Empowering assistance dogs: an alarm interface for canine use

This paper explores the intersection of assistance dog welfare and intelligent systems with a technological intervention in the form of an emergency canine alert system. We make the case that assistance dog welfare can be affected by the welfare of their human handlers, and examine the need for a canine alert system that enables the dog to take control over a potentially distressing situation thus improving assistance dog welfare. We focus on one specific subset of assistance dogs, the Diabetes Alert Dog, who are trained to warn their diabetic handlers of dangerously low or high blood sugar levels.