45 Comments
Have you ever had a diabetes alert dog? If not, would you ever consider it?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
© 2023 T1D Exchange. All Rights Reserved.
Three dogs, according to one research article, have as many olfactory receptors, nerves, sensors, and signaling cells as the entire 300+ million of USA citizens combined. That acute sensing ability can be trained and can be quite useful to humans. 👧
Ha ha, I’d like to see the research on the 300 million people from the USA who participated in this research 🙂
Lawrence S.–The researchers simply verify the number of cells, not the the individuals of the species.. Any dog and any human would do.
I’m sure you already know that I am just joking. 🙂
I had a cat who used to wake me up, if I went low at night! Unfortunately, he is in cat heaven now.
I’m about 90% convinced this question has been asked before. You guys need new questions!
I tried it once. Even started and ran diabeticalertdog.com for a few years. I like the idea, but IMO it’s not worth it. It requires constant reinforcement and there are so many scams. My dog is my pet and stress reliever. My Dexcom and Omnipod 5 are for my T1D.
Very interesting feedback. What kind of scams?
The most notorious was Heaven Scent Paws, I think they were in Missouri. This was at a time when DADs were in the news and kids were taking them to school. Scammers were taking thousands of dollars from people and giving them untrained shelter dogs. Some breeds are more likely to alert, but a DAD or any animal has to care about the person to alert when something is wrong.
I am lucky enough to have a dog who is self taught as a diabetes dog. He has saved my life on three occasions. He is completely spoiled and always will be.
I have been on a waiting list for 3 years! I believe it would not only provide another layer of protection for alerting me of extremes in blood sugars but dogs were my life for many years and I miss that! It would also help with my depression and get me outside every day!
I am a “dog person”. I actually keep dog biscuits in my “stash bag” in case I come across a dog. I’ve thought about getting another dog, but am hesitant because of my age and health. I wouldn’t want to leave a dog without a home if I died. I currently do not have a dog.
I have a Dexcom G6 and that works well for me. I also have an Australian Shepherd mix who on his own started alerting At about 15 months old. He has not been trained for alerting and I do not depend on him, but nice to have backup.
A dog might be a good solution for some who cannot afford a CGM, but there are many impracticalities surrounding a diabetes alert dog that provide no advantages for me. Until a canine can be trained to open a can of juice and force a person to drink it, alert dogs are of no benefit to me.
I do have a cat who seems to be able to tell when I am going low, but he takes it as an opportunity to bedevil me. Perhaps, like my mother, he hopes to raise my blood sugar by stress. He’s a very good cat the rest of the time. But a diabetes alert dog would be worse because I am terrified of dogs. At least my cat doesn’t lunge for my throat.
I just lost my two Irish wolfhounds this year, one in June and the other just this month. Both were 12 years old. They did not seem to know if my BG went low. Right now, I am not thinking about another dog. If that changes, I might consider a DAD. Seems like the G6 is a lot less work than a dog though.
I think the cost, care, and maintenance of a dog would be more expensive than the current technology. Especially for someone without their own home, like a student at college.
Also, if insurance paid for a dog like it does tech that would be a big factor too. But they don’t.
The advent of CGMs that provide low glucose warnings through my phone seem to reduce the benefit of an alert dog, and come without the involvement of any dog ownership!
My dog is a certified therapy dog. Since I trained him, he is very attuned to me. I could certify him as a service dog if I trained him to understand blood sugar drops and the chemistry changes. He is already very aware when something is wrong.
With CGM, I have felt less needs, but I might still consider it.
I WOULD consider a diabetes alert dog, but not whilst we’ve already got pet dogs. (We currently have 3, all babies of a former one. We used to have 5 dogs, one of which we ‘took in’ because a neighbour [neighbor, for my American cousins] was going to ‘put a spade through her neck’ due to her ‘messing’ in the kitchen AND the fact that one of their other dogs had ‘ripped part of her face off’. She lived a comfortable life after we’d had her seen by a vet, who stitched her face back on, though she was very anxious when we first had her, and who can blame her.)
A diabetes alert dog had been previously mentioned to me by my endocrinologist, but at that time we had the 5 dogs and we didn’t think that they’d accept another ‘brother/sister’ coming into the household.
Yes I do, I went to CARES in KS. I was already on a Tandem Pump & Dexcom’s G6. It was the best thing, I love her to the end &alerts are great. I just wish that this opportunity had come earlier in my life & I would have applied for a successor dog again!
Too expensive! And CGM has mostly eliminated the need. I love the concept, though.
As a kid and young adult I wanted one badly. But way to expensive. Now that I’m pumping and on Dexcom and that insurance pays for those systems I wouldn’t bother looking into one anymore.
My DAD is a life saver! I single and live alone. Even with all the new tech stuff, I’m a really deep sleeper and all y th he alerts and alarms don wake me up. She does, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to live alone.
No, I’ve never had a trained diabetes alert dog…but from 2 yrs. to 17 I had the total love and companionship of ‘Candy’, a wire-hair fox terrier who seemed to know when my bg was low and would alert my Mom. I named her Candy “because she was so sweet”. Now we share our home with a ginger cat who considers us her service animals. Sunny Cat is very intelligent. She’s the Inspector General of our apartment. She keeps tabs on our activities and has several times awakened me when I didn’t hear the low alarm from the pump/CGM. I’ve been grateful and rewarded her with a treat, so that encourages her to continue that response. At this point in my life taking care of Sunny Cat and wearing a CGM is enough.
I currently have my second DAD. Well trained DADs are faster than technology. Redundancy is key.
Also, though I wear Dexcom, for me it’s accuracy isn’t as great as it is for others. When I do it is always way behind and it rarely registers my blood sugar as lots as my meter does. DADs are not for your faint off heart. It takes kids off training and continued work.
I have 2 Miniature Schnauzers and the female is very aware of acute blood sugar changes naturally. Her reactions surprised me.
I have had my officially trained DAD for a little over a year now. Being single and no children, she has been the only reason I can live on my own. She is also trained as a mobility dog for me. She is very much attuned to me, and on the average alerts me 10 to 15 min. before my G6 even begins to show a trend down. I will be getting another one, when I have to.
I also have a 13 year old black lab who was supposed to be a DAD but had no interest in that, so pet he became. Interestedly though he is able to ditch when I’m going to have a TIA or stroke. They both get along great. My DAD is a yellow lab.
I would only consider a diabetic alert dog if it was for clinical trials, especially if it included epilepsy.
I had a German Sheppard for 11 years, who on her own figured out my lows. She would pester me till I would pay attention and then I would realize what she was doing. She saved me twice from a low during the night before there were CGM’s pawing at my PJs and walking me up. Since she passed I have not had another dog who could do that… its a life saver though.
I am allergic to dogs so I would never consider getting one. My CGM does the job just fine.
I would not consider. I have a CGM and a closed loop, which has worked extremely well for me. An alert dog would not likely perform better- I am only aware of one study comparing , from a few years ago, and alert dogs did not perform as well as CGM- and it would complicate my life. I have a cat who would not take well to a dog….
I did not have a diabetes alert dog but my dog would become very agitated when my blood sugar changed. If it was low he would bark at me and he never barked.
I love dogs and my previous dog occasionally seemed to notice when I would be having a low blood sugar, but not all of the time. I had him before I got a CGM. With my CGM, I doubt I would ever have a DAD, but a dog for companion ship? Definitely.
I had looked into this at one point, but as a scientist I looked for real studies and evidence. These companies are scams – they are unregulated, non-standardized, with no independent certifying body. The dogs can’t alert you soon enough, either – to either lows or highs.
I found a couple studies done comparing these dogs’ alerts to meters, and found them no more accurate than chance… accurate about 30% of the time. And they have to sleep, so what to you do then?
The price tag is $15,000-$25,000! They’ve been sued successfully left and right for their false claims. Get a CGM instead.
Very interesting.
Actually, there are a few legit organizations out there that train to detect lows. You have to be very careful and do your homework though. Most people who need a service dog can’t afford them so I found organizations that are sponsored and don’t charge the participants. One that I am on the waiting list for is Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs in Florida.
@TS, reputable organizations do exist for training dogs, for sure.
But there is no standard of training and testing for diabetes dogs, which must be trained in the specific scent(s) of their person (lows smell differently than highs, for each individual’s specific sweat).
Example: a certified vision loss service dog must undergo a minimum of 120 hours and six months training, then pass an independent test of a defined list of skills, before being certified to serve.
No such standard exists for diabetes service dogs in the U.S.
*In the U.S., service animal and trainer certifications are not required for any service dog, either. An honor system exists. It really is buyer beware – question and research thoroughly!
Over the 30 plus years I have had Type 1 Diabetes many dogs have passed through my door. At this time I have 4 but I have had more at times. Unless their indication of my low blood sugar is “let’s bark and tell Mom we have to go out now” , they have never alerted for me. They are dogs which have been trained in obedience and retrieving skills but reacting to a low is not in their vocabulary obvious ly. I would consider getting a dog which is already trained to alert.
i would much prefer to have a dog bark at me then a robot yell at me! on which route would I incur the lowest costs?
(my sense of humor, i don’t know much low sugar alert dogs)
I have one currently in training. It will be my first alert dog. I’m super excited as I live alone.
I’m not a “dog person,” so I don’t see myself getting one. If the need should arise, I might consider it, but I doubt I would get one.