LFA - Thinks he's a dog?

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Never with a dog, but in winters when I was younger I would curl up near the fireplace and 'hibernate' and be a lizard because the idea of sleeping all winter was very attractive to me at the time.

So you can probably tell that for him it could be ANYTHING. It could be it's easier to express himself with a dog's emotions, he could just like them, he could just be attracted to an idea about doginess, dogs could be a special interest. I would suggest though, that you are extremely careful with the encouraging human behavior thing if he just likes them or if it's a special interest.
If you've been on these forums before, you know that if somebodies special interest or anything like that is taken away we often remember it for the rest of our lives! Treat the situation like it has big 'FRAGILE' stamp on it, or something.

Until I was ten I only had two real hobbies, reading and pretending I was an animal. I ran on all fours until I was at least 8. I think I was pretty good at imitating various animals. I read tons of books about different kinds of breeds of dogs, cats, horses, even cows, and all African cats. When I was ten it dawned on me people thought it was strange. I still did it though, but more in my head. Like, I'd pretend everyone were horses and I was too. Math problems in class was jumping and spelling was running at different paces. People teased me about walking like a horse though, so I always tried to make it less obvious.

I gave it up around age 13 and started pretending I lived in the 19th century in stead ('Little House on the Prairie' anyone?). Haha, no wonder I was so oblivious to social games, I was always in my own head.

My daughter went through a stage of dogginess. She would lick her food off her plate unless i insisted she NOT do this. She would also to an irritating degree go around the house as a dog much of the time for a while. Now my niece (who's adopted from the foster system) is going through this. Last time we visited, she was a dog a good deal of the time our family was visiting. I think...to some extent it may be to escape stress if that makes sense. Like the whole family visiting is enjoyable but stressful, so 'being a dog' helps her cope. Not sure it was the same issue with my daughter, but I remember being at times upset that it was such a habit for her to do this.

B

don't bet on it, i'm autistic.

Okay, sorry, not used to my idiosyncracies being referred to as normal I guess.

I was so embarrassed when I got older and realized how nobody else did this, at least not to the same extent or at such an age. But AS gives it some sense, as it does with most things I couldn't explain before.

I did have invisible animals too, especially horses of various kinds. My bike made a good horse until my midteens

The correct term is Furries. Actually in the OP brother's case he is an Otherkin. Note this isn't exactly "mental illness" given all the mythology and legends regarding Lycantriophes (sp?) in myths in other cultures.

No, I don't think it's mental illness. I think if the OP's brother wants to be a dog, then (barring hypothermia or eating things that make him sick) he should be allowed to be a dog. A polite dog, mind you, and one that fulfills his responsibilities; it's no good excuse to get out of being a decent person (human or dog); but if he wants to be a dog then let him.

I learned a lot of my social skills from my cat myself. My first cat, when I was nine, taught me how to be gentle, and how to read body language. She was a very patient little creature; at first I didn't treat her at all well because I just had no clue how to interact; but eventually she taught me. Feline body language has some parallels with human body language, and once I figured out cats I started in on humans, because the process of learning is similar.

Before I started interacting with cats, I didn't know how to do the "give-and-take" of interaction at all. I didn't know how to do conversations. I just basically walked up to people, talked at them, and left. With my cat, I learned how to respond to what she did, and how she responded to me. Without the complications of speech, it just seemed a lot easier.

Even today, I learn from my cats. I'm still too pushy, socially, and I interrupt too much. I'm learning to keep the other person in mind a little more. It's difficult; it's a form of multi-tasking; but somehow, with cats, it's easier. I'm learning to apply it to people, too.

I have called myself a cat in the past, and as a child occasionally pretended to be one (see? autistic people DO have imaginations!). I've always known I was human; it was just that I felt more catlike than any other human I had ever met, and was fascinated with cats during my pre-teen and early teen years. I learned to tell people I wanted to be a veterinarian to excuse my own special interest; but really, it was just that I wanted to learn about cats.

I'd rather be a gorilla than a human. I do a pretty good gorilla impersonation, well, so my niece thinks (I tend to scare her though, but she does laugh and giggle, so it's a decent duality).

I can easily see someone who doesn't care as much as me about appearances (i.e., more autistic) totally embracing this concept and going all out.

Maybe you can buy him some doggie toys to play with. I'd also like to say that it's a good idea that he doesn't sleep outside.

It is called depersonalization which sometimes happens with ppl with autism. I will look it up and be back

Thanks everyone for the answers and advice, and for the person who asked if I was just curious or if this was causing a problem, it's mainly curiosity, I mean, it's pretty interesting! But I've also been wondering for awhile if I should try and stop it or if it's healthy, or just....what it is or means...

What Callista said rang very true!