Service dogs

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Do any of you guys have service dogs to help with your autism? What tasks do they perform for you? I really would like a service dog but am not really sure if I have enough of a problem “with my autism and social anxiety” for it to be worth the time and effort to put into that

My dog was a service dog, but I actually found that she made my anxiety worse because of the way people would treat us. It’s frustrating because I wish she was with me all the time.

Anyway, she was trained to provide deep pressure when I’m anxious. There’s a couple of other things, but they are more PTSD related.

I'm on the spectrum, but have never used a service dog.

I didn't regard my dog as a service dog, but he did help make friends for me. Understanding dog communication took me a while. A few months ago, I went to a friend's place, and his dog was there but he was gone. I asked "Where's Don?" and he went straight to the parking area and just wandered around. That meant that someone had picked him up, so the trail was lost there. Yesterday, the truck that is too small for the dog was gone, and the dog just lay in the shade, not greeting me for pets or challenging my friend. That meant that Don was fine, just not home. A lot of dogs that seem hard to manage are just feeling crazy from never being understood.

I feel like having to be near a dog would outweigh any benefits that a service animal might provide.

My dog is a professional service dog. He’s trained to provide deep pressure in a few ways, but mostly what he does is help ground me. I’m easily overwhelmed in public places like a store or a restaurant and often partially shut down within the first few minutes, his presence and focusing on him helps prevent that.

I have two, a labrador and a rat terrier. They each perform different duties.
My lab does dpt, crowd control, self harm interrupts, finds (as in exits, help, car, house), retrievals indoors, like phone, keys, shoes. He does room checks.
My small dog is exclusively meltdown and anxiety related and he excels tremendously at it. My meltdowns have reduced a ton since getting him.

I think keeping a dog would do me more harm than good. I look after one for a relative sometimes, and although I like dogs, I always breathe a sigh of relief when my duty is over. The dog has to be taken for walks and it's stressful making sure she doesn't defaecate in an unacceptable place, then there's feeding, sometimes she pukes on the carpet, and I don't do well with very socially-needy people and animals. What do you do with a dog when the weather's bad for days on end? I feel guilty and very sorry for them, but I usually have stuff to do and I can't deal with interruptions. My life is complicated enough as it is. And when they're ill they have to be taken to a vet, and I don't trust them not to overcharge. Dogs also die, which must be heartbreaking.

And I don't know that there's much a dog could do for me. I suppose I'd feel a bit safer walking the inner-city streets if I had a big fierce dog with me, but I'd have to go out more often anyway. I could certainly use help but I don't think it's of the type that a dog would be good at. The companionship would be nice, but the downside would be hard for me to deal with. I miss the cat who used to visit me every day, but he was pretty independent and he was somebody else's responsibility.

I really feel sorry for most dogs. The built environment does not suit them, and most owners seem to think of them as unreliable machines that need micro-management. This drives them crazy. A dog wants to help and be appreciated for having some good ideas and keen senses. Walter the Wonder Dog sometimes obtained food for his human pack, and once hitchiked 200 km home after being left outside a hospital after an accident. Titan, of his own volition, guards Miss Kitty when there is danger from Coyotes or Foxes.
I would certainly have a dog and live in a more peaceful place if not for the population crisis. There are wolves starving from human encroachment.

I don't need a service dog. I don't even really want a regular dog. If other people who are disabled want a service dog, that's fine. At the risk of sounding like something out of inspiration porn, I think it's wonderful how well trained these dogs are, and how they help disabled people with so many things. But I get along without one just fine.

I'm glad I don't have to take my cat out for a walk in this heat wave we're having right now, just so she can piddle on some trees.

About five separate dogs have had the nerve to bite my worthless corpse

3 within the past two years, on the way to and from my dumpster fire "job"

Afraid of dogs

Screamed plenty of times

Plenty of owners arrogant of the leash law
Then they act like they have never done anything wrong before in their lives