I googled this, but to no avail. All I really found were service dogs for people with autism.
No veterinarians out there to answer my question??
I’m not a vet and I don’t really know the answer, but dogs’ brains are supposedly more attuned to emotions than humans’, and since one of the hallmarks of autism is difficulty in perceiving the emotions of others, I would think that if a dog had a deficit in that area that it would make a big difference in its interactions with other dogs. But that’s just my WAG.
I really don’t think so. Would you care to tell us a bit more about the dog? Breed, or combination (if known), age and gender; these would be helpful, along with a description of the behaviors that have made you wonder about the dog’s mental ability/capacity.
There are many people here who know a lot about dogs, including vets, trainers and breeders … and former breeders, like me. But we need a bit of information to go on, please.
Offhand, I would doubt it. Much of autism’s deficits center around theory of mind, and I would think they would be distinctly human.
One of the best books I’ve read is “Animals in Translation” by Temple Grandin, an Autistic woman. She finds it easier to relate to animals than other people and sort of theorizes that autistic people think more like how animals think. Ms Grandin holds a PhD in animal science, is a professor at CSU and has been very successful in solving problems involving animal behavior.
So, if her (very persuasive) arguments are correct, than all dogs are autistic.
Well, really it was just a General Question because I saw an article today about autistic children not responding to their name being called and thought, hey, this sounds just like Purpldog. We actually at one point took him to the vet to have his hearing checked and they said that he can hear, but he’s just ignoring us. Still sometimes I wonder.
Try another name. Seems some animals just won’t respond to some names.
Older autistic children can respond to their names, it seems to be a baby autism thing.
I suspect your dog is just highly intelligent and cant be bothered. Try rewarding him everytime he replies with say a snack and you will find him responding.
Using that criterion, all cats are autistic.
Along with toddlers walking on tiptoe, the “not responding to their own name” thing is fast becoming a primary indicator for additional scrutiny.
What’s the ‘toddler walking on tiptoe’ thing?
Dogs that don’t respond to their names are not autistic - they either:
a) Have not been trained to the cue (Name)
b) Have not been trained to give the appropriate response (look up)
c) Can not hear the cue (physical barrier)
d) Have no incentive to respond (lack of reward for proper response)
e) Have negative associations with responding to a cue (Punishment associated with response.)
Dogs, on the other hand, DO exhibit high levels of obsessive/compulsive behaviors which, I believe are also a symptom of Autism in humans.
WAG
If so, it’s ruff.
I don’t know, but it was one thing that our pediatrician commented on concerning my daughter. She’s nine and still walks on tiptoe a lot. She’s also about the most unautistic kid I can think of. She just likes to walk on tiptoe.
A big red flag for autism is language delay. How old was your dog when he learned to talk?
There are veterinarians who specialize in behavior problems. Karen Overall and Victoria Voith are two with international acclaim and textbooks. The only reference to autism I can find in either text is a small blurb dealing with human juvenile autism and work done on serotonin levels in platelets (in humans).
One of the problems with studying extreme behavior disorders in young animals is that they usually do not become adults.
hehe. I just got an email from a veterinarian friend of mine. I asked him if he knew of any autistic dogs. His reply: Have you ever seen one that wasn’t?"
Love it! 
Damned if I know why, but can be a primary warning sign for autism.