A Series of Low Alerts

Bo gave a low alert at 4:45 pm Sunday. I checked Austin and he was 104. Bo is rewarded for low alerts of 100 or less, so I told Bo we would watch. I gave Austin an orange slice and two Saltines to prevent a low. Exactly 10 mins later at 4:55 pm, Bo alerted low again. This time Austin was 87. I rewarded Bo and gave Austin more carbs. Then at 5:14 pm Bo alerted again. I checked Austin and he was 86. This time I gave Austin a glucose tablet. Bo didn't settle until about 10 minutes after I had given Austin the glucose. Up to that point, he was right by Austin's side. (I took this picture of him after his second alert in this series.) By the time he settled Austin's blood sugar had risen to 120 -- his target number. 

It's Called a Team for a Reason

Morning walk in the woods.

Bo caught two middle of the night lows this week. Both times he woke Austin from sleep by alerting with repeated paw swipes and both times Austin called out to me saying Bo was alerting. These alerts are wonderful and exciting and worth celebrating but we would be foolish to think we can always count on them. This is the exact reason why we will always check Austin on a schedule day and night.

The reality is Bo misses alerts. In fact he missed an alert earlier this morning. We let Bo outside at 7:30 am, he got his breakfast Kong shortly after and then hopped in bed with us to go back to sleep. Around 8:15 am I got up and started getting ready to take Bo for our morning walk. Bo was following me as I was collecting my coat, keys and treats to take on the walk. Before I left, I went to check Austin's blood sugar. Bo followed me into Austin's room and showed no signs that he smelled an out of range blood sugar. Given Bo's behavior I expected the meter to read 130 but to my surprise Austin was 72. I used the missed alert as an opportunity to do live scent training with Bo. 

The missed alert could be explained away in many different ways but I expect it had less to do with the meter, test strip or blood sugar trend and more to do with a young dog, with a full belly who was excited to go for his morning walk. This missed alert is not ideal but it's okay. It's okay because I don't expect perfection. I seek progress and Bo is definitely showing progress. It's also okay because I recognize together with Bo we are a team. We work together to keep Austin safe. There have been times when Bo has caught a low or high we wouldn't have caught and there have also been times (like this morning) we have caught a low or high that Bo has missed. I believe there will be less missed alerts as Bo ages and matures but I don't expect there will be none.

Note: As I was finishing the last sentence of the paragraph above, Bo came to me and alerted. I checked Austin and he was 99 -- in Bo's reward range. Love our Bo!

Alerts After School

Austin had been home for about 30 minutes after school when Bo alerted to me. He alerted with a paw swipe followed by a bow -- the alert chain for a low. I told Austin Bo had alerted and asked him to check. He checked and he was 85. Austin had a juice box while I rewarded Bo for his alert. After the juice he ate a 15 grams apple snack which we didn't cover with insulin. Nearly two hours after this low alert, Bo alerted again while I was vacuuming. This time he only pawed my leg -- the alert signal for a high. I went to check Austin and he was 174. Austin got insulin and Bo got some cheese for his good work.