Thank you so much for sharing your experience as an autistic person, I also am autistic and I have 2 young dogs (also cocker spaniels❤). There is not a lot of info out there on owning dogs as autistic people. I have a completely different experience, and it's so important that people see how specific and different lives can be on the spectrum. Even though we have a different experience with owning dogs, I related to you on a very deep level, because your experience is basically my experience, but with people... i don't know how to explain it... Since I was a little girl, I have always connected better with animals than people.. I was very anxious around people, but not animals. The non-verbal aspect really resonated with me, I guess, because you don't really have to talk with animals, and I guess I understood them better than people. I am 28 now and my oldest dog is 18m, youngest 12m, and I really finally feel like I have a family. They calm me down, they feel my feelings without the need to verbalise and explain them. Dogs don't use metaphors. They are so straightforward about their feelings that I always find it easier to communicate with them. If they hate something, they instantly show it, and I love the simplicity of our relationship. Best feeling in the world for me is hanging with them in the forest.. they are both off lead, recall is perfect, I am decompressing and enjoying nature, and they are playing and running all around me.. I am on multiple medications, and I often suffer with crippling anxiety, so dogs, for me, mean freedom.. I often struggle to comprehend the "human world," but nature, dogs, silence... that saves me on a daily basis.. I love your content. Thank you for sharing your experience.❤ I hope my message makes sense... I sometimes get lost in the process
Hello Sarah :) I haven't commented recently because since last November I have been without my cocker spaniel! Needless to say I am devastated about that. The reason we had to rehome ours was because of the pulling on the lead. She pulled my husband right over onto the asphalt and he cut his finger badly. He is a grown man of 6ft but our pup (10 mths old at the time) was just too strong. Cocker spaniels seem to me to be very different to other dogs. I have had five all together. This one, J, was the first cocker and a working cocker like yours - just the same but with black eyes and a black nose. I trained her, just like you and she was very responsive, very clever. She did all the things I wanted her to, sit, lie down, leave etc. but when it came to walking out, she became like a wild animal. She jumped up at the lead, bit it, pulled it and pulled like a buffalo, with her shoulders right into it. We tried every lead and halter on the market and nothing worked. Then we took her to puppy training classes but the puppies weren't allowed to mix with each other and all J wanted to do was play with the other pups. It was embarassing for us. She was very wilful and determined to do her own thing and nothing changed that. Now J is with a younger member of our family and is thriving but she is still pulling on the lead and I truly believe it is IN THE BREED and there is nothing you can do about it except, perhaps, wait until age creeps up and they steady up a bit. Please don't listen to criticism. It is not always the owners. With this breed, it is in them to sniff the ground, hunt and pull.
Thank you for sharing this. I’ve always wanted a dog for the last 30 years and I’ve been doing a lot of research and watching all the training videos. But what you’ve shared is exactly my worry about getting a dog.
I'm not going to lie, it's really fricking tough and it's taken over my life. I kind of feel like what I hear parents saying, where it doesn't feel like my life sometimes, it's all about him, obviously not to the same level as parents, I do get breaks, but it has taken over. I hope the video helped you 🖤
You are doing such a good job Sarah! Not that you need any external conformation (especially from someone you don't know 😂) but you can tell how much time, effort and love you give Oakley. All the things you said were really interesting and good to know for when me and my partner eventually get a dog 😊
No, it really helps Emily 😅 I think it helps because it's someone who's not in the situation all the time so it gives me like an outsiders perspective so it does really help. Thank you so much 🖤
I found your channel through the video where you brought Oakley home as I’ve got a dog around the same age. Getting a dog is so hard and I think it’s something people don’t really talk about. Is there anything you think you’d do differently if you were to do it again?
Thank you so much for sharing your experience as an autistic person, I also am autistic and I have 2 young dogs (also cocker spaniels❤). There is not a lot of info out there on owning dogs as autistic people. I have a completely different experience, and it's so important that people see how specific and different lives can be on the spectrum. Even though we have a different experience with owning dogs, I related to you on a very deep level, because your experience is basically my experience, but with people... i don't know how to explain it...
Since I was a little girl, I have always connected better with animals than people.. I was very anxious around people, but not animals. The non-verbal aspect really resonated with me, I guess, because you don't really have to talk with animals, and I guess I understood them better than people. I am 28 now and my oldest dog is 18m, youngest 12m, and I really finally feel like I have a family. They calm me down, they feel my feelings without the need to verbalise and explain them. Dogs don't use metaphors. They are so straightforward about their feelings that I always find it easier to communicate with them. If they hate something, they instantly show it, and I love the simplicity of our relationship. Best feeling in the world for me is hanging with them in the forest.. they are both off lead, recall is perfect, I am decompressing and enjoying nature, and they are playing and running all around me.. I am on multiple medications, and I often suffer with crippling anxiety, so dogs, for me, mean freedom.. I often struggle to comprehend the "human world," but nature, dogs, silence... that saves me on a daily basis..
I love your content. Thank you for sharing your experience.❤ I hope my message makes sense... I sometimes get lost in the process
Hello Sarah :) I haven't commented recently because since last November I have been without my cocker spaniel! Needless to say I am devastated about that. The reason we had to rehome ours was because of the pulling on the lead. She pulled my husband right over onto the asphalt and he cut his finger badly. He is a grown man of 6ft but our pup (10 mths old at the time) was just too strong. Cocker spaniels seem to me to be very different to other dogs. I have had five all together. This one, J, was the first cocker and a working cocker like yours - just the same but with black eyes and a black nose. I trained her, just like you and she was very responsive, very clever. She did all the things I wanted her to, sit, lie down, leave etc. but when it came to walking out, she became like a wild animal. She jumped up at the lead, bit it, pulled it and pulled like a buffalo, with her shoulders right into it. We tried every lead and halter on the market and nothing worked. Then we took her to puppy training classes but the puppies weren't allowed to mix with each other and all J wanted to do was play with the other pups. It was embarassing for us. She was very wilful and determined to do her own thing and nothing changed that. Now J is with a younger member of our family and is thriving but she is still pulling on the lead and I truly believe it is IN THE BREED and there is nothing you can do about it except, perhaps, wait until age creeps up and they steady up a bit. Please don't listen to criticism. It is not always the owners. With this breed, it is in them to sniff the ground, hunt and pull.
Thank you for sharing this. I’ve always wanted a dog for the last 30 years and I’ve been doing a lot of research and watching all the training videos. But what you’ve shared is exactly my worry about getting a dog.
I'm not going to lie, it's really fricking tough and it's taken over my life. I kind of feel like what I hear parents saying, where it doesn't feel like my life sometimes, it's all about him, obviously not to the same level as parents, I do get breaks, but it has taken over. I hope the video helped you 🖤
You are doing such a good job Sarah! Not that you need any external conformation (especially from someone you don't know 😂) but you can tell how much time, effort and love you give Oakley. All the things you said were really interesting and good to know for when me and my partner eventually get a dog 😊
No, it really helps Emily 😅 I think it helps because it's someone who's not in the situation all the time so it gives me like an outsiders perspective so it does really help. Thank you so much 🖤
Thank you for sharing x
I found your channel through the video where you brought Oakley home as I’ve got a dog around the same age. Getting a dog is so hard and I think it’s something people don’t really talk about. Is there anything you think you’d do differently if you were to do it again?