Temporary Accommodation Pet Procedure

Appendix 1 - Training and maintaining medical alert dogs

Dogs are currently used in a variety of roles to support people with disability and other potentially life limiting conditions. 

Much pioneering work is underway to train and deploy bio-detection dogs as well as a pilot which is underway to assess the suitability of medical alert dogs for use with people with dementia.  It is hoped dogs can be used to detect COVID-19.

All service or support dogs are working animals and are carefully selected and trained for a specific purpose.

There are stringent procedures and processes in place to ensure that a placement is appropriate and will be successful.

It is never the case that a charity will just hand over a dog for the owner to train for their own needs.

There are few recognised organisations that provide medical assistance dogs.

The average cost of training and placing a Medical Detection Dog is £29,000.

Medical Detection Dogs UK

In the UK there are just 80 medical assistance dogs provided by Medical Detection Dogs UK. 

There is an 18 month waiting list for the supply of a dog, no dog is provided without an interview and assessment with the applicant. There is also the requirement to attend an Applicant Awareness Day.  Every dog given over as a medical detection dog is registered and accredited and has its own ADUK passport. 

MDDUK will not use breeds that are recognised as herding, guarding or fighting types. 

This excludes German Shepherds, Rottweilers, and bull terriers.  Currently medical detection dogs as supplied by MDDUK are trained to detect the following:

  • type 1 diabetes
  • nut allergies
  • POTS
  • Addison’s disease

The criteria for eligibility:

  • Medical condition – must be diagnosed with a long term medical condition for one year or longer (see list above)
  • The medical condition must be unstable and potentially life threatening with little or no sign or symptom of an impending episode.
  • Commitment and availability – owners/handlers must be available to travel to Milton Keynes for regular training and assessment.  Must be available for regular home visits for ongoing training and assessment for the duration of the relationship between dog and handler.  Home visits and assessments are subject of records which are to be kept by the handler and assessor.
  • A medical detection dog will not be placed in a household with other pets unless or until an assessment has been made as to the suitability of the other pet.
  • In the case of diabetes the handler must commit to regular glucose testing 6 times a day.
  •  A handler will keep the dog with them at all times and the dog will wear the Medical Detection Dog UK coat out in public.
  • The handler must submit alerting records to their instructor weekly.
  •  Care for the dog – a dog will not be placed in a household where the handler or other members of the family smokes.
  • The welfare of the animal is paramount and MDDUK and each dog will be registered with a local vet and subject to regular checks to ensure that it is still fit for work.  Handlers are assessed to ensure they can provide a stable environment for the dog and provide adequate exercise.
  • Who is not eligible – people whose sole reason for applying includes epilepsy, autism, dementia or mental health issues may not be considered.

Support Dogs UK

Support Dogs UK is a national charity that provides dogs in support of people afflicted by autism, epilepsy and other disabilities. 

Like Medical Detection Dogs UK, Support Dogs UK is an organisation accredited by ADUK (Assistance Dogs UK) which provides the kite mark of excellence in assistance dog training. 

As such SDUK have the same application process where applicants are expected to apply and then attend an awareness day in Sheffield.

  • Assessment of eligibility – applicants are asked whether they have at least 10 major seizures a month?
  • Does the applicant have six months of seizure records/diary?
  • Are there other pets in the household?
  • Does the applicant have a confirmed diagnosis of epilepsy?
  • Sourcing of dogs – SDUK do source dogs from rehoming centres. Neither SDUK or MDDUK permit dogs being kept in kennels.  Dogs provided as a support dog will still be subject to regular vet checks and ongoing training and assessment.