Blood Glucose Sniffing Dogs!

Note: For more detailed information on blood glucose sniffing dogs, read our article diabetic alert dogs.

Dogs are used to sniff out drugs in bags, so why not dogs that can sniff your blood glucose levels?  While this may sound far-fetched to some, there are service dogs that are trained to do just that.

I found an lovely, inspiring story of a 12 years old girl called Hunter, and her German Shepherd service dog called Diva.

The idea behind these animals is that they can detect small changes in the scent of the child’s breath, which can often smell fruity when blood sugar levels are high.  The dog is a constant companion to the child, with a very strong bond between the two.  Several times during the night, Diva will get up and smell Hunter to detect signs of high or low blood sugar levels.  If there is a problem, the dogs goes into alert mode, which has even been known to include taking the glucose testing kit to Hunter’s parents.

Source: Blood Glucose Sniffing Dogs

Diabetic Alert Dogs like Diva are trained by “All Purpose Canines”, who also train dogs to work with autistic children.  The training is time & staff intensive, so there is a large waiting list for these animals, which is a shame.  What is more of a shame is that All Purpose Canines has had to stop taking any new applications for Diabetic alert dogs, simply because the demand is so high.

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