Seizure Response Dogs

[Bernard]

Seizure response dogs can help folks who live alone get help after a seizure:

Following training of more than 90 general commands like picking up medicine and opening doors, seizure response dogs are taught specialized behaviors based on the type of seizure their owner experiences. For epilepsy patients with convulsions, which are sometimes violent in nature, the dogs are trained to get their owners safely to the ground, stay by their side and summon help or retrieve a phone.

...

UCB Pharma, Inc., and Canine Assistants have entered into a multi-year partnership to sponsor seizure response dogs for epilepsy patients across the U.S. Under the sponsorship, UCB will provide support through Canine Assistants for the care, training and lifetime veterinary costs for all dogs given to epilepsy patients.

... Since 1991 Canine Assistants located in Alpharetta, Georgia has been providing assistance dogs at no cost to people with disabilities including epilepsy. The patients are selected based on their individual needs and the services the dogs can provide. For more information about Canine Assistants visit www.canineassistants.com.

Service dogs trained to help epilepsy patients

[Bernard]

The old saying goes, "a dog is man's best friend." That's nothing short of the truth for one East Alabama woman. Ginny DeGroff has epilepsy, and her rottweiler is trained in many ways to get help if she has a seizure.

"She can tell before I have a seizure. Don't ask me how they do it. She also tells me when to take my medicine. She can hold me down because grand mal seizures can be so violent that we can hurt another human," said DeGroff.

Wolfia also has a handicapped-enabled cell phone.

"If you hold any of the keys down for five seconds or longer, it's usually carried in this pouch right here, and she'll roll over on it, and it gives you a tone. After those five seconds, it'll call 911," DeGroff said.

Dog Protects Owner During Seizures

I added the bold emphasis to the line that has me just scratching my head in confusion.

... She says Wolfia understands Spanish, two Indian dialects, English, some German and sign language. ...

Wow.

[Birdbomb]

Most American Police dogs are trained commands in German as to keep the perp from confusing the dog.

Movie dogs are taught hand signals to preform on cue. I taught my dog tricks by hand signals. She barks on cue by opening and closing my fingers. If I point up, she flops on the ground, if I point down, she will roll over. She is a clever dog, nothing but a pound puppy, and quite easy to train.

But I don't think I would want her to "hold me down" when I had a seizure. Even if your dog worships the very ground you walk on, there is no way to controll your own actions during a seizure and animals will attack if they are hurt, even those that love you. You read all the time where owners are attacked, killed and/or eaten by the very animal they claim are harmless. Rotties are too damn big for the job. They are too territorial, and too unpredictable.

This article stinks to high heaven.

[mhamilt4]

When we took our lab to training, we were told to always use a hand signal along with the word. It has actually come in very handy since he's getting older now and can't hear as well as he used to. Not a bad idea for those "just in case" type senarios. The trainer used an example of one time when he was choking on a piece of cauliflower and he motioned for his dog to "speak" to get the attention of others in the house. Dogs are capable of more than we can imagine!

One time Jeff had two seizures about an hour apart, and right before the second one, our dog came up to him and laid his head in Jeff's lap and sighed heavily. We didn't know if he knew what was about to happen, but it got us wondering....

[Bernard]

The U.S. Department of Transportation is currently considering rules that will impact how these dogs and, subsequently, the disabled, travel on airlines.

...

The proposed rule says if a service animal does not fit under the seat in front of the customer, the airline may "offer the option of purchasing a second seat."

ED EAMES: It would put a financial burden on the disabled person, which would make air travel virtually impossible.

PAUL MOYER: Another DOT recommendation – traveling on a later flight.

ED EAMES: That takes an assumption that we don't have to make deadlines.

PAUL MOYER: Finally, and most offensive to the disabled, "having the service animal travel in the cargo hold."

ED EAMES: That defeats the notion of the independence that is being provided to us through working with an assistance dog.

PAUL MOYER: Some say this is the equivalent of asking an able bodied person to check their eyes or their legs with their baggage.

ED EAMES: It's punishing me for being disabled.

PAUL MOYER: It is of note that British Airways automatically blocks out a second seat, free of charge, for people traveling with assistance dogs in their economy cabin.

Assistance Dogs

Not sure where the right balance is on this one. There are many people who are allergic to dander/dog hair and forcing them to share a confined space with a dog for a period of time (especially on longer flights) might be hazardous to their health.

[ellgee]

A person who has an animal allergy does not have more rights than a person using a service animal. The person with the allergy or even a possible allergy can be moved to another seat on the plane. If they intend to charge a higher fee to those bringing a service animal on board, that is a clear violation of the ADA. It's discrimination of the person with a disability. Allergies are not covered under the ADA.

This is popping up because there is no national registry for service animals. A person can simply claim their pet is a service animal and demand special treatment because they are "disabled". One doens't have to prove their disability either, that's a violation of their privacy.

The answer is to have service dogs registered nationally, thus ensuring that service animals are properly trained to be in public places. Although, this is highly opposed to by folks who train their own service animals.

Here are a couple links which may be helpful

http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/rules/20011029.htm

http://www.tsa.gov/public/interapp/e...orial_1056.xml

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-...1999&TYPE=TEXT

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-...1999&TYPE=TEXT

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-...1999&TYPE=TEXT

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-...1999&TYPE=TEXT

[Birdbomb]

Thank you ellgee. I always like your information. Would you mind posting this on my site? As you know, we had a heated discussion about service dogs a while back and this will make things a bit clearer.

Sorry Bernard, but good information should be shared and there are wonderful articles here on your site. I hope you don't mind me asking you or your members to share their information at the VNS Message Board.

[ellgee]

I will gladly share this on your board BB!!

[Bernard]

Sorry Bernard, but good information should be shared and there are wonderful articles here on your site. I hope you don't mind me asking you or your members to share their information at the VNS Message Board. [/color]

Thanks and no problem BB.

[ellgee]

http://159.54.226.83/apps/pbcs.dll/a...602240304/1064

From the Statesman Journal

A pooch in a purse can't be classified as 'service animal'

CAROL MCALICE CURRIE


February 24, 2006

Folks who abhor fur in their food, rejoice! The Oregon Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Division is offering retailers, restaurateurs and Statesman Journal readers the information they need to stop people with pets from taking them inside eateries and grocery stores by disguising them as "service animals."

For far too long, some folks have been abusing the Americans with Disabilities Act. Specifically, they have been challenging store managers to know the difference between a service animal and a pet. These managers, fearing a discrimination lawsuit, have turned a blind eye to Chihuahuas in handbags.

This crowd harms the disabled community by sullying the reputation of true service animals brought into places such as Wal-Mart. They also threaten food sanitation.

Robert Clancy, who manages the Englewood East Apartments in Salem, was disgusted last week when he encountered what he believes were nothing more than pampered pets at the Lancaster Drive NE Wal-Mart.

What offended him more than the dog drool was the store's indifference to a mid-sized poodle in the produce section and a corgi in a cart.

"The third time, I specifically sought the floor manager and told her what I'd seen. All she said was 'Oh really,' and she made no attempt to do anything," Clancy said.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sharon Weber said all store employees are trained to follow ADA rules, but they can question an animal's service credentials if they suspect it's not authentic.

Clancy said that seeing three dogs in one week was two much for him, so he called the Marion County Health Department. He was distressed that no one there seemed interested, either. So he called the newspaper. My call to the health department also resulted in a referral, but this one brought me face to face with a helpful state employee who explained the growing problem.

Michael Govro, the food safety division's assistant administrator, said the trend of pets around public food probably stems from nebulous language in the ADA. He said public complaints to his department have been steadily rising.

Current Oregon administrative rules forbid animals in food establishments except for guide dogs for the blind and the deaf. In an effort to comply with the ADA, the state has drafted a new policy, which expands the definition of "guide dog" to "service animal."

This is where retailers are having to watch where they step. According to the ADA Web site, service animals are any animals that are individually trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities, such as guiding people who are blind or deaf, pulling wheelchairs, or alerting a person who is having a seizure. Service animals are not pets. Sitting in a purse does not constitute "service."

To their credit, store managers don't want to punish disabled folks, and they're forbidden by law to ask what a person's disability is. But they do have a right to ask what tasks the animal is trained for. If the owner can't answer from the following list, the store owner has the right to ask the owner to remove the pet.

The tasks are specifically manual, such as help with walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning or working for people with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of life's major activities. Being told by a pet owner that "he makes me calm" doesn't cut it.

Lawmakers need to close the gap and give true service animals licensed identification and retailers the right to politely ask for it. Think of this as a revenue-generating idea: Trained service animals would come licensed, and the fee would be part of their cost. That's the only way to protect groceries and restaurants for the rest of us.

ccurrie@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6746

[Birdbomb]

All my postings on Coping with Epilepsy are copyrighted, you cannot copy and paste them onto other message boards without my or Bernard's consent in writing.

I hope this doesn't offend anyone.

NOT me, I don't have a problem with abiding by the law.

[ellgee]

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stori...06022402.shtml

From The Oakland Press

Leader dogs may soon need a ticket to fly


Web-posted Feb 24, 2006


By JERRY WOLFFE
Of The Oakland Press

A proposed change in the Air Carrier Access Act might force disabled people to buy airline tickets for their guide and service animals when traveling by air in the United States and overseas.

"The current policy is that you go on the plane with your dog and the animal sits at the owner's feet," said Pat Paterno, manager of media relations at Leader Dogs for the Blind in Rochester Hills. "The Department of Transportation wants to permit airlines to charge for an extra seat or put the dogs in the cargo hold or have the disabled person and service animal wait for a less crowded flight."

Leader Dogs, founded in 1939, has had about 13,000 graduates. It pays for about 300 visually impaired and blind students each year to visit the facility and be trained to use guide dogs, which cost about $38,000 each. Lions Clubs and private donors often cover the cost of providing a guide dog for a blind person.

"This is going to negatively affect thousands of people," said Paterno.

Joan Froling of the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners estimated there are about 25,000 Americans working with assistance dogs.

The proposed changes in the Access Act were first made Nov. 4, 2004, when the DOT published a Notice of Proposed Rule Making in the Federal Register concerning air travel by passengers with disabilities. Already, rest rooms in airplanes are too small to be accessible to a wheelchair user, so doctors often tell disabled travelers to dehydrate themselves before flying.

"The stated goal was to clarify existing rules and make air travel more accessible for disabled Americans," IAADP said in a statement. "However, a segment of that document would have the opposite effect for a portion of the disabled American community."

Rod Haneline, chief operating officer of Leader Dogs, noted, "The airlines talked about this before, and now apparently the DOT has issued proposed rules to authorize airlines to charge a disabled passenger for an extra ticket if the disabled person's service dog doesn't fit into the small amount of floor space directly in front of where the disabled person is sitting on an airplane."

The alternative being proposed, Haneline said, is the team would be separated with the service dog going into the cargo hold or both waiting for a later flight where there might be room for the service animal and the disabled person to sit in the cabin.

"This is not fair," he continued. "The dog is your choice of a mobility tool. You're being discriminated against, in essence, because your choice of a mobility tool doesn't fit perfectly into their seat."

Friends and members of the IAADP have flooded the DOT Public Comment site with more than 1,150 responses critical of the proposed rule changes.

"The issue is crucial to our freedom to travel with a guide, hearing or service animal," Froling said. "We expect the final rules to take effect this summer."

She said DOT first said it was a safety issue and now the airlines say it's a financial burden because they can't charge for a second seat.

If this rule goes into effect, Froling said, "it will make travel unaffordable for many disabled Americans. It deprives us of the access rights we've had for over 30 years and there has never been a complaint from a passenger to DOT about assistance animals."

[ellgee]

http://www.iaadp.org/lassie.html


AADP
International Association of
Assistance Dog Partners

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What Every Caregiver Needs To Know About Service Dogs



by Joan Froling



IAADP has been frequently contacted over the years by parents and spouses seeking a service dog to assist them in watching over a disabled loved one with Alzheimer Disease, Downs Syndrome, Autism, TBI (traumatic brain injury), or some other serious cognitive impairment. They fear for the safety of the mentally disabled person. They want a dog trained to alert them if the cognitively impaired family member attempts to leave the house or the yard.

I view such requests with sympathy. It is exhausting to be constantly vigilant. I commend the person for leaving no stone unturned in the effort to keep a loved one safe. Then I level with them. As wonderful as service dogs can be, they are not the right kind of assistive technology for every disability and every situation.

While in theory it is possible to teach a service dog to perform a hearing dog type alert, responding to a bell jingling on a door or back yard gate when it is opened, it is wrong to put a dog in charge of a disabled person's safety. A dog is not capable of handling that kind of responsibility. The dog won't have the faintest idea that his failure to perform as desired could result in an injury to the disabled person or even a fatality. As trainers, we have no way to communicate to the dog the dangers posed by traffic, bullies or inclement weather to a mentally impaired patient. The best we can do is teach a dog that if he performs a certain behavior like barking or seeking out the caregiver in response to a certain stimulus like a bell, he can earn a treat and praise from a caregiver.

Unfortunately, earning a milkbone is not always the highest thing on a dog's priority list. If he is taking a nap or eliminating or watching a squirrel or chewing on a rawhide bone, he may be too preoccupied to respond as the family hopes for. Ill health, thunderstorms, anxiety over changes in the household routine or lack of practice are additional reasons why reliance on a service dog in this situation is akin to playing Russian Roulette.

I've been looking for alternative solutions for families in this predicament. I don't discount the therapeutic value of an assistance dog. I can appreciate the benefits of a facilitated partnership. But on a pragmatic basis, with regard to this particular safety issue, the caregiver needs to find something more dependable out there than a dog's desire to earn a treat.

I recently came across an innovative high tech device which seems quite promising. It is called an "Open Door Security Monitor." It is a wireless alarm system. Powered by batteries, the remote transmitters can be attached to doors, windows or gates without any tools being needed. One monitor can keep track of three transmitters. If anyone opens a door, window or gate to which a transmitter is attached, the small portable monitor emits an alarm and a light on the monitor changes from green to red to indicate which one of the exits have been breeched. A caregiver can keep the monitor in the kitchen while she is cooking or on the night stand when she goes to bed. The photo advertising it shows a partially open front door with a baby crawling out of the house, graphically illustrating the kind of situation in which this Open Door Security Monitor could be worth its weight in gold.

To obtain more information or place an order: see the Hammacher Schlemmer Catalog www.hammacher.com (800)543-3366 (1) #64698H $49.95 Monitor and One Transmitter. Note:...the monitor unit can display up to three transmitters on three different exits if you buy additional transmitters. (2) #65004H Additional Door Monitoring Transmitter $29.95

Another situation that keeps coming up is one in which a worried parent cannot be in the same room round the clock, seven days a week, watching over a family member with multiple disabilities or a disease with life threatening aspects. A number of mothers have called or written to IAADP seeking a service dog who can watch over a disabled child for a few hours in the afternoon while they do housework or at night while they sleep. The dog is expected to run and find her if the child has a seizure or respiratory crisis or some other serious medical emergency.

Expecting a dog to "go get help" without a command is commonplace after decades of exposure to fictional canine heroes like Lassie and Rin Tin Tin. I grew up in the 1950's watching Lassie and Rin Tin Tin save somebody in almost every television episode. It never occurred to me as a child that Hollywood scriptwriters might be distorting the way real dogs think and act. Today as dog trainer watching the re-runs, it is readily apparent Hollywood often endowed their canine protagonists with unusual reasoning powers and a fictional "rush to the rescue," instinct in the plots they cooked up. They probably regarded such embellishments as "harmless entertainment." Regrettably, the cumulative effect on the public is confusion about what can realistically be expected from a dog, especially one trained to be a service dog.

Misinterpretations of canine behavior compound the problem.

The first time a child has a seizure, a dog may run to "mom" for comfort because he is nervous about the strange behavior. The family assumes the dog came to alert them to the seizure as he is deeply concerned about the child's welfare. The dog's egocentric scaredy cat behavior could serve a useful purpose if it kept reoccurring. Typically, though, most dogs adapt rather quickly to new situations. Pretty soon, a seizure or some other kind of medical problem will become a "ho hum" event, just a normal part of everyday life in that household. The day will come when the dog no longer bothers to get up to nervously seek out reassurance from another family member.

While efforts to train a dog to respond to certain cues (symptoms) may be the game plan, you can't force a dog to medically monitor a patient and take action if certain symptoms occur. He may prefer to hang out with the caregiver or another family member rather than lying for hours next to somebody's bed, keeping vigil. Even dogs who bond closely with a bedridden child or adult can't be trusted to perform as we might wish they would. There will be days when that dog won't feel like interrupting his nap to go earn a cookie. He is not being "bad," or "stupid," he is just being a normal dog. He can't imagine the potentially tragic consequences of his failure to carry out the desired task.

For the sake of the disabled person's safety, I try to educate families that there are limits to what a service dog can reasonably be expected to do. No dog should ever be expected to function as a babysitter or respite caregiver.

Most families appreciate the honesty, for it spares them from going on a wild goose chase and it encourages them to explore alternative ways to improve the safety of a disabled loved one.

For a worried parent or spouse who can't spend all their time at a family member's bedside, catalogs like Sharper Image offer a wall mounted camera and a portable television monitor. The camera can transmit images of the sleeping child or adult to another room. This enhances the chances of detecting a seizure or some other medical emergency "in time." It allows a busy mom to cook dinner for the rest of the family without being tormented with anxiety about leaving the disabled person alone in a bedroom. The equipment which would allow her to keep a weather eye on a loved one costs about $150. Whether viewed as an alternative to a service dog or as a sensible "back up plan," I'm delighted to discover this kind of security surveillance equipment has now become an affordable option for families in need of it.

I think it also could offer service dog trainers a marvelous training aid, enabling them to monitor the dog's behavior in another room during a real or simulated crisis. It might even enhance the team training in some cases, allowing a trainer to analyze and pinpoint why the dog is not performing as desired when alone with his new partner. [ with the student's consent, of course] Additional coaching, specific to the disabled person's abilities and dog's temperament and the nature of the problem could be given to help the student overcome a service dog's resistance or confusion about a certain task.

IAADP's Information and Advocacy Center would like to compile a list of alternative or "back up" ideas for members of the public who seek to address serious safety issues with a service dog. If you someday come across an innovative idea, device or an actual service dog task which might help caregivers who are worried about the safety of disabled loved ones, please consider sharing it with IAADP.



---------------------------------------

[OnQSiberians]

That is a pretty slanted view by someone who is obviously not fond of dogs.... My dogs really love people,... they can FEEL it when someone is soon to have a seizure. Treats to not even come into play.

It is amazing to me to see it in action. They have to be bonded to the person. But when the seizure happens,.... and the dog knows just what to do,... and the person coming out of their seizure is actually smiling at a dog licking their face...... That is when you know the truth about how specail these animals are...

Do wild dogs and wolves get treats for saving and caring for human children?? .........
Angel

[ellgee]

Angel, I think you may have missed the point. There are many folks with unrealistic expectations for their service dogs.

Are you familiar with IAADP?

[Rocking4Epilepsy]

:wink: Wondering if the dog can swipe a VNS magnet?

[Bernard]

I saw where ellgee posted a link to this on another forum:

Despite the many sensational reports of this alleged phenomenon in newspapers and on television and radio, it is important to remember that to date, there is no scientific proof that animals can alert humans to seizures. Even if this ability is confirmed, it is not known that this apparent ability can be acquired through training and/or what kind of training is effective. Further, we advise against obtaining a dog solely due to a hope that the dog will forewarn seizures. Accordingly, there are no trainers we can recommend for this purpose.

Our own interviews of persons who believe their pets have this ability have led us to conclude the following: 1) Despite wide-spread publicity, relatively few persons report that their pets have this ability, 2) Approximately half who responded affirmatively have identified behaviors that are more likely assistance during a seizure as opposed to forewarning and 3) Some reports appear quite viable and warrant scientific research to confirm this ability.

Seizure Alert Dog Study

[Birdbomb]

[OnQSiberians]

Now that is one fine assistance dog..... where was that little guy when ppl were harassing me.

[Birdbomb]

Not quite about the seizure alert dog, more about the breed.

http://www.boston.com/business/artic..._in_dog_fight/

Pet owners, insurance firms in dog fight
Bill aims to stop breed 'profiling'
By Sacha Pfeiffer, Globe Staff | March 26, 2006

Mary Ellis, who has owned Siberian huskies for 25 years, was incensed when her insurer canceled its policy on her Bridgewater home even though, she said, she had never filed a claim and her dogs had never bitten anyone. Ellis was told by Commerce Insurance Company that her five huskies, a breed described by the American Kennel Club as ''friendly and gentle," made her a risky customer.

''No matter how you look at it, it's profiling and discrimination," said Ellis, who breeds and shows 12 huskies at her licensed home kennel, Mishnok Siberians. ''It lumps all huskies into one group along with other dogs that people may perceive as vicious . . . but the decision should fall on whether or not a person is a responsible owner, not on profiling a particular breed."

Now, Ellis and other dog owners nationwide are fighting back. A proposed law, backed by the Massachusetts Federation of Dog Clubs and Responsible Dog Owners, would make it illegal for insurance companies in the state to refuse homeowners coverage based on specific breeds of dogs, or from charging higher premiums to people who own certain breeds. Ten other states have pending legislation that would prohibit breed-specific policies, according to the American Kennel Club.

Dog owners routinely face rejection by insurance companies unwilling to underwrite homes with so-called aggressive breeds. The black list typically includes Akitas, American bulldogs, American Staffordshire terriers (also known as pit bulls), Chows, Doberman pinschers, German shepherds, and Rottweilers, but dog owners say insurers sometimes also shun boxers, collies, dalmatians, schnauzers, Siberian huskies, and other breeds not as commonly associated with aggression......