I was just watching a piece on the Scottish local news about training dogs to detect various illnesses, and I wondered if anyone had experience of their dog detecting a problem?

Three months before my sister died of liver cancer, her beloved dog Peat, a New Zealand Huntaway, started following her around the whole time, refusing to leave her side.  It really irritated her; she didn't find out for several more weeks that she was seriously ill, and it's only in hindsight that we suspect that he'd sensed something was wrong.  He's recently joined her in their little heaven.

Not wanting to worry anyone if their dog starts following them!  Just interested to know if anyone else has a similar story about the amazing powers of dogs.

Aww, what a lovely little dog, caring so much for his owner.  And I'm very sorry to hear about your sister.
I have not heard about detecting illness but dogs are so much more intune with our bodies than us.  I know my dog knew I was pregnant a couple of weeks before me and any testing.  In fact, with my last child(number 4), he told me and I trusted him!  Phoned the doc for an appointment and told him, my dog told me.  His face was priceless!!lol
And, my dogs always stayed by my side if I am upset or sick.  Maybe I've mistaken their laziness/stealing the quilt.  I should have looked on it as them caring for me?  Well, I would believe it better if they made soup or tea!!

My little lab pup Willow is going to be looked after over Christmas by a lady who has four dogs. One of them is a 9 month old lab who is going to be trained as a medical detection dog. He will probably go to a diabetic child and will be trained to detect too low or high blood sugar levels. Amazing. He's called Magic - but he's not black :-)

There was a similar thread a few months ago. A friend of mine went to Dr after her BC boy kept nudging her armpit - she was diagnosed with cancer, had double mastectomy and lives to tell the tale :-) Also met someone recently who has diabetes and suffers seizures as a result. Her young pup at the time started sitting on her feet about 10 mins or so before seizures started. Took her, and her family, some time to realise but eventually it became clear the pup was picking up the onset of the seizure activity. This was an untrained youngster, she has now been 'passed' as a medical detection dog for her owner and accompanies her to work, in a hospital environment.

Dogs can pick up illness without training (not saying all will), the skill lies in the ability of the owners to work out what the dogs may be telling them. :-D

Phoned the doc for an appointment and told him, my dog told me

Aww, did he start bringing you cuppas? ;-) Sorry, couldn't resist that one - anything to avoid Christmas cards! - ... how did he tell you? Just interested. Dogs are simply amazing :-D

Not had a dog follow me around or detect an illness, but many we meet when out, seem to go straight to, and stick their nose on for a good sniff, the exact part of my leg where I broke it.

Which is weird as I broke my leg way back in 1989, but they still seem to know that something is wrong.

I'm fairly sure I remember reading a study about trained labs that were able to detect cancer cells with an accuracy of about 85% or so.  I think there were a few studies done, including one where dogs could detect lung cancer on the breath of the subjects, again with a good level of accuracy and very early compared to other tests, often before symptoms showed if I remember right.

A friend had had a couple of melanoma's removed before she got her dog.  She had had him about 2 years when he started sniffing the top of her thigh, same place every time.  She then got a small freckle/mole appear there and one morning he jumped up at her and scratched it causing it to bleed.  After a few weeks the mole got bigger so she went to the doctors - another melanoma.

Also wasn't there the story of a cat in a nursing home in the USA that used to go and sit on residents beds about 6 hours before they passed away?  He was so reliable that the home would call the residents families if the cat laid on their bed and refused to move.

I know of a dachsie owner who is woken by one of his male dogs if his blood sugar drops during the night, he won't give up till Chuck is properly awake and taking some form of sugar from the bedside table, the dog has never let it go so low that he can't be roused which means he is with it enough to deal with it.

I know of another dachsie who alerts his owner to an impending seizure allowing her to get to a safe place, I wonder if males are more likely to have this gift because not heard of any female dogs having the gift

Tis a female BC I know who alerts her owner when her blood sugars are dropping and a seizure on the cards :-)

My dog's brother used to be an untrained seizure alert dog. Funny really as I might have picked him instead of Henry, and he'd have been no use to me for that. And the family who had him had a daughter who had such bad seizures she hadn't been allowed her own bedroom, but when the dog started alerting to her, it gave her so much more freedom because she could rely on him - and Henry would have been no use to them, CC winner or not! :-D

Aren't dogs fab!! Great stories, thanks