How to Train Your Dog to Detect Gluten

Hello Justin, Look for something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Vital-Wheat-Gluten-3-5-Pound/dp/B0006ZN52E It will usually be a baking type product with the gluten protein concentrated for baking. Bob's Red Mill used makes vital wheat gluten. You may be able to find that in the baking section of a grocery store near you. If you need to apply it to something else you will need to add water to it to make it a soft or more liquid consistency. If you have Celiac Disease, then I would recommend wearing gloves while you work with it and be sure not to inhale it. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello LuAnn, Many dog trainers are self-taught through years of reading, work with other trainers, and hands on experience. With enough work you could become an expert in this area also, but expect this to take time and work. Because you have Celiac instead of just gluten sensitivity you will need a much higher level of skill in your dog than someone who is less sensitive to gluten and can handle trace amounts. Whether or not LeiLa can be trained to do this actually depends more on LeiLa, her sense of smell, and her ability to detect very small amounts of the protein found in gluten containing products. You will need to cross train her to detect wheat, Barley, Rye, Triticale, and their varieties, as well as gluten in the form of more obscure ingredients that are called by other names and found in products such as Soy Sauce and Gravy. If you want to undertake the training yourself, you likely can, but you will need to be very thorough, and after you train her you will need to test her extensively to be sure that you have taught her all of the various forms of gluten and she will detect it reliably. You will also need to do follow up training sessions occasionally with her for as long as you are depending on her detection, to make sure that she remembers the training as time passes. Be aware that you will need to teach her to detect it in all of it's forms not just in obvious, smellier forms, like wheat bread. After you have taught her to detect and alert you when there is a gluten containing grain product, you will need to also teach her to detect much smaller, trace amounts in products like soy sauce, or in products that have been cross contaminated. If you can teach her to detect very tiny amounts in various forms, then she can successfully help you in this area. To become a service dog she simply needs to learn how to perform a task, in this case, detecting gluten, that directly helps a medically diagnosed condition that you have. I would suggest researching training a peanut allergy detection dog also because the training and level of skill needed in a dog are similar to gluten detection for Celiac disease. The main difference being that gluten is found in multiple grains, so you have to practice with the various forms. When you teach this, if you have not already, research everywhere that gluten can be found and the other names that it goes by, so that you can practice with these types of products while training. I wish you and LeiLa the best! I hope that if you decide to go for it, you feel confident in your ability to learn and train your pup. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden