Breed dogs for seizure alert and epilepsy response dogs? 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.
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Do I need a licence to advertise puppies?
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About seizure alert and epilepsy response dogs
A seizure alert dog warns a person with epilepsy that a seizure is coming, so they can get somewhere safe and private before it starts. In the UK these dogs come through a specialist charity programme, not through breeders or dog sellers.
What this work involves
A seizure alert dog in the UK is trained to give a consistent, recognisable alert when it senses a seizure approaching. Support Dogs, the charity that trains them, says its dogs are trained to give a 100% reliable warning up to an hour before a seizure. That window lets the person sit or lie down, move away from stairs, roads or water, and find a place of safety and privacy.
The term “seizure response dog” is also used for a dog trained to act during or after a seizure, such as staying close or fetching help. The UK programme described here is built around the advance alert.
The work suits a dog that bonds closely with one person and is relaxed in public.
Who trains and supplies these dogs in the UK
Support Dogs (registered charity 1088281), based in Sheffield and established in 1992, states that it is the only organisation in the UK to provide and train seizure alert dogs. It works across England, Scotland and Wales and provides its services free of charge. The charity receives no government funding and relies on voluntary donations and fundraising. Anyone searching for “support dogs epilepsy” is usually looking for this programme.
Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK) is the umbrella body for accredited assistance dog organisations; its members are accredited by Assistance Dogs International and/or the International Guide Dog Federation. Support Dogs is one of its founder members, and ADUK membership is a useful check when comparing providers.
The supply model is charity-led. Support Dogs says one in four of its support dogs join its training from rescue centres, council pounds or homes whose owners can no longer care for them, and it does not train applicants’ own pet dogs. A breeder cannot sell a seizure alert dog; a breeder with a well-socialised young dog to rehome who wants it considered should ask the charity directly.
Medical Detection Dogs, another ADUK member, does not accept applicants whose sole reason for applying is epilepsy. It does consider non-epileptic attack disorder and functional neurological disorder, subject to individual assessment, so the diagnosis matters when choosing where to apply.
Breeds and lines
Support Dogs’ seizure alert pages do not name particular breeds, and because a quarter of its dogs come from rescue or rehoming, pedigree is not a requirement; temperament and aptitude decide. In UK medical alert work more widely, Medical Detection Dogs says most of its dogs are Labradors, spaniels or crosses of these, so breeders of the Retriever (Labrador), the Retriever (Golden) and the Spaniel (Cocker) are the most likely to have lines of interest.
Lines suited to assistance work are usually steadier than hard-driving field lines. What matters is a people-focused dog that settles quietly under a café table, recovers quickly from surprises and is comfortable with handling.
What to ask a breeder
- Have any dogs from your lines gone into assistance work, and with which charity?
- How do the parents behave at home: settled, people-focused and tolerant of noise and handling?
- Which health tests have the parents had? For Golden Retrievers, the Royal Kennel Club recommends the BVA/RKC hip and elbow schemes, the eye scheme and DNA tests for PRA.
- How is the litter socialised to busy public places, wheelchairs and walking aids?
- If a young dog from your kennel needs rehoming, would you offer it to an assistance dog charity for assessment?
Legal and welfare notes
A trained seizure alert dog is an assistance dog, and the Equality Act 2010 requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. The Act’s definition of an assistance dog, used for its taxi and private hire duties, expressly includes a dog trained by a prescribed charity to assist a disabled person whose disability consists of epilepsy. The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s guidance for businesses names epilepsy among the conditions assistance dogs help with and confirms that no harness, jacket or ID book is legally required. The dog is a working partner that still needs rest, exercise and time off duty, and ADUK members work to welfare as well as training standards.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy a seizure alert dog?
No. Support Dogs provides seizure alert dogs free of charge through its own programme and does not train applicants’ own pet dogs. Breeders do not sell trained epilepsy dogs.
Who can apply?
Support Dogs accepts applications from age 15, but applicants must be at least 16 before full-time training begins. Its FAQs ask for a confirmed diagnosis of epilepsy and at least 10 major seizures a month (tonic-clonic, atonic or complex partial, not counting nocturnal seizures), and it works across England, Scotland and Wales. Check its information pack for the current criteria.
How much warning does a seizure alert dog give?
Support Dogs says its trained dogs alert up to an hour before a seizure.
Breeders whose Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Cocker Spaniels or crosses have gone on to assistance work, or whose lines show the calm, people-focused aptitude these programmes look for, are welcome to list on Canine Breeder so that charities and families can find well-bred, well-socialised litters.