Do you have any food allergies? Are you sensitive toward certain ingredients? Your dog may be able to help!
Food allergies occur when the immune system wrongly perceives certain foods as threats, causing an allergic reaction. Common food allergens include peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish, which are responsible for most allergic reactions. Symptoms can vary from mild, like hives or stomach upset, to severe cases like anaphylaxis, which is life-threatening and demands urgent medical care.
Allergy detection dogs are trained to inspect food for possible allergens and alert their owners to avoid food allergy reactions. Humans have 6 million olfactory receptors in our noses, while dogs have up to 300 million in theirs; these receptors detect microscopic scent particles. In addition, the part of a dog's brain devoted to analysing odours is about 40 times greater than that of a human. This means that a dog’s sense of smell is about 10,000 to 100,000 times more powerful than a human’s!
With their powerful sense of smell, any breed of dog can become an allergy detection dog with proper training. The development process involves 3 main phases: detection, discrimination, and interpretation. First, we teach the dog to detect the specific odour of an allergen, such as peanuts or gluten, and pair the odour with a reward. Followed by teaching the dog to discriminate between different odours including target odour (the allergen) and non-targets (any other allergens that the human is not allergic to). Lastly, ensure the dog has a clear interpretation of the odour by randomizing the odour concentration and variants.
A well-trained allergy detection dog requires consistent training, a lot of experience and real-world scenarios to help reinforce the dog's ability to identify allergens accurately, ensuring they can effectively assist in preventing allergic reactions.
Pets Central Veterinary Academy Puppy Class
Trainer Introduction – Vienn
Vienn is the founder of a successful dog training school in Australia, recently returned to Hong Kong, and aims to educate pet owners on canine behaviours and broaden her knowledge of dogs further. As a qualified dog trainer through NDTF (National Dog Trainers Federation) and a certified puppy instructor, Vienn has worked with and been mentored by world-class trainers, such as Boyd Hooper and Steve Mcloche. Vienn specializes in modifying canine behaviours and puppy development, as well as scent detection training. She also has years of experience with tactical working dogs, decoy work, civil training and drive development..png)
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