Training a migraine alert dog, like other kinds of service dogs, isn’t a simple task. It takes time, effort and devotion from you, the dog’s owner, and it’s not one that can be done on your own, either. To train an effective migraine alert dog for a person who suffers from migraines, you must begin by finding an expert trainer to help you in your journey. This may be an individual who has developed his or her own methods of training service dogs, or it may be the head of an organization that specializes in training these types of animals. One of the most difficult challenges that migraine sufferers face is the lack of understanding and empathy they face from friends and family, but also from doctors and other health professionals. Most people who don’t live with migraine disease just can’t fathom the daily reality of living with chronic pain, whether it be nausea, sensitivity to light, or numbness and tingling in your hands and arms. So one of the first questions that many people living with migraine ask themselves is how they can get more help and support.
Research
Migraine is one of the most common neurological disorders, affecting approximately 37 million people in the United States. It is characterized by recurrent periods of head pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound. In many cases, migraines are preceded by an aura (a sensory or cognitive disturbance) such as tingling sensations on one side of the body or seeing flashing lights. The severity and frequency of migraines can vary greatly among individuals; some people have them only once in their lifetime while others may have them several times per week. They also differ in duration from 4 hours to 3 days with a median time of 24 hours. There are three types of migraine: classic, complicated and common. Classic migraines affect about 30% of sufferers; they cause moderate-to-severe headache, nausea, photophobia and phonophobia
*Research:* Migraine is one of the most common neurological disorders, affecting approximately 37 million people in the United States. It is characterized by recurrent periods of head pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound. In many cases, migraines are preceded by an aura (a sensory or cognitive disturbance) such as tingling sensations on one side of the body or seeing flashing lights.
Find a reputable trainer
When looking for a reputable trainer it’s important that they have experience with training service dogs and come highly recommended by their clients. The two most common organizations I can recommend are 4 Paws For Ability and Can Do Canines. Once you’ve found an organization or trainer that is right for you, the next step is to get your trainer involved in your life. Your trainer will want to meet with you once every week or two and watch how you live your life in order to fully understand your needs. From there, they will start teaching the dog behaviors that would be helpful to you and your condition. One example of this would be if they teach the dog to stop bad habits such as licking people’s faces or jumping up on them at all times. These behaviors might cause migraines when triggered in certain situations so this skill could be really helpful!
Another thing trainers might teach is relaxation skills like sitting or lying down on command which can help provide relief from chronic pain. It also helps if trainers teach your pet tricks such as hand shaking which takes time away from being too excited when meeting new people!
Choose the right breed
There are many breeds of dogs who can be trained as migraine alert dogs. These include the Puggle, Miniature Schnauzer, Lhasa Apso, and more.
However, the best breed for training is generally the Labrador Retriever. This is because Labradors are natural watchdogs and have a tendency to bark at unfamiliar sounds or people who enter your home. They also tend to be friendly with strangers and will often greet them with an eager wag of the tail. Labradors are also intelligent and easy-going, which makes them good candidates for training in general. The temperament trait of the Lab should be calm but not so much that they’re indifferent when it comes to protecting you from pain. The most important aspect of choosing a dog for this type of work is personality and temperament. Choose a dog that has energy but won’t go crazy when you’re having a bad day; choose one that wants to please you and protect you from pain while still being fun enough to keep around on days when you don’t feel well. You want your pet helper to act like he cares, even if he doesn’t know what you need him too.
Set realistic expectations
When it comes to training any animal, there is no quick fix. It takes time and patience, but the end result will be worth it. When training your dog for migraines, you’ll want to start small by teaching them the basics such as simple commands. Once they’ve mastered those commands, move on to more advanced commands like asking them how they’re feeling or what their name is. This type of training takes time and patience but will be worth it in the end! Once your dog has mastered basic commands, they can learn more complicated things like identifying when someone is having a migraine attack. To teach this trick to your pet, first teach them the word migraine so that when you say it out loud, they know to lie down with their head between their paws. Next have one person tell them about another person’s headache while using body language that mimics an actual migraine attack and after thirty seconds have both people shout migraine really loudly. If all goes well your dog should get up from lying down with its head between its paws and stand at attention near whoever had the fake headache so that if it happens again he or she can tell you about it in advance
Be prepared for a long commitment
Migraine Alert Dogs can be trained for many different types of migraines including aura, tension, and hemiplegic. The average time it takes to train a Migraine Alert Dog is around three years. It is important that you are ready for the long-term commitment of training your own Migraine Alert Dog. You will have plenty of opportunities to learn and grow during the process, but be sure you’re up for it before starting. Learn more about how to train a migraine alert dog with us today! We hope this post was helpful in providing information on how to take care of a dog as well as some tips on owning one! Be sure to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. We hope we can help make life easier by being there when we’re needed most:)
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Conclusion
A migraine is the third most common neurological disorder in the world. It is characterized by severe and debilitating headaches that often last for up to 72 hours, without any warning or relief. The pain can be excruciating, debilitating, and relentless. This can be especially difficult for people who suffer from migraines often because they are unable to tell when an attack will occur next. This leaves them feeling helpless as they can never get relief from the pain unless they are able to recognize and avoid triggers that cause an attack.
A study done at Harvard revealed that dogs have about four times better smell than humans which is why many people with migraines use a service animal called a migraine alert dog or MAD. These specially trained animals sniff out the chemical changes before an individual gets a migraine so that person can take medication or avoid their usual triggering factors.
