Some pets are just pets. Max, the black Lab, may be a life-saver. He is trained to sniff out dangerous high and low blood sugar levels in Liam, a 14 year old boy that has Type 1 diabetes. Max is thought to be one of only about 100 service dogs in the United States trained specifically to help manage blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes, according to a recent article in the News Tribune.
Max, who is about 55 pounds, is trained to recognize the different smells associated with highs and lows in a person’s breath and body odor. A sweet, fruity smell indicates a high blood sugar level. A rusty, dull, acidic smell is associated with low blood sugar.
Once Max notices a problem, he alerts Liam by any means possible. That can include jumping on him, licking him, gently grabbing Liam’s wrist with his mouth, tugging at the leg of his pants, or even knocks over nearby objects to get his attention. Max is rewarded with one of his favorite stuffed animals for detecting a high blood sugar and a piece of cheese for sniffing out a low. He is also trained to “get the kit” – Liam’s blood glucose monitoring kit.
Training dogs to help monitor diabetes is a fairly new concept and, according to the Tribune article, is not scientifically proven to help yet. However, anecdotal evidence from people with the dogs suggest they are of great service.
Liam’s parents first decided to get such a dog because their son is a heavy sleeper and they were worried about the potentially severe consequences for an undetected nighttime low. Low blood sugar levels can lead to seizures, coma and even death.
In order to aid in the training of Max, Liam’s mother froze the clothes her son was wearing during episodes of high and low blood sugar. This was done to keep the scent associated with the highs and lows. Max was trained, for free, by Ron and Jarod Pace of Canyon Crest K9 Training Center in Tacoma, Wash.
Max not only allows Liam’s parents to rest a little easier, he also allows the boy to participate in more activities – such as football – with greater ease.
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[...] Months ago we ran a story about Max, the diabetes-sniffing dog. Max is a black lab and belongs to 14-year old Liam. Max’ main job is to sniff out dangerous high and low blood sugars. Several readers wrote in asking how they can get a D-Dog. (See Meet Max the Diabetes-Sniffing Dog) [...]
[...] The dogs are trained to sniff out dangerously high and low blood sugar levels. But there are only about 100 in the United States. Training costs range from $3,000 to $15,000, Egger [...]