Diabetic Alert Dog Class
Is it work or play? It is both. When it comes to service dogs, work becomes very rewarding, in fact these dogs search for any opportunity to work. In this case, Kyra is learning to always keep an eye out, or should I say a nose out, for a specific scent. When that scent is present, she gets the opportunity to earn something very valuable.
The handler on the other hand, gets a best friend that will work for him twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. No, not for peanuts, for the chance to be with her handler, to interact with him, to enjoy what he enjoys, and to be his best friend.
Many times people will comment, “That is a working dog? It doesn’t look like she is doing anything, can I have her job?” as the dog simply sits next to her handler or goes under a table and falls asleep. They don’t realize the dog is in fact working. She is aware of how her handler smells, if there is any changes in his glucose level, waiting just for that scent in order to do what she does, alert to it because it really pays off. She loves to catch that scent, and her handler loves the fact that she was able to catch the change while he can do something about it.
Only those who have diabetes, or live with someone with diabetes know exactly how valuable these dogs are. People without diabetes may experience a very mild case of low blood sugar if they don’t eat. They notice stomach cramps, they may feel disoriented, week, unable to focus, shaky. This also happens to people to diabetes, however, the body becomes accustomed to low blood sugar and stops sending these danger signals. This is where the handler can go into extremely dangerous territory. This is where the dog’s nose picks up the changes and alerts the handler.
Dogs don’t need to be trained to smell, however, they do that naturally. The owner puts in a lot of work to use that sense to train the dog to alert to what their body will no longer alert to. When the training becomes a game of building the relationship with the dog, both look forward to the working game. A game that will save the handler’s life. In some cases the dog’s life if the dog was a rescue dog.
The next time you see a service dog team and the dog is sleeping under the handler’s chair. It may not look like much to you, but this team has learned to help one another and are able to live a better life because of the that sleeping dog is working.
