Anyone else have POTS?

3700 Views 34 Replies 13 Participants Last post by service dog vera, Sep 14, 2021

PeggyTheParti

Discussion Starter · Jun 23, 2021

I was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome a few years ago, but I’ve likely had it my whole life secondary to a connective tissue disorder.

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)

POTS is diagnosed only when orthostatic hypotension is ruled out and when there is no acute dehydration or blood loss.

www.hopkinsmedicine.org

I’m wondering if there are some ways Peggy might be able to help me manage my symptoms. She’s shown some interest in my elevated heart rate once I’m already lying down, but doesn’t seem to notice it when I’m standing (which is when I could really use an alert).

Just putting this out there in case any current Poodle Forum members (or folks who are just googling “POTS service dog”) have any insights on training POTS-specific tasks to a poodle.

My one concern would be making her more protective of me than she already is. That’s not something I want.

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TeamHellhound

· #6 · Jul 5, 2021

I don't, but I have friends that do. Both of them have service dogs that can warn them when their heart rate starts going haywire, as well as bring medication bottles to them. One friend's GSD bitch will lay on him, and not let him up, if she thinks he's going to pass out.

Neither one of them has a Poodle. One has a Doberman Pinscher (who is retired from public work due to injuries) and a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog. The other one has two GSD (one retired from public wok due to injuries and the other a young puppy) and a Belgian Malinois.

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TeamHellhound

· #13 · Jul 5, 2021

PeggyTheParti said:
I think poodle sensitivity would be great for alerting, and Peggy has naturally pressed into me before during a bad episode. But many of the things I could really use help with would require a much larger dog. I’d sooooo love a breed that could help me with balance... I think I’d feel much more capable of navigating the world with a dog like that by my side.

Yeah, balance work is why my one friend went with a Swissie. According to all the calculations, his Dobe should have been more than large enough for the type of help he needs, but he noticed him struggling with some things. My other friend's Malinois doesn't do any balance work at all, because he's too small at only 60 or so pounds.

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Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)

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