We have run a few articles on diabetes alert dogs in the past on Diabetes News Hound and readers always respond enthusiastically, asking how they can get one for themselves. Diabetes Health ran a fairly complex article about the state of diabetes alert dogs. You can check it out here.
The feature profiled several Type 1 diabetics, including Tarra Robinson, who after having Type 1 diabetes her entire life, became unaware of her low blood sugars, a condition known as hypo-unawareness. She began passing out at work and crashed her car due to unexpected lows. An insulin pump and a continuous glucose monitor didn’t improve the situation. After a year and a half she was able to save the $10,000 needed. She then began the training process with her Lab/Golden Retriever mix named Duchess.
Diabetes Alert Dogs, which are trained to detect the scent of low blood sugar levels, are right 90% of the time, according to trainers. Duchess is trained to lick Tarra’s hand if she senses a low. If Tarra is alert, she will use the command “glucose,” which will prompt Duchess to get Tarra’s glucose tablets. If Tarra is not alert, Duchess will paw at her leg, and if that doesn’t work, her chest. When Tarra sleeps, Duchess will stand guard and get on top of her to try and wake her is she smells a low.
However, while a lot of the positive stories about diabetes dogs make headlines, there are some horror stories. Rachel Thornton, who’s daughter Abi has Type 1 diabetes, received an untrained dog and lost a lot of cash in the process. The Thomsons are not alone.
The number of kennels offering such services have surfaced in the last few years, but there is no certification process for training a diabetes alert dog and no governing agency. Therefore there are no universal standards.
However, there are some reputable training facilities out there. The Wildrose Diabetes Alert Dogs Foundation has been training dogs, in general, since the 1970s. Located in Tupelo, Mississippi provides services dogs to people with Type 1 diabetes. The foundation is funded, in part, through donations, and a service dog costs individuals between $1,500 and $8,000 depending on the level of training.
The website said they first received a request for a diabetes alert dog in early 2008 and subsequently became aware that Wildrose British Labs were alerting kids with Type 1 diabetes to high and low blood sugars. Since then, they have a training program for diabetes alert dogs.
Another outlet for D-Dogs is the non-profit Dogs 4 Diabetics (www.dogs4diabetics.com) in California. Most of the dogs there are black or yellow labs and are obtained from Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, California.
The organization estimates that it costs $20,000 to train the dog to sniff out abnormal blood sugar levels, but it costs diabetics only $150 to obtain such a dog from Dogs 4 Diabetics. Candidates must be at least 12 years old and been taking insulin for a minimum of one year.
The center receives a large number of requests, so it make take as long as two months before receiving a response. Potential candidates must meet two criteria: lifestyle and personality considerations and the ability to attend a 2-week training class. However, attendance in the class doesn’t necessarily guarantee a dog.
The dog, which is not the same as a pet, is a serious commitment and requires a lot of work, according to the article.
On a side note, I also came across an interesting fact raised in this article. I have seen many stories and blog posts claiming that regular dogs, untrained household pets, can detect low blood sugar levels. There was actually a study that may shed some light on this subject. Dr. Deborah L. Wells, Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychology at Queen’s University in Belfast, conducted a study entitled Canine Responses to Hypoglycemia in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes.
It polled Type 1 diabetics with dogs about this topic. A “very high proportion” of owners claimed their dogs alerted them to lows by pawing at them or some other activity. They also noted that their dogs woke them at night when they were experiencing lows.
“The findings from this study suggest that many dogs can detect hypoglycemia, often without the use of visual cues and before the animals’ caregivers are aware of their own symptoms,” accoring to the report. “The results hint at an odor cue, although other signals (e.g., changes in owner behavior due to impaired cognitive functioning) cannot be dismissed. Research is required to elucidate what mechanisms might underlie the ability of dogs to detect hypoglycemia and to determine whether animals can be trained to consistently alert their owners to the onset of hypoglycemia.”
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I have been a insulin depedent diabetic for 40 years. I previously had a lab/rottweiller mix who would sleep next to me and when my body temp drops she would crawl onto of me and smell my breathe n lick my face or paw me n whine until i would wake up n get something to eat. We now have a beagle/lab mix that does the same thing after watching the older dog and learning from her.