Types Of Communications Of Dogs With Autism Spectrum Like Symptoms

I have worked with dogs in the past that have shown symptoms that i only saw with children with ASD. It took me a while to see the connections. There was no literature about this in the Veterinary community that would look into canine behavior, so i thought i gather some information from human sources that from my experience describe the problems i have observed.

If you have a dog with Autism Spectrum Disorder like symptoms, or know someone who does, you know that communication with the dog is a constant issue for many, and it is a skill that takes many years to perfect. Many dog parents are unsure how to best support their puppy's development, and even how best to interact, train, and have kids play with their dog. Others don't even know they have a dog with autism like disorder. If you are unfamiliar with communication problems in dogs with ASD,

In order to improve communication skills in dogs with ASD like symptoms, you must first understand the different stages of communication development. Every dog will develop at a different pace, so don't compare your dog to others you know, or to any set timeline. Celebrate your dog's accomplishments and be supportive through the hardships, and do not forget to educate people around your. You will be a happier and more effective carer because of it.

Understanding Communication Problems will help you better navigate your dog through his development stages.

Let's look at the types of communications.

Types of Communication

Pre-intentional Communication

Pre-intentional communications are things a dog will do or verbalize without intending to affect the people around them. This is used to calm or focus oneself, or as a reaction to a stimulating experience. (scratching, whining, staring at items)

Intentional Communication

Intentional Communications are made when the dog wishes to communicate with another dog or person, either to express needs or ask for instructions or solutions. The step from pre-intentional communication to intentional communication is a large one, and is a sign of progress in dogs that come from a feral or shelter environment .

The 4 Stages of Communication

1) 'ME' stage

Dogs in the 'ME' stage will be self-absorbed, using mostly pre-intentional communication and generally avoiding eye contact and interaction. It’s all about fulfilling his own need, ignoring others. Example pushing you aside to get out the door. Push others aside to get to the food bowl or treat.

2) 'Want' stage

Once a dog realizes his or her actions have an effect on other people, he/she is in the 'Want' stage. They may communicate basic wants or needs by pawing or pulling towards things and attempting to get others' attention. (nosing, pawing, barking for attention, mouthing, scratching at items or feet etc.)

3) 'Two-way' stage

A dog in the 'Two-way' stage will start asking for things, and may whine,paw or poke. They will use obedience tasks they've learned or saw to ask for specific things. They will shift their gaze more and might point to things (turning the head towards it, while body is aligned to you) they want to show the handler. Dogs point with their head or poking nose or align themselves towards the item they want example if dog wants to go for a walk he/she might stand at the door that leads to leash.

4) 'Conversation' stage

A dog in this stage will have become an effective communicator, able to hold a simple conversation in a calm and comfortable environment, for example in a fetch game, or walk, in the hallway or in the dining room. New or stressful environments may cause the dog to revert to repetitive actions, spinning pacing, barking ( stuck in a loop), or ignore commands in a normal setting.

“Generalization can tell you about how [children] learn, because you can look at the way they are able to transfer what they learn in one particular state to another,”

— Dr. Mostofsky about children with ASD

Stressors that can interfere in communications are:

Unstructured Time:

Unstructured time that has no specific rules or activity which creates boundaries or limits can be very challenging. Examples of unstructured time are:

• Waiting for walk or food

• Before and after feeding or play time

• Transitions throughout the day (place to place, person to person, task to task)

• Social gatherings ( dog parks, pet store, visitors)

• Recess (withdraw a regular interaction like skipping a walk )

• New obedience skill or complex task.

Learning Situations:

• Understanding what to do and how to do a task

• New command

• New routine

• At the vet or new people

• Change of safe space or bed

Sensory issues:

Can be triggered almost any time or anywhere on a daily basis. Whether the individual dog is experiencing an anxious moment or not, sensory integration challenges can overpower a dog’s ability to control him or herself. Sensory situations that may provoke anxiety can include:

• Crowded house, busy school bus stop, vet trips, pet store, etc.

• Space—too large, too crowded, too bright, too loud, too smelly, etc.

• Sounds/noise- tags on bowl, door bell, vacuum, engines or carts, skateboards or garbage trucks or delivery.

• Natural disasters or storms

• Smells-cooking, treats, cleaning materials, detergent , paints, colognes,

• Food—sight, texture, taste, smell, sound of collar tags against food bowl or while walking.

• Allergies or medical issues

• Grooming and bathing- some dogs might be sensitive to water pressure or brush it ‘hurt’ their bodies

• Collar —too tight, scratchy

• Bedding - to hard, to soft, to light.
   

Social situations:

are already challenging for dogs with ASD and can increase anxiety in the moment or even in anticipation of an upcoming event. Some examples include:

• Unexpected cues

• Unannounced visits  

• Changes in plans—changing walking routine or interrupted

• Changed Feeding time in the morning while people move

• Outdoor activities—dog park, busy trails

• Large gatherings—training classes , family gatherings

• Young children (who are unpredictable in many ways)

• Initiating a play with a peer or stranger
   

Changes of expected outcomes of exteroceptive proprioceptive sensory

Dogs with ASD rely on their on their structured and safe environment. If changes occur things can become challenging:

• Missing furniture in a room

• Strange people entering home with house keys or through garage door

• Handler changes hairstyle or color

• Items do unexpected move or noise (that include Babies)

• Driving over rough terrain

• Peer changes outlook ex. After grooming or body coat

Holistic treatment of Seizures In Dogs

Seizures can be extremely frightening and distressing for you to witness as a dog owner. Your dog will seem fine one minute and the next start convulsing.

Convulsions are defined as contractions or involuntary muscle movements. Think of your dog's brain as the electrical circuit to the body controlling movements. When a seizure occurs, that circuit board goes haywire.

It is critical not to interfere with your dog while he is having a seizure, as it may injure him or yourself.  

Types of seizures

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF SEIZURES- Focal and Generalized. 

Focal or Petit Mal seizures affect half of the brain, and typically only a portion of that half. This type of seizure is called a simple seizure because your dog remains conscious throughout the seizure.  

How Do I Know My Dog is Having a Seizure?

Some symptoms to look for if your dog has a focal seizure:

• Dilated pupils

• Involuntary muscle movements such as facial twitching or leg twitching

• Muscles may contract and relax

• Your dog may have balance issues and look as if they are going to fall over or can’t get up

• Hallucinations- your dog may look at the air and start barking or growling.

Focal seizures can be so short or  subtle that you may not even notice that your dog is experiencing one.  

The other type of seizure is called a Generalized seizure, sometimes referred to as a complex partial seizure. You may have heard this type of seizure  called Grand Mal.

Generalized seizures affect both sides of the brain. They can start as a partial seizure, but then move into a generalized. Typically, your dog will lose consciousness during this type of seizure.  

Some other symptoms to look for:

• Aggression

• Extreme Fear

• Biting the air around him

• Chomping or tongue biting

• Dropping to the ground

• Losing bowel or bladder

• Foaming of the mouth - or real sticky saliva that runs out of his mouth uncontrollably

• Temporary loss of vision

There are other categories or types of Generalized seizures. 

These include: 

• Atonic

This is involuntary muscle contractions which make your dog collapse to the ground

• Tonic

Muscle contractions or stiffness that can last minutes long

• Clonic

Involuntary muscle contractions that result in rapid jerking such as paddling.

• Tonic-Clonic

The tonic phase that is quickly followed by the clonic phase

• Myoclonic

Irregular and frequent jolts or movements that can happen on both sides of the body.

• Cluster

More than one seizure that happens within 24 hours where your dog regains consciousness between seizures.

• Status Epilepticus

A single seizure that lasts more than 5 minutes. It can also mean more than one seizure occurring over a short period where your dog does not regain full consciousness between each seizure.

After a seizure, whether it is Petit-Mal or Grand-Mal, your dog may act dazed and confused and more often than not, will sleep for several hours. 

WHAT CAN CAUSE my dog to have SEIZURES?

• Ingesting poison

• Liver Disease

• Kidney Disease

• Head Injury

• Low or High Spikes in blood sugar

• Thiamine deficiency

• Vaccinations

Seizures of unknown origin are called idiopathic.  

Seizures can be genetic, but are often seen after vaccination, especially the rabies vaccine. Your dog could also become violent after the rabies vaccine, which can be temporary or long-term. In homeopathy, we refer to generalized patterns in specific disease symptoms as a miasm. 

when it’s an emergency

When seizures last longer than 3 minutes more than three times in a time span of 24 hours please seek an emergency animal clinic in your area.

Deep dive

To dive a little deeper into how seizures can be genetic and how vaccinosis can be passed generationally, we look at Miasms, which are disease expression patterns.

Hahnemann's concept of chronic disease is that these deep-seated diseases are generational and predisposed. He felt that chronic diseases had been passed down from generation to generation, and they are part of the family's DNA. He believed that chronic disease has layers, or miasms, which stem from three sources.

The three main miasms are Psora, which is of the skin, making up most of the chronic disease, Sycotic, which is from Gonorrhea, and Syphilitic from Syphilis.

Hahnemann believed that if you treat the miasms, you can get through the layers of a chronic case, which will reveal changing symptoms the deeper you go and finally reveal the actual constitution. For example, the rabies miasm is associated with the disease or with the vaccination for the disease. 

This does not mean that your dog has active rabies, but that he has what we call chronic rabies, a noninfectious form of it that is similar in symptoms as the live form, but on a less intense scale. This also does not mean that if a dog is aggressive, he has the rabies miasm, but it is something for you to consider to help connect the dots.

The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust determined the duration of immunity conveyed by rabies vaccines beyond 7 years [1].
Veterinarians follow up with a booster, which you would think would then ensure that your dog has lifelong immunity. Instead, they insist on revaccination, as do your town officials, a fear-based legal requirement with absolutely no medical rationale.

Duration of immunity after rabies vaccination in dogs: The Rabies Challenge Fund research study

W Jean Dodds et al. Can J Vet Res. 2020 Apr

The experience I have in my clinic is that, thus far, all of my seizure cases resulted from the rabies vaccine. All of the owners could say, with certainty, that their dog experienced their first seizure immediately to days following having the rabies vaccine. 

Diagnosis

A licensed veterinarian should diagnose seizures. A dog who suffers from chronic seizures is diagnosed with canine epilepsy. Although your vet will most likely prescribe medications such as Phenobarbital and Potassium Bromide, veterinarians are now prescribing Gabapentin and Felbamate. These synthetic medications cause side effects such as lethargy, vomiting, weight loss, and coordination loss, to name a few. 

These medications can also negatively affect your dog's liver over time.  It is best to get a diagnosis from your veterinarian and then start your dog on the correct homeopathic remedy right away.

Research by Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, Urbana, IL concludes:
”Given that medication side effects can include sedation or agitation, more detailed review of medications received would have been indicated to rule out medication side effect as a cause of behavioral changes.” Hilary Levitin, Front. Vet. Sci., 08 November 2019

 How can I help my dog with SEIZURE

Homeopathy can help with seizure disorders. Remedies can often lessen the duration, severity, and recovery time of a seizure. Homeopathy can often take the place of allopathic medication when prescribed correctly. 

It is best and highly advised to consult an experienced homeopathic practitioner when dealing with such a complex imbalance, such as a seizure disorder.  

Here are some remedies that I have used for seizure cases: 

Belladonna- Your dog will have dilated pupils and a bounding pulse. They can become overly aggressive and could have red around their eyes, or the whites of their eyes and their ears could be red and hot. They can be destructive. 

Nux Vomica- These patients are snappish and irritable. They can have alternating diarrhea with constipation. 

Bufo- When this remedy is indicated, we typically see the symptoms appear during sleep or waking. The attacks are short in duration.  

Stramonium- This is similar to the Belladonna patient, except there is more violence where they may attack whoever is near them, whether it is a persona or an animal. They tend to stagger and have a tendency to fall to the left side. 

Cuprum Metallicum- The patient tends to lower their head or their body and collapse. Clonic-tonic paddling.  

Ignatia - Your dog will lose consciousness. They can shake their head back and forth frequently and turn their body quite rapidly.  

Use the utmost caution when administering homeopathic remedies while your dog is having a seizure. They may unintentionally bite you. You can drop the pellets into your dog's mouth if they are laying on their side, or you can make an aqueous solution by diluting a pellet of the selected remedy into a 2 oz glass.

Guest blog from Brenda Tobin DIHom, D Vet Hom, Cert CN, is a veterinary homeopathic practitioner. She's certified in canine nutrition, and is an animal Reiki practitioner. She treats dogs, cats, horses, farm animals, and exotics, consulting online with clients all over the world. Visit her website wellnessmattersonline.com