Hello new to this site however over 40 yrs. T1D! I use a dog to keep me alive due to extreme hypoglycemic unawareness. I was looking for anyone else using a dog…
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Welcome!
Hi @drocket285,
Welcome to TypeOneNation! What kind of dog do you have? What is it like to have a service dog?
Hello and thank you Gina! His name is Dozer and he is a yellow lab! He doesn’t get his name because of his sleeping habits. Well I suppose its like having a 2 yr old child involved in everything you do.
My 9 year old T1 has a alert dog. He is great! He goes to school every day. Having a service dog is A LOT of work, but worth it in the end!
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I used to have a mini dachshund who would wake me up in the middle of the night if I was going low. But I never saw an explanation of why some dogs can do it, and others don’t. My current dog has no clue! Do they sense perspiration or body movements? Make sure to have your dog licensed as a service dog if you haven’t already. Many communities are clamping down on people bringing their dogs into public places if they are not reviewed and licensed.
There is no licencing agency for service dogs
I am on the list for a diabetic alert service dog. Can anybody tell me what kind of improvement you may have had by working with one of the dogs? Also, did you go through an agency or train the dog yourself? I am hoping to have the dog by summer.
My grandpa had T2D 10 years ago and difficulty in walking. My doctor suggested us to buy/train a service dog who can alert grandpa’s blood sugar level and accompany him when we go outside. We sent out our household dog (Neo) to doggy school. Luckily Neo is very sensitive to the blood sugar change and responds well to it. Besides, he learned lots of skills to save my grandpa’s life., such as alerting to take medications. You could also check out the benefits of a diabetic service dog here. My grandpa can control his condition under the help of this “warning clock”.
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I really want a service dog but the problem is money !!!
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Honestly, I can’t afford a service dog. But I have worked with animals all my life. I intend on training one. I want him to be my back up for my cgm and my own awareness of lows. I drop very easily. I’ve even dropped when on IV.
So I always want a backup plan. Nighttime drops plague me so to improve that, I’m eating late night, but that has its drawbacks as well. I’m gaining weight and not always making thru the night w/o dropping.
But I’m just now working with the dog, I got him about a month ago. He has to learn the basics first before we get to the scent work. Hopefully I’ll get him on the program in 6 months or so.
They actually get a swab of the diabetics mouth within the first ten seconds of a hypo & train the dog with that sample through its scent. Takes years of training and not all dogs are capable of this because some just won’t, even after years of training. Like with police dogs they train a bunch but only a few out of the bunch actually are successful. My dads a dog trainer and I asked him about how they do it. Hope that helps