Diabetes Dogs Detect Deadly Blood Sugar Drops Before Medical Devices, Families Claim

As technology advances diabetes care with continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps, and AI-powered alerts, another type of intelligence is proving just as powerful: a dog’s nose.

Across the country, specially trained diabetic alert dogs are learning to detect dangerous changes in blood sugar before medical devices, news agency SWNS reported.

Kona, a 1-year-old Lab from Ohio, alerts his owner, 7-year-old Kennedy Berce, to rising or falling blood sugar by gently placing a paw on his arm. Kona can often alert up to 30 minutes before your child’s glucose monitor registers a problem.

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After completing two months of scent detection training, Kona now works 24 hours a day, like hundreds of other diabetic alert dogs, according to the same source.

Those who live with diabetes alert dogs say the animals provide security and peace of mind. For Kennedy Berce and her family, that means having a constant companion who can sense danger before anyone realizes something is wrong.

“At only 7 years old, she can be full of energy even when her blood sugar is 45. That’s why Kona is a lifesaver,” Lindsey Berce, Kennedy’s mother, told SWNS.

“He can sense the change before Kennedy feels anything, and often before we even know something is wrong with his technology.”

High or low blood sugar levels cause chemical changes in a person’s body that humans cannot smell. Diabetic alert dogs are trained to recognize these odors and alert their owners through specific actions such as pawing or licking, according to the American Kennel Club.

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Dr. Frank Dumont, an internal medicine physician and executive medical director at Virta Health in Colorado, told News Digital that it all comes down to how the body and technology process signals.

One of the main limitations of current medical devices for diabetes is the mismatch between what happens in the body and the blood vessels, the doctor said.

Trained alert dogs have the intuition to detect glucose changes in real time, even when the person is sleeping, and often respond to hormonal changes before sensors detect them.

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This early detection may be especially critical for people whose blood sugar levels suddenly drop or reach dangerously low levels, Dumont said.

“Those are the kinds of things that can cause seizures, coma or even death,” he warned.

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Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes involve high blood sugar levels, but for different reasons. Type 1 occurs when the body’s immune system destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, while type 2 develops when the body still produces insulin but no longer responds to it effectively.

“The treatment is very different,” Dumont said. “Sometimes we have to turn to medications like insulin, but usually we try to do other things to help people get adequate nutrition.”

While diabetic alert dogs can provide crucial early warnings, they are no substitute for medical devices or ongoing monitoring, experts emphasize.

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Although the animals undergo extensive training and require constant reinforcement to help improve accuracy, they cannot provide accurate blood sugar measurements.

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Those interested in using a diabetes alert dog as part of their diabetes management should speak with a doctor to determine the best approach for their individual needs.