How To Train A Diabetic Alert Dog

There are countless Americas that suffer from diabetes, structuring their lives around it, walking a daily tightrope with blood tests, monitoring sugar levels and planning a careful diet. Not to worry, it can get a little bit easier, particularly if you have Type 1 Diabetes, that's where 'man's best friend' can help. Dogs can be trained to recognize the scent of those experiencing hypoglycemia, which is low blood sugar and then in turn warn their owners.

And while it's certainly possible (and often recommended) to have a professional train your dog to recognize signs of diabetes, here's how you can do it yourself, should you want to.

1. No matter how sensitive the olfactory glands, even dogs need a strong foundation of the scent. In the beginning of the training the scent of low blood sugar may not be as appealing as their favorite chew toy, or playing with the kids, you'll need both time and patience. The trick (some call it a secret) behind training a dog is using the reward system, a treat when they do it right, withholding the treat when they don't.

2. Keep it simple and remember that no matter how cute or smart they appear they are still dogs and don't have a person's cognitive powers. Perform your training in areas with little distraction so your canine can stay focused on you.

3. As your little guy begins to get things right (95% of the time), it is only then you'll want to mix things up. You'll want to change your posture, the distance from each other, and then add in distractions. Remember to always be patient, they're trying their best and want to please, they just might not understand completely.

4. Over time and with practice you'll want to introduce the difference between an alert (your dog saying, "Hey, something's up) and a signal. A signal conveys (in dog language) exactly what they are trying to say. If the blood sugar scent is low, they might swipe their paw on your leg, if the scent is high, then barking might be in order.

5. The Chain...

While humans can understand the complexities of intricate problems, dogs will need a little help. Keep your training simple and focus on only one thing, once they get that one right most of the times, then add in a second piece of the puzzle/training. Once they get the second one, only then will you chain the two separate things together.

The Result

Properly trained diabetic alert dogs have approximately an 85% success rate. You'll begin to see success after about 6 or 7 weeks, this assumes you've trained consistently and other factors are normal.

Variables

There are multiple variables that will happen in dog training, the dogs' health, their temperament, how committed the trainer is to the regimen, their teaching ability, etc. No one has a 100% success rate, there are simply too many variable.

Diabetes is certainly a cross to bear, but it can be much more easily managed with a properly trained four-legged friend. They are non-judgmental and their sole desire is to help and offer love.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Train-A-Diabetic-Alert-Dog&id=8841617