Seizure Service Dogs

Dogs are known for both their sense of smell and their loyalty. Both of these qualities are come in handy when the dog’s job is to care for their owner before, during and/or after a seizure.

There are different types of seizure service dogs; seizure alert, seizure response, and seizure assistance. The role of the seizure alert dog is to detect the impending seizure and signal the owner. Hopefully, this will give the person enough time to either take anti-seizure medication, or at least get to a place that minimizes potential dangers. This of course requires a strong relationship between the human and dog. They need to be able to read each others’ body language. The dog has to detect the subtle changes their owner might display before a seizure, meanwhile the human needs to understand when their dog is trying to warn them. This partnership could take time to develop and it is thought that over time, some dogs have been able to detect seizures using their sense of smell.

 Here’s one young girl’s story about her relationship with her seizure alert dog.