Dogs who can predict siezures

[Blessed]

Has anyone heard anything about this? Go to www.epilepsy.com/articles/ar_1175011911.html
Maybe someone who has better computer skills than me can upload it for us! Thanks.

[Bernard]

They can't predict seizures. They can sense and respond to them though.

seizure response dogs

[BIGMAN131307]

Yeah, I heard about it. Don't get to excited about it. Most of it is just hyped up talk. Yes dogs can help assist people with seizures. But it is rare that the dogs will predict the actual seizures. What really is happening, is the same thing that happens when anyone bonds with a dog. The dog gets accustomed to the persons daily life and activities. If something is wrong with the person the dog can sense the problem. Hence "seizure predicting" dog. It's just some dogs are more sensitive to their owners than others. If I had the space/$, I'd probably get a assist dog.
*************

What we really have to watch out for is "Oscar: The Death Cat" !!

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRe...icleid=1013472
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/25/dea....ap/index.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/...n3097899.shtml

[Bernard]

[brain]

I posted this last year I believe or early this year in
EFA forum and NeuroTalk in regards to seizure response
dogs.

I had a Hearing Guide Dog (I'm deaf), and she was NOT
trained to be a seizure response dog at all, but she
somehow knew when a seizure was going to occur
before anyone did, even before I did. She would
get me down on the couch, on the chair, on the
floor, or even on my bed if possible.

And if I had a seizure, she stayed with me and would
not permit anyone near me (unless family member)
otherwise she will growl and snip, which nearly cost
her privilege and license as a Hearing Guide Dog;
but further evaluation made her extra special as she
went the extra mile and never was trained for it.

An AKC Siberian, a reject, donated by a breeder,
unwanted and undesired. Unfortunately her lifespan
was very short and they took her away and due to the
contract, we never had the opportunity to even
say "good bye to Star". She passed away.

My son and I sorely miss her. She almost was never
even trained to be a "guide dog" as she was considered
'too old' by their standards, but she was determined
and devoted. Once we met; it was like we were 'made
for each other'. There was no need for 'bonding', it
was instant.

[Stacy]

Bernie tells me I have a certain air about me. It's usually also right before or right after "that time" of the month.
Stace

[Birdbomb]

[hand over mouth, hiding smarmy grin, and bitting tongue]

[Bernard]

I am very tuned in to Stacy's seizures. I'm sure there are a lot of subtle changes in her behavior, posture, voice, etc. that I don't notice consciously, but I think it's possible for people and animals to sense when someone is not in a normal state.

BB -> mind out of the gutter please...

[brain]

Bernie tells me I have a certain air about me. It's usually also right before or right after "that time" of the month.
Stace

Stace - my ex husband sensed the same way
with me, except my Neuros back then did not
understand "women's issues". And my poor
hubby couldn't explain it, he just knew, but
just couldn't put it in words. So the neurologist
back then said it was 'psychological'. (Yeah,
like I enjoyed seizing? I'd love to put him in
my shoes and make HIM go through it.)

Ever since my former epileptologist's Nurse instructed me
to keep a log, I've been doing it, and she's right.
(Last year)

It's not that I'm having "new" seizures, I'm going
through change of life (I had been) - my hormones
have been whacky. And with this extensive lab
work that the epileptologist ordered up finding all these
birth defects and genetic problems just adds to
insult.

It's like my seizure mode had "moved to a new
location" - same type of seizures but effecting
in a different formation. I wouldn't exactly say
"new and improved seizures" like a television
commercial would say, but it is causing some
problems.

But like I tell them I do not have seizures all the
time, I get them sporadically, however, I am very
seizure prone for some weird reason in the Fall and
Winter - and I've been told it was "holiday stress",
but it's not Holiday Stress, because I still have it
long after the Holidays are over, but once the days
begin to become longer, I don't get them much or
hardly any.

So overall, I get more in the Fall/Winter than I do in
the Sping/Summer - and it can be really frustrating.

PS: BIRDY - Bernard's right - get your mind out
of the gutter girl!

[OnQSiberians]

I posted this last year I believe or early this year in
EFA forum and NeuroTalk in regards to seizure response
dogs.

I had a Hearing Guide Dog (I'm deaf), and she was NOT
trained to be a seizure response dog at all, but she
somehow knew when a seizure was going to occur
before anyone did, even before I did. She would
get me down on the couch, on the chair, on the
floor, or even on my bed if possible.

And if I had a seizure, she stayed with me and would
not permit anyone near me (unless family member)
otherwise she will growl and snip, which nearly cost
her privilege and license as a Hearing Guide Dog;
but further evaluation made her extra special as she
went the extra mile and never was trained for it.

An AKC Siberian, a reject, donated by a breeder,
unwanted and undesired. Unfortunately her lifespan
was very short and they took her away and due to the
contract, we never had the opportunity to even
say "good bye to Star". She passed away.

My son and I sorely miss her. She almost was never
even trained to be a "guide dog" as she was considered
'too old' by their standards, but she was determined
and devoted. Once we met; it was like we were 'made
for each other'. There was no need for 'bonding', it
was instant.

Sorry to hear of your loss!! I don't understand why they took her though?

[Stacy]

I have one response to your line Birdbomb, .... the smarmy grin, etc. "EEEEWWWWW."

Brain... I get my sets of seizures starting in November. Last year it started November 10th, which ruined my son's birthday and upset my Mother in Law... I was inconsiderate enough to have the seizures on my son's birthday so she couldn't make his cake! geeze. The year before that, I spent Thanksgiving week in the hospital, which was also an inconvienence for everyone else. I didn't notice however, as I barely even knew who I was. Long story.

Love, Stace

[Birdbomb]

My bad

[brain]

Sorry to hear of your loss!! I don't understand why they took her though?

Thank you.

Under this Organization (which is now long defunct),
they had a strict regulation, agreement, and contract.
While I had a sponsor (so she didn't cost me a dime),
however, most Guide Dogs take several months of
Owner & Dog training time; but since I was already
a K-9 Trainer so this put me 'ahead' of the game plan,
and the process was extremely fast (most people are
'new' to this, but I already knew, all I needed to know
was what to do and was required of me and a
partner (like my son or husband or friend) to do in
training). The only difference was - I could not train
the dog to "attack".

It was only 3 weeks when we had her mastered and
in full compliance, and the Director found it difficult
to believe. She and her Associate had to come out
and see for themselves. They informed me they were
to arrive in the afternoon (but they lied on purpose,
as they wanted to see the dog working), and they
actually arrived very early in the morning, and not
only did the dog work so quickly and it was timed,
they were not prepared for this quick response.

They did further tests, and the dog was superior. In
addition, I had stated to them we even worked with
her in the store with the Manager's permission. And
they got upset (she was not yet certified or granted
permission), but I had the permission I reminded them.
So we headed to the store - a BIG grocery store.
And they monitored her there.

Her Associate tortured her, plowing the cart over
her on purpose, dropping can on her, stepping on
her tail, kicking her, things that people REALLY DO
to the Guide Dogs. Then they had us walking to
"temptation alley" (Meat Department). The Director
asked the manager for some pieces of ground meat,
a bone, fish, and had the butcher give it to the dog.
And the dog ignored it. Then the Director told the
butcher to force it to her muzzle, and the dog turned
her head to my leg as she was supposed to.

Then an appointment was set up for the next month
(required 2 months before "certification"), only that
they gave me 3 possible days that they would stop
by, only they won't tell me what day it would be
nor the time.

The 2nd month, they used the BACK DOOR to knock
instead of the front, and they did things differently,
and she passed them all, and this time, went to a
different store, and she was temporarily licensed.
(meaning Card ID Trainee Only - No Collar or Leash)

And we went to a different Grocery Store that she
had never been to before. They had set this one up
with the Manager there. So we went in, and same
procedures as it was, and she flew with flying colors.

The 3rd and Final - the Certification - she graduated
and obtained her collar, leash, Card ID with my Photo
ID.

Then the seizure issues came, which brought out
some issues with the Emergency Personnel. They
were unable to treat me, as she was extremely
protective of me and would not allow anyone near
me (saving my own family members) when I had
a seizure and through the seizures. HOW she know
one was coming before I did, I don't know. But
she stayed there, by my side. If a stranger got
close, she will snarl, snip, and snap, and ready
to defend. She was never trained for this. No one
trained her for this.

But, I nearly lost her because of this. However,
I noticed she was struggling to get up and her
stomach area did not feel right, and took her
to the Vet to have her checked, and bad news:
Cancer - all over, Hip Problems, all kinds of issues.

And because of the contract, we could not keep her
as a "family pet", they had to take her away. Her
lifespan was cut very short - just as posted. We
never got a chance to say "Good bye Star", a man
came out to pick her up and take her away.

We were never informed when they were coming to
pick her up, they just sent the man out to pick her
up. We didn't even get a chance to spend a last
"day" together - "WORK-FREE". And it bothered
all of us.

[brain]

My bad

How nice - we have our own Spanking
Tunnel System!

Thank you Bernard! Didn't know this
VB came with this!

[brain]

I have one response to your line Birdbomb, .... the smarmy grin, etc. "EEEEWWWWW."

Brain... I get my sets of seizures starting in November. Last year it started November 10th, which ruined my son's birthday and upset my Mother in Law... I was inconsiderate enough to have the seizures on my son's birthday so she couldn't make his cake! geeze. The year before that, I spent Thanksgiving week in the hospital, which was also an inconvienence for everyone else. I didn't notice however, as I barely even knew who I was. Long story.

Love, Stace

STACE:

I had it BOOKMARKED - and I lost it when my
computer crashed, but I can't remember if it
was published in PubMed, Blackwell Synergy,
or somewhere ...

If I can recollect - it went something like this:

MAJORITY OF THE EPILEPTIC SEIZURES happens
during the FALL/WINTER MONTHS than any
other time of the year according to a report in
FRANCE or ITALY or GERMANY.
I forget what year that publication / journal was
and there were at least 12-15 Medical Doctors,
Neurologists, Universities, and Neuroscientists
to confirm and back it up and it was based on
a study of 950 patients an equal share of men
and women.

In addition, it was interesting to note that they
also specified that there were also noted increased
generalised (generalized) seizures during that time
frame than during the Spring / Summer time. And
It appears that Sun / day exposure length does
have effect on epilepsies. And they provided a
chart of overall seizures and the specifics.

In addition - they also provided additional info
pertaining women, which I found it to be very
interesting. Women who experience seizures
around menses, are stronger during Fall and
Winter months and are more prone to experience
more violent seizures and become emotional
unstable than Spring / Summer months. The
shorter the days (sunlight) the higher the risk
it is for women with epilepsies. I believe it also
stated that women with epilepsies who were
pregnant in 1st trimester during this time phase
were at an extreme high risk for miscarriages.

I know for a fact - there was no PDF file
available, and it was all TEXT. I've been trying
to relocate it. A Professor gave it (link)
to me last year and he's deceased, and I just
cannot remember the title, nor recollect any
of the author's names, or anything.

But I can tell you it was at least 36-40 pages
long and written in BRITISH, I was going to
print it all out (printer broke), now I have my old
Win 95 printer hooked up to this XP (I have re-
built this XP to a Heniz 57 so it's an XP, ME, 98,
95 - OS System - *grins* took me 2 weeks to
do it) and I want to print it out, because that
publication is FREE!

If I ever find it - I PROMISE TO POST IT!