42 Comments
Have you ever had a diabetes alert dog? If not, would you ever consider it?
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If I were more active, did not have a cgm and/or had hypoglycemia unawareness then yes. But currently with my cgm and my pretty normal lifestyle I don’t think I have the need.
Same here. My trust my CGM to alert me in the instances of low blood sugar.
My CGM with ALARMs requires less attention than a dog. Though it may cost the same in the long run?
I have a dog, and I have a CGM. I would never leave my CGM at home or allow it to sleep or take time off, like I allow my dog to do. Seeing trends to ward off severe highs and lows is more valuable to me than a dog that can alert me when my BG is way out of range.
Yes, I trained my dog, Chloe (using Super Sniffer® Medical Alert Dog training protocol). Chloe is trained for hypoglycemic alerts.
I think a Dexcom G6 is much more accurate and easier to maintain, unless you like the companionship that a dog could provide
Never
I would love to have a well trained service dog! I totally understand why people don’t, but I love dogs so much! I have my name on a list with Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs. It’s unlikely that I’ll be able to get one by the time my name comes up (@6 more years) but they would not only help me with detecting upcoming lows but also be a reason for me to go outside every day, help with my depression and accompany me everywhere. For me, a dog nudging me and pawing me would be alot harder to ignore than a mechanical alarm.
I am a senior with LADA T1D, and would not consider a diabetes alert dog for the simple reason of dogs are a lot of responsibility and care. You still have to carry in bags of food, take the dog to the vet, walk the dog daily and when your feet hit the floor in the morning you have to get the dog outside. I would rather not have that responsibility and spend the time taking care of myself.
I consider my dog my exercise routine. That frame of mind changes everything. However, he does not alert me though I’ve tried to train him to no avail.
I put I would consider it, but that’s only if I get another dog at some point. I currently have two 11-year-old Irish wolfhounds, and I am not sure I want the responsibility again after these two. I love them, but dogs are a lot of work.
Love Dogs but I’d rather train my Dexcom to Bark
I said that I would not consider it. But, I’ve had several dogs throughout my life, and loved them all. But my Tandem/Dexcom Control IQ seems to do the job for me. Also, I am getting older, and would not like to leave a dog without his family if I should die first. I do not have a dog now, but it sure is tempting, I do love dogs.
I would have loved to have had an alert dog 40 years ago when I one! Rest home living doesn’t allow for one.
I thought service dog are allowed everywhere
My dog is an AKC certified therapy dog. I trained him. He’s keenly aware of me and watches me carefully. When my blood sugar drops, he smells my breath and if I’m lying down or sitting he will want to be right next to me. No playing with chew toys, etc, just right with me. He knows when something is wrong.
I just received my Service Dog in April. She is dual purpose Service Dog, being my DAD and mobility/stability dog for walking.
What I was surprised to find was she alert’s me 15 to 20 minutes before my G6 does. So I’ve not gone into 30’s since April. She caught Kennel Cough while at the groomer a few weeks ago, even though she’s vaccinated it doesn’t cover this new strain of it, so she is confined to home until Wed. or all symptoms are gone. Honestly I don’t know how I did it before her.
I put that I would not consider one. I think they are great, but a dog (even a working one) shouldn’t really be underfoot in an ICU (where I work). Probably not even allowed 🤷🏻♂️
I had a DAD for eight years who passed three years ago. I am now using the Tandem/Dexcom G6 system. I HATE this system as it renders multiple alarms to warn me of lows. When I take carbs in response to the lows it takes some time for carbs to be reflected in my interstitial fluids, even though my actual blood sugar is back in my target range. During that period, my CGM keeps blasting away with alarms which are NONSENSE and cannot be defeated. It is especially irritating when I am sleeping. My DAD alerted and kept on until I gave him the command that I was OK. He kept on watching me but did not alert after being “released”. I also do not see why I have to get TWO alarms when I am dropping – one to tell me the pump is predicting a low and then a few minutes later one that tells me I am low, even when I have address the predicted low.I am fed up being z”over nagged” with the excess alarming and am ready to to dump the system. I am fed-up with being a slave to the CGM/pump which was supposed to let me lead a more “normal” life.
I understand this 100%. It is so frustrating.
I went off the Tandem/CGM combo just recently for those very reasons. I’m now on CGM & Afrezza – much better in so many ways!!!
I would get fed up being a slave to the care taking responsibilities and duties of having a dog.
Not a dog person but I never say never. I have no children and if my husband goes first, he is older, I’ve often wondered how I will continue to do all that is required. I think it is absolutely wonderful that dogs can be trained and their love for their humans is lovely to see. So…a definite maybe.
I just read that again: if I can’t take care of myself and live into my 90s as much of my family does, how can I take care of a dog if I’m too infirm to take care of me??!!
Excellent point of consideration!!!
I longed for one until I finally got on a CGM and now I don’t feel the need for one.
If I were in a position where I had to live alone I would consider an alert dog. I have low unawareness. I wear a Dexcom. I would still wear Dex. A dog would be helpful in catching the lows perhaps better and with more moral support than the Dex alarms. As I get older, if I am so lucky, I think management is going to get more tricky.
Dexcom G6 beeps. If I’m going to do something I add the reading on my Omnipod meter and then sometimes adjust my temp basal if low or do correction bolus if high.
I had a dog that taught herself to alert me. She taught herself because I would always get something to eat and drink when I was low – and give her a treat! She even, when I wouldn’t respond, went and alerted my wife who happened to be in the shower at the time.
I have low awareness and recently my CGM was reading 90; however, I was aggressive toward my wife when she tried to convince me my blood sugar was low. It ended up being a really bad set of things that happened. When my wife was finally able to get me to do a finger stick to test my reading was 45 instead of 90. I suspect the dog would have alerted me even though the CGM didn’t.
I would consider training my current or a new dog on my own but don’t think I would get a previously trained dog just for this purpose.
For me? Not a chance. Therapy dogs do have a beneficial purpose and are a blessings for some people who really need them. On the other hand, I have met a few individuals who milk the “admiring attention” they get from others by having a DAD and devote the entirety of their physical, mental, and emotional energy to their relationship with the dog to exclusion of having quality interactions and relationships with other humans. Not a healthy scenario for the human or the dog, IMHO.
I don’t imagine having a dog because of the daily outdoor responsibilities. I know research has been done and dogs can detect both hypoglycemia and seizures. If I were to live on my own in my elder years and could have an alert dog that could possibly relieve itself like a cat, maybe.
I hope hypoglycemic issues will continue to be better controlled by technology.
It was 1989. The choice of a new pump with Apidra insulin. Oh, the family added a miniature schnauzer puppy. Due to a new home, Maggie Mae ended up sleeping with me. During the early sleep hours I would fold into a hypo state. Maggie to the rescue. She would lick me until I got out of bed. She performed this sleeping assignment for 10 years as my puppy CGM. A job well done.
I have had dogs all my life and wouldn’t know what to do without them. I have the G6 and that has helped immensely. We have a dog now that is less than a year old, and she has alerted me on several occasions when my glucose was dropping faster than the CGM could keep up with, before the double arrows down. She has not been formally trained but we are working towards that.
I would not consider it even though I am single, live alone and am hypo unaware. I do have a CGM and for me, that’s enough. If I’m going to be gone for an entire day my choices would be leave the dog home alone or take it with me. As a service dog I assume it would be allowed to go anywhere with me.
But, I am very allergic to dogs and asthma. Being in an enclosed space with one, such as a bus or a car, is not good for me. I don’t drive and I would not want to force other people who may also have allergies (and/or asthma) to be around my dog.
Also, I’m lazy. When it’s 99 degrees our or pouring rain or it’s ezing and sleeting outside I don’t want to have to get dressed to take a dog out to do its business!
If I get to the point where the GCM (perhaps a pump in future) doesn’t alert me well enough, I’d consider a dog. I love dogs, but they require a lot of extra care and attention that devices do not. Of course, they also provide significant companionship as well, so there’s a trade-off to be made.
I am on my second hypoglycemic alert dog from Dogs4Diabetics/NICST. Dogs can pick up drops and lows faster and in real time than a cgm and the accuracy for D4D dogs is >90%. For me, redundancy is key. D4D is also has national accreditation for their service dogs and we have to rectify every year.
I did all the paperwork and paid the registration fees, then tracked my glucose for months. My application was rejected because my glucose levels were not stable enough.
I thought the dog would help me with that!
No, but I would consider it. My pet 50+ years ago acted like an alert dog to help my mother treat my lows when I was a child. I currently would NOT consider it as my condition is stabled and I have my husband for assistance. However, I WOULD consider an alert dog should I have to live alone.
I would rather use my CGM.
I would love to have a diabetic alert dog. I tried to get one for my son when he was little because he slept right through all his lows, (there were no CGM’s then) but it was very expensive and you had to travel to CA and I am on the East Coast. I am recently diagnosed and wear a CGM. We (my 2 boys and myself) all have CGM’s now, but I would love to have a dog I could take every where with me!! Not only would it be a diabetic alert dog, but it would be my emotional support dog too!! Maybe some day!!
I’m not a “dog person” so I don’t think I would ever get one.