Peanut Dogs
Friday, February 29, 2008
Tara Gidus, MS, RD, CSSD, LD/N
I have talked about my dad before, but just in case you haven't read it, he is legally blind and has had a Leader Dog for the Blind for quite a few years. Dusty Dog is quite invaluable to my dad and has allowed him a lot more freedom in getting around. This picture is of my dad and Dusty going out for a walk.
The reason I bring this up is because I just heard about dogs being used for people with allergies, specifically peanut allergies. They are called Peanut Dogs! The dogs are trained for obedience but more importantly they are trained to detect the scent of peanuts and alert their owner of danger if they sniff it. The most common types of dogs used are Poodles, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds.
Dogs have 45 times the number of olfactory receptors than humans do, allowing them to smell one thousand times better than humans. Seems like sniffing out peanuts is a good job for a dog. Dogs love to be useful and I can't think of a better job!
Peanut allergies are on the rise, affecting about 1.5 million people in the United States. For those allergic, a peanut free diet is vital. Peanut allergies account for the largest number of deaths from an allergic reaction. If you or someone you love is allergic to peanuts, you know how serious the threat is. The scary part about a nut allergy is that there are many foods that contain nuts (and not just the obvious ones), causing a reaction in people who are highly allergic. These Peanut Dogs undoubtedly will save many lives!
Labels: peanut allergy, Tara Gidus
4 Comments:
At Mon Mar 03, 05:39:00 AM 2008,
Michelle said…
Why do you think peanut allergies are on the rise?
At Mon Mar 03, 09:26:00 PM 2008,
Anonymous said…
Thank you for writing about this. I am allergic to peanuts and all nuts. I think it is cool that they can train dogs to do this! I am 11 years old and I hope I can get a peanut detecting dog that would contribute to keeping me safe. Because if a food has hidden nuts in it, my peanut detecting dig would let me know. I also think if you were blind and had a peanut allergy this would be life saving.
thank you for bringing awareness to these sweet dogs!
Kelsey
Celebration, Florida
At Fri Apr 25, 07:23:00 PM 2008,
Leslie said…
I'm one of the peanut dog trainers at Southern Star Ranch in Florence, Texas!
Kelsey, I see you're from Florida so I thought you'd think it was pretty funny that we just happen to be in Florida right now delivering a Peanut Dog to her new boy!! I can tell you that these dogs ARE really cool and a LOT of fun to train too! Since you mentioned that you are also allergic to tree nuts, you should know that we can train a dog to find peanuts and even tree nuts. Now, isn't that something? If you (or anyone else reading this) ever want to know more or talk to me about why and how detection dogs do what they do (maybe you can work it into a school report or something!), call our kennel and ask for Leslie! I love to talk about these awesome, fun-loving, hard-working, peanut sniffing dogs!!)
At Tue Feb 24, 11:54:00 AM 2009,
judy fish said…
hello, I just discovered your help for peanut allergy kids with dogs who help..(not sure if this site is still active...??) I HAVE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GRAND-DAUGHTER..(DON'T WE ALL??? LOL) SHE JUST HAD HER 6TH BIRTHDAY, AND HAS A DEAR, PURE AND PRECIOUS HEART. SHE WAS JUST DIAGNOSED WITH A SEVERE PEANUT ALLERGY AFTER HAVING SEVERAL VERY CLOSE CALLS. MY SON JUST LOST HIS JOB,IS DIABETIC,TYPE 1,CAN'T EVEN GET HIS INSULIN ETC. I ALREADY LOST 1 SON TO THAT, AND CANNOT SURVIVE IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO HIM OR MY "CHEY-GIRL"..IS THERE LOW COST HELP TO GET HER A DOG?? THANKS AND GOD BLESS YOU AND YOURS. SINCERELY, judyfish2006@yahoo.com
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