Dogs detecting hypoglycemia?

I have type 1 and over time have lost my sensitivity to hypoglycemic reactions. Several years ago I was in a coma for over 7 1/2 hours before I was found. I know that aid dogs are very expensive. So, I was wondering if any dog owners (NOT of trained aid dogs) have found that without training their dog alerts them to hypoglycemia. I was thinking this could be really helpful and much more affordable. Any information, especially personal experience would be appreciated.

original. I will call the insurance co. Although I appreciate the advice about church or fundraiser, I am a very private person and being the object of public attention (regardless of how well meaning) is not something which is an option for me.

You might be able to teach a dog to do this for you with the help of a local trainer experienced in clicker training. I believe, that essentially the dog needs to be rewarded for licking your or nudging you and then only rewarded when you happen to have a blood glucose below a certain level. of course you'll need help training it so it is SOLID on basic manners and obedience too so that you can take it with you so it can warn you any time. But you, with the help of a private trainer, could TOTALLY do this. The hardest part will be choosing a dog that has the right temperament to be an assistance dog. Some labradoodle breeders breed for this type of temperament.

I'm a dietitian and my understanding, from talks with our local endocrinoligist, is that the only way to lose sensitivity is by having blood glucose that is not in control (allowed to get low too often). Once that happens the body stops responding to lows. In order to get the body responsive to lows again, you simply need to keep your blood sugar within a normal level for two weeks...NO lows in that time but a few highs are acceptable. If you can do that then you can reset the "thermostat" so to speak.

Consider seeing a dietitian who is also a diabetes educator and see if you can work out a plan to prevent lows for two whole weeks.

Yes, it is possible. I have heard of several pets that learned to key in on when the owner needed medication, but it's not common.

I don't personally have experience with this, but I have read several accounts on diabetes groups of this happening with pet dogs. You might be lucky and get a pet that will alert you and you might not. There is certainly no guarentee.

Some dogs can also detect cancer and will alert their owners about moles, prostate and other cancers. There was a documentary on TV about this recently.

Dog have an amazing acute sense of smell and can tell what's going on in our bodies, long before we do.

I found your question so interesting that I got online and looked it up and found a number of articles about people who's dogs spontaneously started alerting either them or another person in the household. I'm not sure you could guarantee this, though.

I also found a dog training facility that is quite expensive, as you said, but they only require the recipient to pay $7500 of the cost...they pay for the rest through fundraising. There's an application fee of $30 which is non-refundable. It got me wondering if your insurance company would consider kicking in for some of the cost, or if there could be fundraising efforts in your community or through your church. It seems like a really worthwhile cause to me.

Anyway, I'm sorry I can't give you an answer from personal experience, but thank you for opening my eyes to something I didn't even know existed.

Oh, and if you're interested in that program I mentioned, the website is:

http://www.heavenscentpaws.com/3%20Week%...

EDIT: Oh, goodness, Bear...I'm sorry if I offended you about the fundraising idea...I just know how tough it is to come up with that kind of money. Please forgive me if you felt I was being insensitive.