Breed dogs for allergen detection dogs for severe allergies? Advertise here
Buyers and trainers use this page to find breeders whose lines do this work. List your kennel free, tick the industries your dogs work in, and advertise litters and stud dogs from proven working lines.
No breeders are listed here yet, so the first profiles get the page to themselves.
- Free basic profile: your breeder or company name, website, social media, location, breeds and industries.
- Litters and stud dogs advertised in their own sections, never mixed with puppies for sale.
- Premium showcase for your services and prices, previous customers, awards, video, gallery and health certificates, with your phone and email shown to buyers.
- Sponsored articles about your breed or industry, written and published by our team.
- Featured placement at the top of this page, labelled as sponsored.
Is it free to advertise here?
Yes. A breeder profile and your litter and stud dog adverts are free. Premium profiles, featured placement and sponsored articles are optional paid extras; see pricing.
Do I need a licence to advertise puppies?
In England you need a dog breeding licence from your council if you breed three or more litters in 12 months or breed and sell dogs as a business, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes. Licensed breeders show their licence number and issuing council on every advert. Puppies must be at least eight weeks old before they go to new homes.
Is my listing already here?
We add licensed breeders from councils' public registers. Search for your kennel name; if it is listed you can claim it and edit everything.
About allergen detection dogs for severe allergies
An allergen detection dog helps a person with a severe allergy by finding traces of the substance that could trigger a reaction, or by warning them that a reaction is starting. In the UK, Medical Detection Dogs trains these dogs within its medical alert assistance dog programme, and places are very limited. Breeders do not supply trained dogs, but the right lines can supply the puppies such programmes start with.
What this work involves
Medical Detection Dogs describes two ways a dog can help. A nut detection dog is trained as an environmental search dog: it searches an area such as a room, a table or a seat for a specific substance, such as nuts for someone with a severe nut allergy, and indicates what it finds so the person can avoid it. For people allergic to several substances, a dog can instead be trained to give an early alert to an oncoming reaction, giving time to take treatment. The charity says it has trained a small number of dogs each way.
Search work is methodical. A peanut alert dog has to check tables, chairs and surfaces quickly and politely in cafés, shops and friends’ homes, ignore dropped food and give a clear, calm indication. The charity notes that the search is done in the local area before a journey starts, not while travelling in a car. The job needs real search drive, a gentle nature and the steadiness to work in public for years.
Who trains and supplies these dogs in the UK
Medical Detection Dogs (registered charity 1124533, and SC044434 in Scotland), based near Milton Keynes, is a full member of Assistance Dogs UK. It offers both charity-owned dogs and applicant-owned places, where a person’s own young dog is trained to the same standard.
Its published criteria, updated in June 2026, say applicants must:
- be aged 18 to 75 (it cannot currently train allergen detection dogs for anyone under 18);
- have a severe touch- or odour-based allergy, or a mast cell disorder, that still needs regular adrenaline;
- have needed adrenaline in the last 12 months and have tried all appropriate NHS treatment.
Allergies triggered only by eating are not eligible. The charity says capacity for environmental search training is very limited, so at times it cannot take new applications.
The supply model is charity training from selected sources. Medical Detection Dogs takes puppies from reputable breeders after researching lines, health checks and personality tests, keeps a small breeding scheme, occasionally exchanges puppies with other assistance dog organisations and takes some dogs from rescue centres. It raises and trains them; breeders supply puppies, not a trained allergen alert dog.
Breeds and lines
Medical Detection Dogs says most of its dogs are Labradors, spaniels or crosses of these, and that short-nosed breeds are generally unsuitable for odour work. That points mainly to the Retriever (Labrador), the Retriever (Golden), the Spaniel (Cocker) and Labrador crosses.
Search work favours lines with a keen, persistent nose and good self-control around food. The best candidates want to hunt but can be taught to indicate rather than grab, and are calm and friendly with strangers.
What to ask a breeder
- Have any dogs from your lines gone into assistance or detection work, and with whom?
- What health tests have the parents had? For Cocker Spaniels, the Royal Kennel Club recommends DNA tests for prcd-PRA and acral mutilation syndrome, among others.
- How do the parents behave around food on low tables and dropped food?
- Do the puppies show early interest in finding hidden toys or treats?
- How is the litter socialised to cafés, public transport and busy shops?
- Will you take a puppy back if it is not suitable for assistance work?
Legal and welfare notes
A trained allergen detection dog is a medical alert assistance dog, and the Equality Act 2010 requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people who use assistance dogs. The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s guidance for businesses treats assistance dogs as auxiliary aids and says no ID book or jacket is legally required. The dog supplements, and never replaces, adrenaline auto-injectors, reading food labels and the care plan agreed with an allergy specialist; Medical Detection Dogs states that a dog does not replace continued careful management of the condition.
Frequently asked questions
Can my child have a nut detection dog?
Not currently through Medical Detection Dogs, which cannot train allergen detection dogs for anyone under 18.
Is an allergen alert dog 100% accurate?
No dog is infallible. The dog is one extra check, alongside label reading, asking about ingredients and always carrying prescribed adrenaline.
Can I buy a trained allergy detection dog in the UK?
Breeders do not sell trained allergy detection dogs. Medical Detection Dogs trains them through its own programme; if another provider offers one, ask whether it is a member of Assistance Dogs UK, whose members are accredited by Assistance Dogs International or the International Guide Dog Federation.
If your Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Cocker Spaniels or Labrador crosses have a strong, steady nose and a gentle temperament, or your puppies have gone into assistance programmes, list your kennel on Canine Breeder so charities and owners can find you.