The story of a boy living with Type 1 and his family's journey to raise and train a diabetic alert dog.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Low Alert While Home Alone

Boy and pup
Today, Bo alerted to directly to Austin while the two were home alone. Austin was resting in my bed when Bo came into the room, jumped on the bed and alerted Austin with a paw swipe. Austin asked him if he needed to check and Bo paw swiped him a second time. Austin checked; he was 52. He treated himself with juice and then rewarded Bo with chicken. 

Ideally, Bo would have alerted before Austin got to 52. We use scent samples between 70 and 85 for training. While 52 is lower than I would like, it's better than no alert given the fact Austin doesn't feel his lows.









Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Bo's First Basketball Tournament

This nose knows.
Last Saturday we were at a basketball tournament with Austin and Bo from 5:30 to 10:30 pm. While Austin sat and played with his teammates on the court, we watched the games from the balcony with Bo. He alerted to a high while Austin was playing.

It was a busy, loud and crowded environment with lots of distractions. Food on the floor was one of the biggest and most difficult distractions for Bo, although he responded promptly to my commands to 'leave.' All the training we've done at basketball games helped prepare him for a tournament atmosphere.



Watching the games from the balcony.

Bo tucked between my legs and the balcony glass.