Hi /an/! Anyone here have experience with medical alert dogs? I really want to get a puppy and train it to alert me of impending migraines, (Which have become debilitating over the past few years) but since I live in an apartment and probably will for the next 10 years, I need a small dog, preferably 30 pounds or less. I'd also like for it to be able to do /out stuff with me like hiking, etc.
Any breed suggestions? It seems like most medical alert dogs or service dogs are the size of golden retrievers or larger.
>>2015236
Don't those have to be specially trained? It's also scent based so I think it needs to be specific types of dogs.
>>2015262
Yeah, they go through the same training as diabetic shock alert dogs. I've heard of all kinds of dogs being able to detect whatever "migraine scent" is, so I guess I'm looking for trainability.
Toy Poodles are by far the smartest of the small breed dogs.
The Guinness World Record category of "Most Tricks Performed By a Dog" was created for a toy poodle named Chanda-Leah who learned to respond to over one thousand hand and verbal commands.
Any toy poodle should be able to learn to alert you for migraines.
>>2015236
How would a dog be able to predict migraines?
What good would that do?
>>2015309
>What good would that do?
Migraines make it pretty much impossible to be around loud noises or bright lights. They can also make you very dizzy or nauseated. If you knew in advance you could go somewhere quiet and dark and lie down until it passed. Or, if you have medication to prevent it, you can take that before it happens.
getting a dog trained like that would make them a service dog, and an apartment can't bitch at you about a service dog, regardless of size
Are you going to name your puppy Aura?
>>2015345
That doesn't mean it's a good idea to keep a large dog in an apartment.
>>2015334
I get migraines with aura. I may be walking around doing whatever, and then suddenly lose my vision, or completely lose sensation in half of my body. It becomes hard to move my fingers, or even walk for that matter. During a really bad one, I'll lose the ability to string words together.
Migraine alert dogs are able to tell something is up 30 minutes to an hour before symptoms start. Then you can take your medicine and avoid getting it in the first place, or at least get somewhere safe.
Mostly I want one for long car rides, so that I can get somewhere safe before, for example, suddenly going blind while driving down the interstate at 70 mph.
>>2015351
That would be such a cute idea!
>>2015301
I had no idea they were so smart! I guess all the toy poodles I've met were just trained badly. It seems like there are a lot of breeders who breed them specifically as medical alert dogs too.
