Epilepsy Service Dog: What You Need To Know

Epilepsy is a condition that impacts millions of people around the world. It’s a seizure disorder that results in recurring seizures, and it tends to be a chronic, lifelong condition. While epilepsy is usually treated with medication and by avoiding triggers, service dogs can also help with the disability.

In fact, there are a lot of ways that a service dog for epilepsy can help, ranging from helping people avoid triggers to finding help when someone is having a seizure. In this article, we take you through how an epilepsy service dog can help.

What Is an Epilepsy Service Dog?

A service dog is a dog that’s trained to assist someone who has a physical or mental disability. In the case of a service dog for epilepsy, the service dog is trained to respond to someone’s specific triggers and seizure patterns.

While service dogs are great companions, they’re not the same thing as having a pet dog. This is because they require specialized training, especially for conditions like epilepsy that require dogs to learn more about their handler’s specific triggers and seizures.

For this reason, most epilepsy service dogs go through a rigorous training period from a young age that involves the person who has the condition.

How Epilepsy Service Dogs Can Help

Epilepsy service dogs can help with epilepsy in a handful of ways. For example, they can find help when their handler is having a seizure or even apply deep pressure therapy (DPT) to reduce seizure symptoms. Learn more about how epilepsy service dogs can help below.

1. Early Seizure Detection 

One of the best things that an epilepsy service dog can do is detect seizures early. This is because they’re trained to detect the signs of a seizure early. For example, some service dogs can detect changes in someone’s body odor or even notice when their behavior changes.

By understanding that a seizure is going to happen before it actually does, service dogs can alert their handler, fetch medication, or even get them somewhere safe. Furthermore, service dogs for epilepsy can even find help from other people or call for help. By detecting seizures early, service dogs can minimize the risk of injury.

2. Seizure Support

Early seizure detection is only part of the problem. During a seizure, someone is vulnerable and can get injured, especially if they fall or roll into something. Thankfully, service dogs for epilepsy can provide seizure support. Essentially, they can function as a barrier to prevent someone from rolling into something and hurting themselves. What’s more, epilepsy service dogs can catch someone if they’re falling or give them a safe place to land.

During the seizure, epilepsy service dogs can also calm people down and speed up the process by pressing against them. This is known as deep pressure therapy (DPT), and it can alleviate symptoms faster. During a seizure, service dogs can also keep them safe from others, fetch medications, or even find more help.

3. Seizure Recovery

Recovering from a seizure also isn’t easy. This is because medication may be necessary and the experience is generally uncomfortable. The good news is that a service dog for epilepsy can fetch medications, keep you comfortable, and ensure that you have access to additional care if you need it.

This makes recovering from a seizure faster, especially if you’re out in public. At the end of the day, having a canine companion you can trust always makes recovery easier, even if you’re still shaken up.

4. Improved Quality of Life

Last but not least, having a service dog for epilepsy can improve your quality of life. This is because epilepsy can cause anxiety and reduce your freedom if you want to go out in public or have to be away from your home for long periods.

Having an epilepsy service dog gives you this freedom back by giving you your confidence back, especially if you have to go out in public. What’s more, having less anxiety about a seizure can sometimes reduce the risk of having one. Overall, having a service dog for epilepsy can encourage you to get back to enjoying life without the constant fear of being left powerless during a seizure.

Adopt an Epilepsy Service Dog Today 

Epilepsy is among the many disabilities that qualify for a service dog; you can read about others here. Adopting one can help with symptoms, shorten the duration of seizures, and much more. While medication is effective, epilepsy service dogs can add another layer of treatment and protection to ensure that people who struggle with epilepsy live a long and comfortable life.

Consult with your care team to determine if a service dog for epilepsy is right for your situation.