Simon king Discover Dogs 2021 London medical detection dog demonstration

A medical response dog is a

assistance dog In general, an assistance dog, known as a service dog in the United States, is a dog trained to aid or assist an individual with a disability. Many are trained by an assistance dog organization, or by their handler, often with the help of a prof ...

trained to assist an individual who has a medical disability. Typically, they are dogs whose job does not handle primarily

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

psychiatric Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psy ...

-based conditions, though some

seizure response dog A seizure response dog (SRD) (also known as seizure dog) is a dog demonstrating specific assisting behaviour during or immediately after a person's epileptic seizure or other seizure. When reliably trained such dogs can serve as service dogs fo ...

s or

psychiatric service dog A psychiatric assistance dog or psychiatric service dog is a sub-category of assistance dog trained to assist their handler with a psychiatric disability or a mental disability, such as Obsessive–compulsive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disord ...

s may also be referred to as medical response. Many medical response dogs "alert" their handlers to conditions before they occur. For example, diabetes alert dogs partnered with

diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased app ...

persons may be trained to detect when the handler's

blood sugar Glycaemia, also known as blood sugar level, blood sugar concentration, or blood glucose level is the measure of glucose concentrated in the blood of humans or other animals. Approximately 4 grams of glucose, a simple sugar, is present in the blo ...

becomes too high or low. In addition to or in the absence of this training, medical response dogs are also often trained skills to help in their handlers' symptoms, such as bringing

medication A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

s or a

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

, providing bracing and other mobility assistance, or any other number of tasks. Many medical response dogs may be trained by an organization or by their handler. Like all

s, they must be of a particular work-loving personality and be properly

socialized In sociology, socialization or socialisation (see spelling differences) is the process of internalizing the norms and ideologies of society. Socialization encompasses both learning and teaching and is thus "the means by which social and cultur ...

if expected to work in public. There are no

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

or size restrictions other than those directly related to the tasks needed. The allowed public accessibility of medical response dogs varies from region to region. In general, areas with laws protecting the usage of

guide dog Guide dogs (colloquially known in the US as seeing-eye dogs) are assistance dogs trained to lead blind or visually impaired people around obstacles. Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are red–green colour blin ...

s and other assistance dogs, such as in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, also cover medical response dogs as well. According to ADA law in the United States, medical response dogs are guaranteed access to any facility in which the public is allowed to enter. Owners and staff of establishments are not permitted to inquire about or request proof of an assistance dog handler's disability, require the handler to provide documentation regarding the dog's training, or ask that the dog perform tasks to prove the dog's ability. Laws concerning assistance dogs and air travel differ from ADA laws and are set by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The rules established in 2020 by the U.S. Department of Transportation allow airlines to require the submission of forms attesting to the dog's health, temperament, training, and ability to relieve itself in a sanitary manner

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