A dog for problem child.

lemongrove I so agree with you. So many people can comment on autism without having any experience of an autistic child.
kircubbin for what it’s worth I am so sorry your DD and your family are having such a difficult time. If it is possible that your DGS is autistic please help them to get a diagnosis if possible (please don’t quote labels at me) a diagnosis can help you understand a child, a child understand their problems and help for the future.
Back to the dog. Has your DGS expressed an interest in having a dog? If so, try taking him somewhere where they have dogs and see how he gets on. My DGS loves his dog and would never harm or hurt his dog in any way but all children (including autistic ones) are different.

I was thinking hamsters too but you can only have one Syrian hamster in a cage - 2 will fight so you would need 2 cages. There are some breeds that get on with each other but I think those are smaller breeds and therefore possibly more difficult to keep. I had a roborovski Dwarf hamster once and couldn’t catch him so couldn’t handle him. Very cute but not to cuddle. You could think about gerbils. They are easy to look after, they will live together, they’re not nocturnal like hamsters and they are less likely to bite! The last time I had gerbils, I had 4 males in a gerbilareum (that’s like a tank with a cage top) Often they were more fun to watch than the telly!

I would maybe see if you could visit someone with a dog, perhaps offer to take it out for walk with your grandson.



Hope it all goes well for you all.

Incidentally, I noticed that most of the wives of the men with AS that I used to work with had dogs. When I commented on it one said that she loved the spontaneous cheerful affection that a dog offered. The others nodded emphatically.