Training Information

At our inception, we at the Canine Seizure Assist Society of North Carolina felt it may be better for the alerting success of a seizure assist dog not to train the dogs in a facility. It is our practice to assist the client in choosing a puppy or dog for this type of work. The dog immediately goes home with the human for whom he/she will work. We feel that this allows the animal/human bonding process to begin immediately and allows the client to better understand what their dog is trying to tell them. If we receive a call from a person with epilepsy who feels their pet dog is alerting before the onset of a seizure, we will evaluate that dog and assist in training for service.

After the dog has lived with the client for a couple of weeks, our trainer goes to the client’s home to train the dog. The client is involved in everything that is done with their dog. We have had clients say that working with their puppy “gives them a purpose – a reason to get out of bed”.

It makes it difficult to assist in training dogs when the person lives too far for us to drive. We have, however, worked with people in all parts of the United States and as far away as New Zealand trying to provide advice in how we train these dogs. We are happy to send as much information as we have to a trainer who has been asked to train a dog for a person with epilepsy.

We are nearing completion of a “Trainer’s Manual” and also a book that will be available in book stores covering everything we do with seizure assist dogs from helping a person decide if a service dog is what they really want through training and all information we have up until the dog is ready for retirement.

To obtain training information, contact us at 704-663-1427.

CSAS Application Process

If you would like to apply for our help in choosing and training a seizure assist dog, please either telephone us at 704-663-1427 or send an e-mail to csasnc@att.net. We will mail an application to you. Upon receipt of your returned application, we will schedule a time to come to your home and interview you.

We do require that a statement from your physician stating that you do have a seizure disorder and that you working with your dog will in no way impair the physician’s treatment be sent with your application. After the interview, the decision will be made as to whether or not we will be able to assist you. Please be aware that we have often been requested to train a dog to break a person’s fall during a seizure. We will NOT train a dog to do anything that will likely injure the dog.