Hypo detection dog

[ert]

I'm having my 16-month-old spaniel trained to detect overnight hypos or high blood sugars. This is just through my dog trainer rather than the charities where you have to have had serious incidents to qualify for a medical assistance dog. Has anyone had or have a hypo detection dog? If so, what sort of training did you have to do at home?

https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news...t-of-hypos-could-aid-development-of-new-tests

 

[Juicyj]

Hi there @ert my dog has been known to jump on me whilst i've been going hypo but to play ball with me, it's not particularly helpful ! but my partner thinks he's tapped into my blood glucose levels, they certainly can detect changes in body scent which would be evident during a hypo event, so it's useful if you've got little or no awareness to have a buddy dog at hand, let us know how you get on with this, might try and train mine to do something other than try to play ball with me !

 

[Jaylee]

Hi @ert ,

I'm fully hypo awair.
However.
Looking at the link & video you provided, I suddenly realise I've been unwittingly training my Cairn terrier wrong...

Now this dog is great around the house & let's me know if he wants out.
I wasn't even training the hound. But what I have discovered coincidently is during a low he will sit there & stare at me quite annoyingly & intensely. Then wonder into the kitchen & pee on the floor.
Of course I head for where most of the food is kept & whilst sorting myself out. (Thinking I'll clear the pee up next.)
To keep him quiet, I give a dog treat to the hound. Yep, he's been rewarded for a not so helpful reaction to possibly detecting a change in my BG?

But he is 17 years old.. I'd rather just let him be a "dog." & leave the alerts to my phone.

Looking at some of these lovely trained animals. When do they actually get some sleep?

 

[Juicyj]

Sorry I can't help but laugh @Jaylee - there's one sensitive doggy for you !

 

[Jaylee]

Sorry I can't help but laugh @Jaylee - there's one sensitive doggy for you !

I can really hold my council whilst low.. I've woken hypo to this mut staring me in the face.
Thought to myself "ok, I'll throw some clothes on & take you out.." Moved & hello?! Slight change of plan get this hypo sorted first.
Instead of skipping about shepherding me to hurry up like he normally does. He toddles off. & I find him stood next to a puddle in the kitchen expecting a "medal."

Any other time he can wait no problem..

Cheers mate!

 

[Penquin47210]

Our Border Collie seems aware and comes and nudges me when my level is low, he has never been trained although I am keen to take this inherent skill to a higher level. I have read the books available and asked the various charities for advice but was not given any and the reception was hostile.....

Dogs love to learn so it should be possible - biggest problem is me trying to remember to praise him when he has alerted me........

 

[EllieM]

I'm going to follow this thread because I'd love to know if there's a way to train a dog to be hypo aware....

I guess my 13 yo kelpie is too old to learn.....

 

[Mike d]

An equation comes into play. The breed of dog (of course) as some are incredibly smart (kelpies, cattle dogs, SOME terriers) and the owner's ability to give them adequate exercise, whereas other breeds are just dumb. End of the day, it comes back to shared devotion and training. I got my shi tzu to fetch my slippers with two in different places within 3 weeks of owning her. Anything is possible. You gotta luck out

 

[Marie 2]

You can train your own, I know a couple of people that have done so. I’m sure it depends on the dog. I was going to train my dobie and then she got diabetes. So that seemed like it would just be confusing. But she used to bug me when I was low sometimes.

 

[EllieM]

You can train your own, I know a couple of people that have done so. I’m sure it depends on the dog. I was going to train my dobie and then she got diabetes. So that seemed like it would just be confusing. But she used to bug me when I was low sometimes.

Thank you so much. Still not sure whether my current dog is too old but those are some awesome videos. Thank you again.