I am wondering if anyone who is in college has a diabetes alert dog? I am considering one since going to school this past year because I no longer have Mom around to be sure I wake up when I need to when my bgs go low. I am mostly curious about how the service dog is recieved on campus and that sort of stuff.
Also, I am considering training a dog for this purpose for myself (w/ the aid of a trainer). If anyone has any advice on this endeavor it would be much appreciated.
Happy testing!
Oooh, I had no idea these existed! I would totally have used one in college, had I known!
I dont know where you live but in california there are Dogs for diabetics http://www.dogs4diabetics.com/
Gina, thanks for posting this. Very cool. I want one!
Dogs are so amazing. Dogs show us that there really is a God!
As far as the OP. If you have an assistance dog, I think it'd be dang near impossible for your college to not allow you to bring him/her to school. Or anywhere else for that matter.
maybe now i could get a dog! that is my excuse to get one now!
My hubby pointed me to an article on these dogs. Canines are such an amazing brand of critters, and I'm amazed at how many ways we can co-exist and serve one another. Of course, I'm a cat person....
On a FAR more practical note, wouldn't a CGM be a more practical approach to alerting lows?
Mo
Gina - do you know if the dogs for diabetics help those only in Northern Cal? I could swear I heard at the last ADA ride that you have to either live in the area or live there for a month or two for training with the dog. Again - I'm not sure about it - thought you might know off hand - otherwise I think I may make a call. I think Crystal (from Arizona) on this site looked into it too. I'll ask her to see if she has more info. It's a great idea especially for those living alone.
I was in touch with Dogs4d..they were very kind,but told me they work with those in their area.I think there is a two week training period.The dog is trained with the new owner. then they do follow up in your home.I really wanted one of their dogs.I belive the dog would have been such a help to my teen.They told me they want to branch out and help in other places one day.No charge for all these great dogs.Wonderful people behind these alert dogs.I looked around-other places ,want thousands for a dogs.Any new info I would like to hear.
Hi guys,
After reading the post I just had to leave a quick comment, a few weeks ago on the news my bf was watching they had a segment about dogs and diabetes. He watched and learned that you don't have to have a specifically trained dog to alert to a low or a high. So the day after watching this new report he watched he filled me in on what he had learned from it. So we already have a 2 yr old black lab mix and she is our baby, but while he was filling me in on the news story I was going low and we couldn't figure out why she was pacing back and fourth in front of me(normally she only does it when she wants out!!!) so the bf got me to test and we found out I was going low and it's her way of alerting me that I'm going low. And I know that I could have taken it as nothing but the dog had just been out for a walk and she was very attentive and kept nodging me and kinda crying at me(which she doesn't do unless she can sense I'm going low).
And I know what your thinking that she's only done it the once and she probably won't do it again(as she was never trained for it) but lately she has done it when we are out for walks and when I come home from work and already know that I'm low she alerts me to it. So for me it's not a one time thing, she now does it quite often, and that makes the bf feel better when her and I go for our long walks and I forgot to take my cell.
So I wanted to know more about the subject so I asked my endo. and vet and they both told me that anydog that is with you and lives with you will be able to sense the chemical change in our bodies long before we feel it. It just depends on the dog as to which way they alert you to the fact and the vet said that anyone can get themselves a puppy and train them to alert to the specific changes in their master's.
Hope this helps.
CJ
Thanks CJ,This is good to know.I'm not sure if I could have gotten the alert dog anyway.I remember reading a earlier post,somone said you can't have other dogs in the house.That would be a problem,my old dog has been such a huge part of our lives,she would have to stay,somehow.Hey Mo,have I got a cat for you.He runs the house,tries to boss the other cat around.Maybe you might need one extra cat? ha
[quote user="meme"]
Thanks CJ,This is good to know.I'm not sure if I could have gotten the alert dog anyway.I remember reading a earlier post,somone said you can't have other dogs in the house.That would be a problem,my old dog has been such a huge part of our lives,she would have to stay,somehow.Hey Mo,have I got a cat for you.He runs the house,tries to boss the other cat around.Maybe you might need one extra cat? ha
[/quote]Hey, meme! I already have two perfect cats. They spend most of their time outside, poop and pee outside, hunt local critters to supplement their diets, and come in every other night or so to snuggle at the foot (not head!) of the bed. What more could you ask for? :)
Mo
Diabetes alert dogs sound awesome. im not even allowed to have fish at the apartment let alone a dog. pfft
[quote user="Doug D"]
Gina - do you know if the dogs for diabetics help those only in Northern Cal? I could swear I heard at the last ADA ride that you have to either live in the area or live there for a month or two for training with the dog. Again - I'm not sure about it - thought you might know off hand - otherwise I think I may make a call. I think Crystal (from Arizona) on this site looked into it too. I'll ask her to see if she has more info. It's a great idea especially for those living alone.
[/quote]
I am not sure. But, I can find out for you. I think someone else just wrote they got in contact with dogs4d in this thread maybe you can give them a call as well.
[quote user="Monique H"]
On a FAR more practical note, wouldn't a CGM be a more practical approach to alerting lows?
Mo
[/quote]
A couple of points I'd like to make. First, I think a properly trained assistance dog would be at least if not more reliable than todays generation of CGMs. And would a CGM wag it's tail and let you rub it's ears? Would you have to stick a needle in your stomach for your dog to alert you? I think not. I'll take the Dog!
And as far as CJ120's comment. I just did an experiment. We have 2 dogs. I tested and was 51. One of the dogs was laying on his dog bed and the other wanted to go outside and when I opened the door did so. I've done some dog training of basic stuff for my dogs and read books/watched documentaries etc. I think some dogs may notify you, but to have a reliable dog you can depend on for this would require serious training. IMHO
[quote user="Wolf"]
Diabetes alert dogs sound awesome. im not even allowed to have fish at the apartment let alone a dog. pfft
[/quote]
Alert dogs are considered service dogs and have public access - you can take them with you anywhere. In return, they have to be able to know how to act in public.
If you want personal stories about a diabetes alert dog, check out Molly's (and Dixie's) blog at http://damdiabetes.blogspot.com/
Hi Doug,let us know what you found out about the alert dogs.Anyone lucky enough to get one of their dogs,tell us about them.
Thanks ajax,I went to the blog-Dixie is one pretty service dog !
Hello everyone,
I just wanted to let you all know that we are in the process of training a Diabetic Alert Dog for our 6 yr old son. We started training Rex in June of 2009 when he was 6 weeks old and attended a training program in KY. We then went to a Diabetic Alert Dog ( DAD) workshop in MS. I have noticed a lot of questions on this site re: where and how to get a DAD .
If I can help answer any questions please let me know...
Yes, DAD's are allowed public access per the ADA federal laws as well as individual state laws, Federal law prevails though if the 2 laws contradict each other. Remember the dog does not have the rights, it is the person with the disability that has the rights.
The current price range for self training a DAD is $5000 - $10,000. This includes the price of the dog and the price of the training program. It does not include, travel expenses, vet bills to transport the dog, food, or continued care of the dog.
There are some less than reputable training programs out there, so it is important to do your homework before leaving them a deposit. Make sure to read ALL the small print and ask lots of questions. Make sure to research each trainer or training program and talk with their success stories.
Good Luck
Hi Patience,Iwanted to know if you could give us an update on your Alert Dog ? Thanks !!
Rex is coming along nicely... He is 4 months old and has learned a lot in his mere 16 weeks. He alerts by using his nose to bump us. he hasn't figured out how to distinguish the low and high alert yet. I suppose we should start teaching that soon.
I am incredibly pleased with him and he can only get better from here. He alerted to Seth yesterday and only missed 1 high. His public access work is going well and we will continue to keep him out and about. The hard part of this training seems to be the consistency factor. You never realize how inconsistent you are until you have a mirror in your face 24/7. Every time Rex makes a mistake or has an accident in the house, I can see that we lost track of him or forgot what we were doing. Training is hard work and you must keep a sense of humor about it.
We are having fun though and every little success feels huge.