We are able to train dogs to assist clients with severe allergies, subject to specific eligibility criteria.

Depending on the number of substances a client might be severely allergic to, we can either train a dog to give an early alert to an oncoming reaction, giving the individual time to take treatment or to train a dog to search an area for the presence of a particular substance, e.g. nuts for someone with a severe nut allergy. To date we have trained a small number of dogs to assist their clients in both ways. In the case of environmental search, the dog assists the client by checking areas for traces of nuts, in particular, peanuts, walnuts and cashew nuts and giving a pre-alert to let the client know that nut traces are present – for example, seats and tables they may wish to sit at, computers or laptops that they may need to use.  Our clients have very severe allergies where they would suffer from anaphylaxis if, for example, they touched a table where minute nut traces were present.  On applying for a dog, we will advise which route we feel is most appropriate, taking into consideration the specifics of each individual applicant health challenges, as well as considering whether an alert to an oncoming episode or searching the environment would prove more beneficial for that individual.

These dogs have had a huge positive impact on the client’s life, enabling them to manage their allergy much more confidently and are able to visit new environments, as they know that the dog will alert to any nut traces, whereas before they would have been very anxious about travelling, eating out or touching anything unknown – understandably being fearful of suffering a severe allergic reaction.

These partnerships have been very successful, and we have also trained an allergen detection dog to assist a different client with an airborne nut allergy – by alerting to the presence of the odour of nuts and therefore allowing the client to leave a situation if nuts are present.

We are happy to receive applications from clients requiring an allergen detection dog.

Please note that, in the case of the allergy being so severe that it is airborne or where there are multiple allergens, the dog may not be able to pre-alert to an allergen being present before you may react and suffer an anaphylaxis response.  However, in these very severe cases, the dog may be able to give a response alert to an oncoming episode, e.g. this may include fetching a medical kit or pressing an emergency button to alert the emergency services.

Eligibility criteria:

• Aged 18 or over
• Carry an epi pen at all times.
• Suffer from severe allergic reactions/anaphylaxis if the allergen (e.g. nut, fish,) is (a) is ingested (b) you touch a surface with minute traces of the allergen, or (c) traces of the allergen are airborne (e.g. someone contaminates the environment in close proximity to you, e.g. snickers bar is opened).
• Have frequent allergic reactions where immediate action is necessary, this could include epi pen being needed or where 999 calls and hospitalisation is necessary as a result, or where you have to increase your medication to avoid a more severe reaction.
• Have had the need to use an EpiPen for an allergic reaction in the last 12 months.
• Regularly take oral doses of antihistamine medicine to resolve allergic reactions.
• Have been diagnosed by an allergy specialist.
• Feel that your quality of life is significantly affected by your allergies – this can be both medically and psychologically e.g. unable to work, anxious about going out or visiting new places, eating out.
• Remain compliant with your management strategies.
• Still face challenges despite receiving all the assistance your health care team can offer.

If you meet the above criteria then maybe a Medical Alert Assistance Dog could help you.

Please do be aware that having a Medical Alert Assistance Dog is a big commitment and involves a lot of input, training and time given from the client and their family. This is in the form of frequent visits and training at the centre, detailed record keeping of all medical episodes, alert behaviour from the dog and also regular home visits and communication with the training team. There is also a need for the client to commit to having the dog with them at every possible opportunity to build the bond between them and to give the dog the opportunity to alert to any medical episodes.  With allergen detection dogs, there is also the need to have regular training sessions on an ongoing basis – to ensure the dog gets the chance to alert to the allergen at regular intervals, in a safe, managed way.  Please do consider this carefully before applying.

Whilst we are happy to receive applications from applicants requiring environmental search allergen detection dogs, due to the nature of the training for environmental search dogs, this takes more time and resources than for our Medical Alert Assistance Dogs who alert the individual to an oncoming medical episode.  We have a very limited capacity for this type of training and are only able to proceed with new applications when we know we have the available resources. Therefore, sadly, there will be times when we are not able to progress any new applications.  We will let you know when we receive your enquiry as to whether or not we can assist.