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.
Applicant Owned Dog Applications
In assessing an applicant owned dog for suitability, as we are part of Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK) the governing body and coalition group for all assistance dogs in the UK, we need to make a thorough ongoing assessment with regards to an own dog’s temperament, character and behaviour and whether they meet the standards set by ADUK. Ultimately assistance dogs will have public access into shops and public areas and therefore they need to behave in an acceptable, well behaved manner and be confident and happy in busy environments. As an organisation committed to the welfare of our dogs, we must be completely confident that any dog accredited within our organisation, is suitable and happy to carry out an assistance dog role. If you are really eager to pursue the own dog training, it is therefore beneficial to complete the Kennel Club’s good citizenship obedience puppy classes, to gain the bronze, silver and gold awards as well as socialising your dog in as many different social settings as possible to prepare your dog.
Please be aware that we are not able to provide documents or assist with taking dogs on flights, unless the dog is an accredited Medical Alert Assistance Dog, via our training programme.
In order to be deemed suitable to be placed on the Medical Alert Assistance Dog Training Programme, it is necessary to meet the following criteria:
- You have been assessed and found to be in need of a Medical Alert Assistance Dog using the same eligibility criteria as applicants who will be partnered with a charity trained Medical Alert Assistance Dog
- You have attended an Applicant Own Dog Awareness Day
- Your dog has passed a comprehensive public access assessment with a Medical Detection Dogs representative.
- Your dog is 2 years old or under (unless the dog is consistently alerting in which case dogs up to 3 years old will be considered.)
- You have submitted a complete Veterinary Form where the veterinary surgeon of the dog in question has confirmed that the dog is in good physical health and be deemed as suitable for assistance dog work (e.g. checked for joint and gait, eyes, ears and heart)
- You have submitted a copy of the full medical history for the dog
- You have submitted a complete ‘Applicant Owned Dog Evaluation Form’ and the dog appears to be of a temperament suited to be a working assistance dog, e.g. confident and friendly with adults, children and a wide range of different environments
- Via completion of 6 weeks scent/alerting assessment records, your dog has a proven aptitude for alerting to a medical episode via odour
Applicant owned dogs will not be considered for the Training Programme if:
- due to the nature of our work and the possibility of the need for medical intervention e.g. paramedics assisting an individual following a medical episode, we are not able to consider dog breeds that are traditionally bred for fighting or guarding. We are also not able to consider any breed or cross breed that is excluded from coverage under standard pet insurance.
- we do not usually train brachycephalic breed types (short nosed breeds e.g. pugs) due to the fact that they may have impaired olfactory systems and are therefore unlikely to be suitable as Medical Alert Assistance Dogs. There may be exceptions to this where we feel confident a dog is already showing signs of alerting to a medical condition.
- Dogs cannot be fed on raw meat or have access to raw bones- as part of our reassurance to service providers, we ensure that our Medical Alert Assistance Dogs pose minimal risk to human health and therefore, it is not permissible to feed your assistance dog raw meat, e.g. raw mince, chicken etc that you purchase, or any raw meat dog treats. This decision is based on discussions with our veterinary advisors, due to the increased risk from bacteria such as E-coli when feeding raw meat.
- to comply with ADUK guidelines, in order to enter our training programme all dogs will need to be neutered
- they have a history of strong herding, chasing or hunting tendencies
- they have shown aggression or bitten/injured a person or other animal
- they are being competitively showed or used in agility
- they have shown significant nervousness/anxiety with people or environmental situations or objects
- the client is unable to commit to carrying out and recording down training hours with their dog, covering key areas such as general obedience and socialisation
- the client is unwilling to attend the necessary training sessions, some of which will include handling days at the Medical Detection Dogs Centre, which could include local overnight stays in a local hotel and B and B
Before an Applicant owned dog can be accredited with Medical Detection Dogs, the dog must have:
- Received a minimum of 12 visits from a Medical Detection Dogs representative in the form of home visits, public access walks, handling days at the centre. One of which should include a vet visit where the dog received a health check before accreditation.
- Should the client being accompanied by their dog in a workplace or school, additional visits to the 12 would be required, i.e. 16.
- Have completed 150 training hours, in the form of a combination of Instructor visits and client training hours
- Have a diary of any client training hours detailing the activities they have carried out with the dog
- Have been on the Training Programme for a minimum of 6 months
- Be over the age of 6 months old
- Have attended an ‘Own Dog Introduction to Assistance Dog Day’ at the Centre
- Have been observed and witnessed as completing the ‘Own Dog Socialising Checklist’ by a Medical Detection Dogs representative
- Been neutered
- Have submitted, comprehensive and continuous data alerting records for a period of at least 6 months, evidencing that the dog is consistently alerting at a percentage of at least 75% accuracy with a false alert of less than 10% and using a positive, suitable alert, e.g. staring, pawing, fetching the kit/medical bag, licking, nudging
- Been proven in exhibiting acceptable behaviour and obedience for a working assistance dog
- Have had a comprehensive health check performed by a veterinary surgeon
Due to the waiting times to get to the interview stage of the application process, purchasing your own dog to be trained sadly does not speed the process up. We are happy to assess an Applicant owned dog for suitability, however there are many things to consider before doing so and many steps to go through before an Applicant owned dog would reach accreditation standard.
Before progressing with Applicant Owned Dog Training please take time to consider that as with our own charity dogs in socialising, there are no guarantees that an Applicant owned dog will reach an accreditation level. This may be for various reasons, however any client entering into the process needs to be aware that at any time throughout the training process, it may be halted and therefore it may end in disappointment. You may find yourselves in a position whereby you have a dog who is unable to become your assistance dog, but still be in need of a Medical Alert Assistance Dog. Please also consider that the achievement of the training practice hours, will be carried out by you in the main and therefore, proceeding with Applicant owned dog training is a huge commitment and will require a lot of your time.
We endeavour to be as honest with regards to the potential for your dog to reach the accreditation standard as quickly as we can.
Application process what next?
If you answer ‘Yes’ to the statements above and would like to register your interest in applying for a Medical Alert Assistance Dog, please complete the form here.