Wearable Tech & Seizure Trackers for Dogs with Epilepsy
If you’re caring for a dog with epilepsy, you’re not alone in navigating the unpredictability, stress, and emotional weight that often comes with it. One of the most exciting new tools helping carers manage epilepsy is wearable health technology—from smart collars to harnesses that monitor your dog’s vital signs in real time.
What Are Wearable Health Devices for Pets?
Wearable health devices are smart gadgets your dog can wear—like collars, harnesses, or clips—that track a range of data, including:
Heart rate
Breathing rate
Movement and rest levels
Sleep patterns
GPS location
This information can help identify warning signs, such as unusual restlessness, sleep disruptions, or increased heart rate. Some of these can be early clues to an impending seizure—or side effects from medication.
For dogs who may wander or become disoriented during or after a seizure, GPS features can also offer peace of mind.
How Can These Devices Help?
Seizures are often unpredictable, and that uncertainty can feel overwhelming. Many pet parents report big lifestyle changes after diagnosis:
76% begin sleeping in the same room as their dog
31% install cameras for constant monitoring
Despite best efforts, seizure diaries can be inaccurate or incomplete. Wearable devices offer an alternative by automatically collecting reliable data 24/7, potentially uncovering seizure triggers or frequency patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Some devices even monitor behaviours linked to fear and anxiety, common in dogs with epilepsy. This broader insight can help you better understand your dog’s overall wellbeing—not just their seizure activity.
The Emotional Side: Support for Humans, Too
Let’s talk about something often overlooked: the carer’s emotional health.
When your dog has epilepsy, it’s natural to feel anxious, exhausted, or even helpless at times. You want to do everything you can—but it's easy to become overwhelmed by data, constant monitoring, and the pressure to "get it right."
That’s why it’s important to remember:
These devices are tools—not cures. They’re here to help, not to create more stress.
They might work beautifully for one pet parent, and feel frustrating or even anxiety-inducing for another. And that’s okay.
If you notice yourself becoming fixated on the device or checking it obsessively, take a step back. Use it as a guide—not a rulebook—and don’t let technology take away from your connection with your dog or your peace of mind.
How Do These Devices Detect Seizures?
Some wearables aim to detect or even predict seizures by sensing changes that often occur in the body during one. These include:
Shaking or twitching (measured with accelerometers)
Muscle activity (EMG sensors)
Heart rate spikes (heart rate monitors or ECG)
Changes in breathing or body temperature
Brain activity (measured with EEG, though rarely used in wearable form)
When the device detects certain patterns, it can trigger alerts—sending messages to your phone or notifying a caregiver.
Are These Devices Reliable?
Not quite yet. While promising, no wearable health device is fully accurate at detecting seizures in dogs. The most tested technology—accelerometers—can sometimes miss subtle seizure types (like absence or focal seizures) or send false alarms when your dog is just scratching or playing.
Ongoing research is improving things. Algorithms that distinguish between normal movement and seizure activity have shown more promising results. Other tools, like heart rate variability monitors, have worked well in healthy dogs and may be tested on dogs with epilepsy soon.
Final Thoughts: Technology That Supports You, Not Replaces You
Wearable tech is a powerful, evolving tool in the care of dogs with epilepsy. It can:
Improve seizure tracking
Help highlight pre-seizure patterns
Support your peace of mind
Offer insights into behaviour and wellbeing
But it’s not a perfect solution—and it’s definitely not a substitute for your care, intuition, and love.
Every dog is different. Every carer is, too. If a wearable device helps you feel more in control, that’s amazing. If it adds stress, it’s okay to take a break or try something else.
References:
Bongers J, Gutierrez-Quintana R, Stalin CE. Owner's Perception of Seizure Detection Devices in Idiopathic Epileptic Dogs. Front Vet Sci. 2021 Dec 9;8:792647. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.792647. PMID: 34966815; PMCID: PMC8711717.
Folkard E, Niel L, Gaitero L and James FMK (2023) Tools and techniques for classifying behaviours in canine epilepsy. Front. Vet. Sci. 10:1211515. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1211515
Hirashima J, Saito M, Kuriyama T, Akamatsu T and Yokomori M (2022) Detection of Generalized Tonic–Clonic Seizures in Dogs With a Seizure Detection System Established Using Acceleration Data and the Mahalanobis Distance: A Preliminary Study. Front. Vet. Sci. 9:848604. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.848604
Muñana KR, Nettifee JA, Griffith EH, Early PJ, Yoder NC. Evaluation of a collar-mounted accelerometer for detecting seizure activity in dogs. J Vet Intern Med. 2020; 34: 1239–1247. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.15760
