How to Train Your Dog to Alert for Seizures

Hello, Some seizures cause chemical changes in the body before the seizure is evident, and some don't cause chemical changes until the seizure is evident. What a dog can be trained to do partially depends on whether something happens in your body before the seizure is evident, allowing pup to smell or notice oncoming changes ahead of time. If the seizure changes your chemistry before its evident, many dogs can be taught to alert before a seizure has begun. If your chemistry doesn't change until after the seizure is evident, then the dog can only be taught to alert other people that one is actively happening to you or provide that person with support during one. Training a dog to alert before one is evident when the person's body chemistry changes, is often done by taking saliva samples right after a seizure and teaching pup to perform an alert like barking whenever they smell a saliva sample taken after a seizure opposed to the normal daily saliva samples pup is taught not to alert to. If your body chemistry doesn't change ahead of time, or if you want to train pup to also alert when one is actively happening - like to get help, then you can either teach pup to alert with a saliva scent sample or by acting out a seizure. Pup is taught an alert on cue, like Barking when you say speak, or nudging when you say "touch". Then you act out the seizure while saying "Speak", and practice it until pup will bark before you say Speak, when you just pretend to have the seizure, so the acting itself becomes the cue. You will also want to practice this on leash and teach pup how close they should or shouldn't get to the person. For scent detection, pup is taught an alert on cue like Speak, then pup is given that command when they sniff the seizure saliva sample, rewarding pup with a treat whenever they do it correctly, practicing until pup will Speak automatically when they sniff the sample before you say Speak. There is a lot of practice then that takes place, helping pup be able to do it reliably and only when the sample or situation mimics a seizure, and not at other times. This includes planting the sample on the person, like in a pocket, practicing at random times and in various locations, and generally changing the distraction level and variables until pup is reliable no matter what's going on. To become a service dog who could be with you in public also, pup would also need to practice their manners, socialization and general obedience to a high enough level that they would be allowed public access too. A dog can only pass the public access portion if they are reliable in obedience, calm, do not cause dangers or disturbances while with you, so public access training can actually take longer than the task portion of service dog training and is best started as soon as possible. A canine Good citizen class and intermediate obedience class can be good places to start on those skills. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Nov. 29, 2023

Hello, It can be very beneficial to have a service dog to help you; however, a service dog is a large time and energy commitment. In order to have your dog be truly helpful, the dog would need to accompany you most places since you don't know when a seizure would happen. If this was me I would base my decision on my own willingness and ability to train my dog or pay someone else too, how I felt about managing a dog in public constantly (it will come with a lot of both positive and negative attention, which can be stressful), and the individual dog and whether they are a good candidate temperamentally, scenting ability wise, adaptability/calmness/confidence wise, and handler focus/how interested in working with you and focused on you they are without being possessive. If your dog is the type of dog you could take anywhere and they would be fine around pretty much anyone including other animals, if they are interested in you and like working with you and listen, and if they seem to have a good nose, it could be worth taking them through the public access training and task training needed. If traits that are inherit like temperament and confidence aren't present, I wouldn't attempt the training with this particular dog. Also, since your seizures are thankfully infrequent, that also means you won't have scent samples to train pup with, making their alerts less reliable for a while. You would instead need to act out your seizures, which can be done with many seizures where your body language changes distinctly. You would need to know from others what you tend to do while having a seizure, whether it expresses in similar consistent ways each time (like staring into space, convulsing, twitching, ect...), and whether it's a detectible enough change in your body language for you to be able to act out in a way that your dog will notice the difference in your normal body language and you acting that out. I would answer the above questions and weight those answers against your need for a service dog to help you decide if it would be worth it in your specific case. I would also consider what you would want to specifically teach the dog that could directly help you - some dogs can alert before a seizure happens, but that's only with specific people's brain chemistry and whether their body chemistry changes in smell before symptoms are evident right before a seizure, and not with all seizure cases. Other dogs are taught to go get help or provide pressure during the seizure, or possibly to even calm a person down when the dog detects anxiety or fear to prevent the onset of a seizure if the seizure is trauma or stress induced for that person. Consider what tasks you would want to teach your dog to benefit you specifically. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Aug. 3, 2023