Pets and ADHD | ADHD Information
We have 2 dogs, 3 birds and lots of fish. We take the australian shepherd and our 10 year old daughter outside and play fetch. They race for the ball to see who gets there first. This is great between homework assignments during the school year. Our daughter is now reading to the dog at night (she has dyslexia and had refused any reading for pleasure prior to starting concerta). She treats the dog like a younger child. I make sure the animals get fed and watered, but at this point that means reminding the kids to feed them.
Does your son really like animals? My daughter asks to pet the dogs of everyone she meets.
I think pets are wonderful for just about any child. They offer unconditional love and an outlet for boundless energy and affection, especially for the boys. Many men have a dog in their past that brings a tear to their eye to remember.
We have two dogs. One we got a 1 1/2 years old; when she was three, we got a 6 month old. Both rescue dogs. In hindsight, having 2 dogs is exponentially disaterous to our ADHD houshold, WAY too much energy! I would never EVER again get a dog under two years of age. I must say that they are a great outlet for my son's energy though, after school and homework breaks, go play with the dogs! Just getting through the young dog stage with an ADHD kid is kind of hard. He leaves things where the younger dog can eat them (shoes, clothing items, pens, candy wrappers, toys, his comforter, everything, etc, many phone calls to poison control, vet visits, anxious days waiting to make sure they pooped after consuming) He tries to be responsible, but one failure can mean disasterous harm to a pet. Every day is something unplanned because of the two dogs and the boy. Lots of added stress, but worth it if you are aware of what it's like, if you havn't had a dog before.
I would suggest, ONE older (over 3) rescue dog, one already proven to be pretty well behaved and trained, perhaps an owner fell ill and could not take care any longer. Many rescues will let you take a pet home for a day or two to ensure a good match. Read up on the kind of breed you may want to get so you understand the good and difficult points of the breeds. (one of ours is a sighthound mix, and the door cannot be left open for a sec or she'll be lost forever. Don't tempt fate with the obvious.) Do you want a cuddly velcro dog, or one that is more aloof and not so in your face. On the furniture and bed or not? Indoor, or outdoor, or indoor/outdoor? Doggie door? Doggie house-proofing? Other house renovations? Do you want to travel with your dog, can they be trusted off the leash? My gosh I had no idea. What will you do on vacation? Dogs are great for kids, the offer onconditional love, especially during a tough day, they can go cuddle with a dog. Me too.....
I'm done with my ramble now.......
My 12 year old ADD daughter gets alot of excess energy worked out by walking the dogs or running around the yard with them. She also reads to them, bathes them & clips their toenails.
I feed them, but she has to feed, water & clean up after the birds since they were her idea! I didn't want them. She does pretty good. Sometimes I have to remind her though.
The pets dont get her wound up at all...quite the opposite. She likes to lay & pet them. They have a calming effect on her.
And another thing..even when her friends are fighting with her or shes had a bad day at school, the dogs are SO HAPPY to see her. It cheers her up.
I have to add: Calico Rose is right about a younger dog...they chew EVERYTHING & with an inattentive child in the house, that is a great potential for a disaster!
Both my dogs were rescued as well & both were over a year old & housebroken already.
Lovemyboy,
I'm one of those people who feel every child should grow up with pets and your son is at the perfect age to have a pet. (However, I just have to add, it drives me nuts when parents buy kittens for tiny little kids that don't have a clue how to handle them properly
). A small dog in an apartment would certainly be best. Just don't forget that the dog will have to go for "a potty walk" whether it is hotter than heck, pouring rain, or blizzarding out.
Are you sure you son wouldn't be happy with a hamster or guinea pig? 
By the way my neice(ADHD- 11yrs old) adores her two cats and yes, she is a little rough with them which makes me cringe sometimes but she loves them!!
My son loves dogs! He really wants one. It would have to be a small breed. We live in an apartment and I just don't think it's fair to have a large dog confined like that. He has no siblings so I thought a dog would be nice to play with too.
I hope I don't offend anyone by saying this but I am not a cat person. I am allergic to them. So is my father. So we never had one and I am not used to them. I think Brandon may be allergic too.
Oh I forgot to say. We were at a friend's place. They have a schetzu(sp). Brandon wanted to walk him very badly. It was very hot that day. We took him out once. Then my son kept saying that he wanted to go out. Meanwhie he was laying on the floor panting. So my son added "he has to go to the bathroom!" LMAO. It was so cute!Calicorose I have had many dogs. My family had a dog right up until I left home. I remember them well. I will have to remind my son to pick up his shoes and clothes though. lol What is a rescue dog? I want a cuddly dog. It would be indoors since I am on the 5th floor of an apartment building. I travel by Greyhound bus since I don't drive. My friend is going to get a dog for her 15 year old daughter. She said that if the 2 dogs get along, she would watch ours if we went away. So that's covered.
Auntie I do realize that. I had to walk my dogs in every type of weather when I was growing up. Hopefully the dog will be happy with walking just down the street if it has to go potty. LOL
If I got a hamster, I would be afraid of my son letting him out of the cage and it getting lost. Or getting into the heater system and dying. Hamsters and Gunea Pigs are kind of boring too. We used to have a bunny. She didn't like to be held. I found her boring too. I had to clean her cage almost every day. That was a pain too.
Oh your dog is so cute! Is that your son? He is cute too.
That 2nd link must resue a lot of grayhounds. I love that. But not good for apartment life. LOL
We have a dog, kian, he was from the rescue home, fitted in well, i had a bit of a problem with his smell- vosen, (buy vosen!!!) & his long hair, i have to vacume 8 million times a day!!, but now im used to that he is toileting in the kitchen at night where he is put, & we dont know, why, he is outside in the day now as its alot easyier & the kids can have there home back half clean at least.Getting a dog is nice for them, but if your use to a nice clean home then dont get one, i am always cleaning/vacume/dusting, about ten times a day, its hard as g does'nt do house work, typical man!, but my kitchen floor never looks clean even though im mopping it all the time.
If you get a kitten, you have to keep it in for as long as possible & use a poop tray as it needs to know home & know you are the carer, much cleaner also, even though you still have to clean the tray, if you do it every time it poop's then it stays clean, just need a poopa scoopa.
OK, so you know what you are getting into! A rescue dog, that is one that is literally rescued from the pound or humane society as adoptable. Or one that an owner can no longer take care of and wants to find a good home. They are in "foster" homes waiting to be adopted.
Here is a leading match.com of the pet world at your fingertips!
Where we found our little pain in the arse.
Cuddly dogs, hmmm, my baby, the escape artist, is part whippet part dalmatian. Whippets are very cuddly, affectionate, and really low key and quiet. She is actually a couch acessory. The dalmatian part of her is her only downfall, her ADHD part. LOL. Purebreds, smaller, can run 20-25 pounds and can be perfect for apartment if they get some activity, like a run in the tennis court every so often. Need a good handle on the leash. Beautiful good dogs. Rescue site:
http://www.whippet-rescue.com/ Geez, I want another one! I'll take 'em all, just look at their sweet little faces! Lovely, lovely companions! 
Oh your dog is so cute! Is that your son? He is cute too.
That 2nd link must resue a lot of grayhounds. I love that. But not good for apartment life. LOL
[/QUOTE]Actually, Greyhounds ARE OK for apartment life. They are big couch potatoes! They love to cuddle & are actually quite lazy! They seem to know they have "retired" LOL
AND resuing them is important since when their racing days are over, so many are put to sleep, which is such a WASTE! My heart breaks for them!
Yeah, that's my son. Last year, I think. We had our whippet mix in our appartment for a while, and she did fine. Other smaller dogs in an appartment like Lovemyboys, might be yippy and hyper, neurotic, unless you can know the history. In photos, whippets look larger than they really are. Whippets are a lot like their larger brothers the greyhounds, which would also do great in an appartment that is not too small. I used to think because they were racing dogs, that they would be high energy, but Misty is right, they are very much couch potatoes. Couch accessories, actually. If there is a lap around, she's there, and she sleeps under the covers with us in the winter, all rolled up along my side when I'm curled up. She's our teddy bear. However, they are NOT like Jack Russels! They are very mild mannered, good temperament, quiet, AND, they have short hair, and not a lot of it, zero undercoat, which means it takes a while before I have to empty a whole nother dog out of the vacuum. I would NOT reccommend their next of kid, the Italian Greyound though. These smaller inbreeds can be neurotic and are notorious for not wanting to bother you with housebreaking. But they are awfully much cuter. The only thing with these sighthounds, is they CANNOT be trusted off the leash, or around open doors. They are actually kind of delicate elfish kind of creatures with an impish sense of humor. I love 'em, and i would highly recommend this elegant very much less- understood, protected, and uncommon creature to be a part of any home looking for a companion, like Lovemyboy and her son. She does well in the house when I'm gone also, and in her kennel. Very much in stride of everything.
Gawd I want another one..........
[QUOTE=calicorose]
Thanks jerbear! We both LOVE our dog, can ya tell??? Sorry it's a rotten pic, cameraphone you know.
I am a strong advocate for every kid having a dog. I wonder what Lovemyboy and her boy will end up with!
That's the best way to go about it, rather than an impulse purchase. I am VERY happy to know that. I get rather excited when people I know get a dog. I have a coworker in her late 40's, she's never had a dog, and never really interested. Her and her husband don't have any kids, and a few months back ended up with a standard poodle puppy. Well, she now loves this dog almost as much or more than her hubby! They cannot wait to get home and play with him. All she says to me is "Calico, I just LOVE my dog.......I had no idea it would be this way."
It will be wonderful for Brandon!
Yes Josh and Lily are sweet! We have 4 dogs, and my daughter loves all of them. She does get awfully "wound up" when playing with them. I usually try to send her out into the yard, as she starts yelling and running in the house. This is a good outlet for both her and the dogs.We have a cat. When we first got her, both my husband and my son's eyes swelled up due to allergies. I give her a bath every two weeks, and now people who come to the house, who say they are allergic, usually do pretty well around her. Many don't even know there's a cat in the house until they see her. Only two people out of around 15 that say they are allergic have gotten itchy eyes.
The bath, by the way, is just dumping water on her until she is thoroughly wet through. You don't want to use shampoo, because that dries the skin, which creates dander. Dander is the allergen.
When I gave her the first bath, she protested rather loudly, but being a clever cat, once we had a discussion of the benefits of bath vs. being returned to the shelter, she decided a bath was preferable.
Lovemyboy--I think a dog for Brandon would be a great idea. Josh is an only child just like Brandon and we got our dog when he was seven. Josh was just dx and he was just kinda down in the dumps. Everything just kinda fell into place when we got our dog Lilly. He just fell in love with her and really learned a lot of responsability. He calls her his "sister" and just loves her to death. I think with Josh being an only child that it made him feel important and he would always have someone to love him no matter how his day was or what bad behavior he had that day. Our dog is little, about 13 pounds, and she dosen't shed. She's a Minature Schzuezer (sp?). She's very sweet and loves everyone. Here's a picture of Josh and Lilly when we first brought her home. Good Luck!
http://usera.imagecave.com/momtobug/lwf0005.jpg
This is another picture of the two of them about a year ago. He just loves her!!
http://usera.imagecave.com/momtobug/lwf0006.jpg
momtobug38928.5431365741Miniature schnauzer's are GREAT little dogs, perfect for an appartment too. Josh and Lilly are soooo cute! We have a black lab/springer spaniel mix. My son loves him and used to sit on the dog when he was a toddler, follow him around the house holding onto the tail. My son gets all choked up when he thinks about our dog dying, which will be in the not-too-distant future, as he's 11. Caring for the dog is a great way to teach responsibility, especially as it doesn't involve anything glass or stainable!Do any of you have pets? I am considering buying a dog. I was just wondering if your kids were more hyper with a dog or cat in the house. I thought a dog may be exciting to them. I think it could help him learn responsibility though. My son is 11 with ADHD.I was worried about getting a dog too as my 10 year old gets pretty wound up at times. I did alot of research and found a breed called a "Shichon". You can Google it for more info. They are a cross between a Bichon Frise & a Shih-Tzu. WOW! What a total delight our new family member has brought to our house. He not only is patient beyond belief with my son but he doesn't shed either. It doesn't get better than that. It's the perfect breed for a ADHD kid.
Good Luck!
Here is my 2 cents...lol
As a child I was raised without pets, and as a result, I have had pets most of my adult life. My adhd daughter is almost 7. We have had a bad year or so with our pets, but after my hubby and I got married in March, we found a puppy that has been a WONDERFUL addition to our family. He is a golden retriever border collie mix. His name is Buddy. He has been the best thing for my daughter. She can take him outside and throw balls with him, or lay on couch and love him.
Just a thought, you could always get a hand fed cockatiel or other larger bird that could be handled. We have friends that have one, and my daughter loves to take it and have it ride on her shoulder.
Good luck finding a wonderful pet for your family.
calicorose-
your dalmatian mix looks like a dal I once had with a patch on the same ear. fond memories
We've always had pets in our house. Now we just have a dog, cat and fish. The days with three kids, two dogs, cat and a variety of other small critters was wild and fun. Well, I do remember the day i caught myself literally about to pull my hair out with both hands (now I know where the phrase comes from) ...a very pregnant mom trying to pottytrain my son and housebreak the puppy!
I've had animals all my life and they help me get rid of some energy.I found him on a website called www@msndollies.com. There are more adorable animals there.
Jfla, Aoule says she's glad to bring fond memories back to you!
Lovemyboy, you changed your AVATAR! What's the story on this cutie???
I love dogs! Everyone should have a dog! Sorry that was really weird, but imin hyper mode right now!