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Seizure-Alert Dogs |
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There exist two types of dogs
for people suffering from epilepsy:
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Seizure alert dogs:
Dogs that anticipate and warn (alert) their
owner about an upcoming epileptic seizure
approx. 15 60 minutes before the onset of the
seizure. In this way the person has time to find
a safe place and position, inform the family or
others and adopt other measures. Also, in some
cases it may be possible to minimize a seizure
if medicine is administered before or during the
earliest phase of a seizure. |
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Seizure response dogs:
Dogs that respond to the owner having a seizure,
e.g. by pressing an alarm button or fetching the
parents of a child.
These dogs can possibly but certainly not
necessarily learn to anticipate a seizure and
alert on beforehand. | | |
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Seizure alert dog, Nala with her owner: Nala is my
life-line nothing less.
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Nala is the first seizure-alert dog
in Denmark and is educated by Canix. |
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At Canix we believe that in order to constitute a
real help, the dog must be the first mentioned seizure alert
dog, but in some cases a seizure-response dog is optimal, e.g.
to alert parents when their child is having a seizure.
Having a seizure alert dog provides a fundamentally higher
safety, security and freedom of action in everyday life.
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Canix can help you to educate a seizure alert dog, even if
you live in a different country than we do - this was the
case with Nala.
If you already have a dog, it may be possible to reeducate it
for this purpose.
If you do not have a dog, we prefer to participate in the task
of selecting the optimal dog.
Whether the most adequate fit for you is an adult rescued
shelter dog or a puppy, will depend on your situation.
We cannot offer economical subventions that allow us to give
the dogs away even if we would very much like to, but if the
applicant is prepared to go through the process of applying
for grants, we will of course be happy to assist you during
the process.
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A number of publications with scientific foundation
substantiate the claims that:
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A seizure alert dog can reduce the number
of tonic-clonic seizures of up to 50 %.
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Quality of life was substantially higher
in families who owned a seizure alert dog compared to
families with no dog, with a non-responding dog and with a
seizure response dog.
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A dog who knows to anticipate seizures
should be properly and professionally trained to be a
seizure alert dog. This is both for the benefit of the owner
as well as of the dog.
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The ownership of a dog raises the health
and healthiness of the human being.
If you would like to read the mentioned
publications, you can contact us, and we will send them to
you.
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If you wish to learn more please contact us
including a short description of your situation and your needs
for a seizure alert dog.
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