Over the past few years, a number of service dog
organizations have started to train dogs for diabetes alert. Type 1 diabetes
patients are at risk of medical complications when their blood glucose levels
drop as they often cannot feel the change until it’s too late. These often
restrict their lifestyle and activities to avoid the risk of hypoglycemic
episodes, reducing at the same time their quality of life and wellbeing. Specifically
trained dogs can put their nose to work and provide the much needed help.
I worked with a young man in his thirties, with Type 1
diabetes, who had lost the vision in one eye as well as his ability to walk
without crutches after a dramatic drop in his glucose level, sent him to the
hospital. Concerned about his recurring life threatening episodes, his family
convinced him to get a diabetes alert dog. With the help of the dog, alerting
to most of the changes in his glucose levels, he was able to monitor his sugar
levels before they reached extreme levels. Over time, his hypo and
hyperglycemia episodes were less frequent and less severe and his overall
health was greatly improved.
Like him, many have benefited from the assistance of a dog.
But what dog trainers and diabetes alert dog (DAD) owners have know for years,
has finally been demonstrated scientifically. Dogs can smell a drop in blood
glucose levels, significantly helping patients, increasing wellbeing and
quality of life.
One study presented 4 dogs with samples collected from
diabetes patients while they were experiencing a hypoglycemic episode (Harding& al., 2013). When placed amongst 6 other samples (3 from the patients
while in normal range, 3 blanks), the dogs were capable of identifying the Low
sample, proving their ability to detect a particular smell associated with the change
in blood glucose levels.
A second study investigated whether such trained dogs truly
provided health and psychological benefits to diabetes patients (Rooney &al., 2013). Dogs can be trained to nudge, paw, lick, jump or vocalize to alert
the person when their glucose levels are lower than normal. Seventeen diabetes
patients were surveyed about the reliability and efficiency of their diabetes alert
dogs. The researchers recorded the incidences of nocturnal hypoglycemic
episodes before and after receiving a dog.
All clients reported a reduction in either the number of
hypoglycemic events, the number of unconscious episodes, or the number of emergency
calls after receiving a dog. Eight people stated that they had not called the
emergencies or been unconscious at all since receiving a dog (when they had
previously). Most patients reported more independence and increased quality of
life once they had a diabetes alert dog.
When measuring the impact of diabetes alert dogs on the
patient’s health, the researchers found a significant change after dog
placement. These measures confirmed what the patients had stated; most clients
experienced improvement in their glycaemic control.
Dogs have shown the ability to alert to both lows and highs,
but it’s still unclear what chemical compound they’re responding to. We know
they smell a change, but more research will be needed to find out what exactly
they smell. Over time, as dogs identify patterns of behavior associated with
the change in blood glucose levels, they may also pick up on behavior cues that
can confirm the onset of a hypo or hyperglycemic event.
Overall, what these studies show, is that dogs can be
effectively trained to help Type 1 diabetes patients better monitor their
glucose levels. They contribute to not only improving their sense of wellbeing,
but also to their overall health by helping to keep the blood glucose levels in
more normal ranges.
Jennifer Cattet Ph.D.
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