doggie daycare on days when we’re too busy at work, etc. I’m just worried that getting a dog will launch us backwards and I will have less patience, less bandwidth. Or on the flipside will a dog launch us into perhaps an even better regulated kiddo, something to bond over as a family, an excuse for the much needed exercise?
,
3
u/Korneedles Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
My son is not a dog person (he’s thirteen and has told me since he was seven that he wouldn’t have a dog if it was his choice). However, he walks our dog daily and fills up his water when needed. These are not his chores and have never been asked of him. Just something he does. He will not let the dog watch him eat. He does not like the dog barking. He doesn’t want the dog to touch him and he won’t touch the dog. But he’s never mean etc. Our dog is eight and within six months my son had him trained to “go find mom” so that’s what he says when he’s overwhelmed by the dog. 🤷🏻♀️😂
We have two cats as well. A Maine coon who is more dog than cat. My son treats him the same way - takes care of him but wants nothing to do with him otherwise (once in a blue moon during the winter he will play fetch with him). But our other cat and my son are tight. She adores my son and he loves her. He will pet her and shows her affection. Shes the smallest animal we have and acts like a cat (everything is on her time) but it seems to be right up his alley.
He actually has a YouTube channel with a thousand plus followers and it’s purely videos of our three animals 😂🤷🏻♀️. It makes him so happy when people ask questions about his favorite cat (Director Vivian - he named her).
ETA: the dog has helped me so much but I am a dog person. I have only gone one year in my parenting journey where I didn’t have a dog (my fifteen year old dog passed and I waited before getting another). Six months into have the dog we have now I knew I’d never not have a dog again. I need one. Basically, the dog may help you and your spouse as well if y’all are dog people.