I wanted to share this interview with Kari Bastyr of Celiac Service Dogs and Maddy, one of Kari's current students, to talk about what it really looks like to start training a gluten detection dog from puppyhood. I recently got to meet Maddy in person for lunch and we talked about my training journey with Suki. I think sharing stories about the reality of training a celiac service dog is really important. I especially think the early stages of the process are so critical.

There is no third party testing for restaurants to make sure my dog is actually detecting gluten, so I can I know and trust that she is accurate?

If you have celiac disease, you know the scariest part isn't an obvious piece of bread sitting on your plate. It's the trace amounts you can't see. I tested my gluten detection dog Suki on a plate that looked completely clean after the gluten was removed. She still detected it. Here's how it works and why it matters every single time I eat out.

A gluten detection dog, also called a celiac service dog, is trained to identify the scent of gluten and alert their handler. These dogs don’t just recognize the smell, They also have to do it in a wide variety of real-life settings, from grocery stores to restaurants to your kitchen.