Thread: Dog reacting to down syndrome/autism

My dog is a very energetic 3.5 yr old Vizla cross. He will not readily approach men and usually has his hackles up in their pressence. If I know the person he will relax but seldom let them pat him.
Over the last few weeks we have been bumping into a guy on our walks, Im not sure if he has down syndrome or autism. Our first encounter, he asked if he could pat Moose. I let a bit of line out on his lead and Moose went straight up to him, no hackles and super calm. He held out his hand for him to sniff and from that moment its like they're best mates and known each other for years. Now whenever Moose sees him his tail goes into overdrive but he remains super calm, not the bouncing lunatic like when the grandkids visit.
Its been cool seeing these interactions and how Moose is really gentle with this guy

Dogs are pretty intuitive. Amazing what they can sense.

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Our AM Bulldog reacts the same way with a mate's autistic daughter. Other dogs in our circle of friends also treat her better than they treat the rest of us. I think they know.

I've seen videos of different animals acting like this with people with these conditions but its pretty cool to experience it first hand.

We could learn a thing or two off them...

Dogs are very intuitive animals.
Our German Shepard always ignored a friend of ours whenever she came to visit, but one time she sat next to our friend or lay on her feet the whole evening. Turns out our friend was pregnant and wasn't aware of it yet.