Epilepsy is the most common neurological illness, with over 600,000 cases in the UK. Thirty per cent of people with epilepsy are unable to control their seizures through medication. Instead they live with the fear of an oncoming seizure which can occur at any time. This fear affects everything they do, limiting their independence and ability to live an active life.

Seizure alert dogs are trained to provide a 100% reliable warning up to 50 minutes prior to an oncoming seizure. They give time for their owner to find a place of safety and privacy as they have their seizure.

Around 1,000 people with epilepsy die each year and research suggests that most of these deaths are sudden and unexpected. The warning provided by a seizure alert dog means that a client can remove themselves from any danger and have a seizure in a safe environment.

With the confidence that they will be alerted in advance of any seizure, our clients are able to live more independently. Day-to-day tasks, including going to the shops, cooking, ironing and having a bath, which would previously have been hazardous, are now manageable on their own and in safety.

Support Dogs is the only organisation in the UK to provide and train seizure alert dogs.

How to apply

Please download and read our information pack


This provides information to enable you to assess whether you are suitable for a seizure alert dog. To apply for this programme you must first check that you meet the criteria in the info pack.

Once you have done this and feel you meet criteria please click here to register your interest in applying for this programme.

If you meet the criteria you will then be invited to attend an information day at our training centre in Sheffield. Information days are held only once or twice per year and have a very limited number of spaces. 

Once we have a date confirmed for the next information day you will then receive an email which will enable you to apply for a space at it. These spaces are allocated on a first-come first-served basis for those that meet the programme criteria.

Read stories about our life-changing work.

or 

Watch Brogan and Wadsley's story