I found this wonderful article on diabetes alert dogs (DADs). It is very well written, and can be an excellent guide to anyone who wants, or is curious about DADs. The author of this article is Dorrie Nuttall, one of my Facebook friends.
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Thanks for posting this well-written article, Richard. I’ve been the human member of a service dog team for 6 1/2 years now. The author of the article, Dorrie Nuttall, makes a great point that training is forever. Every bowl of food that I give my hypo-alert service dog, Norm, is accompanied by a short obedience drill reviewing sit, stay, stand, down, and wait commands. Norm’s attention is focused like a laser when a bowl of food hangs in the balance.
One resource that she doesn’t mention that I believe is required of any reputable training firm is membership in Assistance Dogs International.
DiabetesMine just published a column today written by MIke Hoskins about diabetes alert dogs. Science is starting to pay more attention to the capabilities of glucose alert dogs. As a T1D, I use an insulin pump, fingerstick 10x/day, a CGM, and a service dog. I see these different tools as overlapping so that their combination provides comprehensive redundancy. I have had these systems all fail together, but it is rare.
A diabetes alert dog is one of the best things I’ve done for my long term emotional and psychological health. Norm has saved my bacon more than once! In addition, a dog is a warm and devoted companion. There is little else in this world to compete with the loyalty that the right dog can show you. It’s a comfort well worth the effort and expense for me.
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Luke and Jedi. Caution, may cause tears.
Hi Terry, thanks for your reply. I have seen several DADs with their type 1 owners in public places. I am always amazed at how well trained and obedient they are. One friends says she depends totally on her DAD. She tests for meals, but depends on her DAD day and night for highs and lows. She does not use a Dexcom. I think that is depending too much on her DAD, don’t you?
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IMO, that is depending on a DAD for more than it is actually capable of providing. A DAD needs to sleep and is “off-duty” when it sleeps. A Dexcom is “awake” and on the job 24/7 (when it is functioning properly, which for my daughter is over 95% of the time.)
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To each, their own. I like multiple redundant safety systems, but that’s just me. I lived with diabetes for many years without a CGM or a diabetes alert dog. It can be done, but I wouldn’t choose it. We each chart our own course with an authority no one can rightly question: skin in the game.
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@Terry4, I’d be interested in how this works. How does a diabetes alert dog know when it’s “on duty” and when it can relax? Or is it “on duty” all the time? For guide dogs (which I had for several years), the dog is “off duty” and can relax and be a dog when it’s not wearing its harness. When it is wearing it s harness, it’s working and should not be distracted. People were often amazed at the instantaneous personality change my dog went through when the harness was removed.
Dogs, like people, drift into and out of consciousness when sleeping. We shift positions multiple times per night. Norm, like most dogs when sleeping, will stand up, circle around and settle down again. When he alerts at night, it’s those change of position times, when he will alert.
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There is no clear delineation in my mind as to when Norm is off duty or on duty. Lows can happen at any time so he realizes that the game is played at any time and any place. I only put on Norm’s service dog vest when we need clear public access like going to the grocery store or doctor’s office. It’s more to communicate to the public than it is for his sense of work-time.
When Norm is working a low, he is relentless in getting rewarded as often as he can. But when my BG rises out of his “pay-range,” he will relax. He just knows.
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It is a bit different, yes. A guide dog’s harness is essential for their work (it allows the traveller to feel, through the harness, when the dog stops, turns, steps up or down, speeds up or slows down, and other subtle movements). It’s just a coincidence that many guide dogs also treat it as their “work uniform” and the public recognizes that a dog with a harness is a guide dog.
If I ever get another guide dog, I totally intend on getting a dually trained guide and diabetes alert dog. 
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