Morning Alert

This morning Bo woke at 5:31 am asking to be let outside. While I was up, I checked Austin. Bo did not alert; I just wanted to check him. He was 156, a nice number for the hour.  At 6:40 am Bo alerted with a paw swipe and a bow -- the alert chain for a low. I asked Bo if we should check his boy and he gave me 'the look'. We checked and Austin was 90. We reward Bo for low alerts under 100, so he got one of his favorite food rewards and Austin got breakfast. Love, love, love that pup of ours and can't imagine life without him.

I Wouldn't Be Telling the Truth If...

We took Bo to Austin's hair cut appointment this morning. He stayed in a down stay for about 20 minutes but never settled to a relaxed position with his head on the floor for more than a few seconds. The distractions were few, so I worked him without treats. He remained in his down stay as I left his side to look at products. He also remained in a down stay as staff and customers walked past him.

After 20 minutes, he began whining quietly. I waited for a few seconds of quiet and then cued him to stand and walk with me. We went to Austin getting his hair cut and he jumped on me and barked. He did not paw swipe, so I made an assumption that he was demonstrating adolescent dog behavior rather than a futile attempt at an alert. After walking him out of the salon and placing him in the car, I checked Austin's blood sugar. He was 144 with no insulin on board.  (Note: Bo was in the car for about 5 minutes. The temperature outside was in the mid 40s and Bo was in our complete view the entire time. ) 

Bo has demonstrated this behavior before when I've been working him in public. As you can imagine, the behavior concerns me. It concerns me because in order for Bo to work in public he will need to be able to settle quietly for extended periods of time. After all, if his training is successful, he will end up working along side Austin one day and most of his time will be spent by Austin's side being well --- bored.

I wouldn't be telling the truth if I said training sessions like the one today don't cause me to worry about Bo's ability to work in public, because I do. What I don't do however, is allow the worry to stifle me or keep me from giving 110% percent to Bo's training. I am committed to doing everything I can do to provide Bo with the skills he needs to be the best that he can be. His steady progress and willingness to learn keep me hopeful and optimistic that the challenges we face today will one day be mere blips in our journey.

Training at the Animal Hospital

As part of Bo's ongoing training, we will begin weekly visits to our local animal hospital. The purpose of this training is to desensitize him to the stress associated with a veterinarian visit. The training will start with one visit a week that consists of me bringing him into an exam room, a hospital staff member greeting him with me, and then the staff taking him to another room. He will be given high value treats like chicken, hot dogs or cheese while he experiences the sights, sounds and smells of the procedure area. He will then be walked back to the exam room where I will be waiting for him. He will get lots of praise and treats upon his return. 

Once Bo is demonstrating a comfort level with this weekly routine, the staff will perform the routine with the addition of a stressor that represents a scenario he might experience if he was being treated for a medical condition. For example, they may weigh him, open his mouth, touch his ears, hold his paws or take his temperature. Again, he will receive high value treats throughout the experience and immediately following the experience. 

This training is especially important as Bo ages and no longer has the need to visit the hospital as regularly as he did in his first year. (His vaccine schedule is now yearly.) We want to 'vaccinate' him from developing a fear of the hospital experience, which can occur when an animal associates the stress of medical procedures with a hospital visit. 

We want Bo to be comfortable going to the animal hospital. Weekly visits that turn into monthly visits, should help in building and maintaining his comfort in such an environment. We are very fortunate to have a local animal hospital staff that is supportive of this training and eager to assist us.

Trusting Bo's Nose

Today, I had a lesson in trusting Bo's nose. While I was at the dining room table and Austin was in his room, Bo got off his Kuranda cot to alert to me. His alert was a paw swipe to my leg as I sat at the table. I asked him if we should check his boy and proceeded to check Austin's blood sugar. I checked and Austin was 148. This is not a number we reward Bo for, so I gave Bo the 'all set' command. (We reward for alerts below 100 and above 175.) Twelve minutes later, Bo alerted to me again. I gave him the 'all set' command again but he didn't settle. In fact, he continued alerting with a paw swipe and then escalated his alert by using a low, deep vocalization. He was being persistent, so I told him we would check again. I got Austin's meter and rechecked and his meter read 174. The time between Bo's first alert and this reading was 14 minutes. Clearly, Bo's nose was smelling Austin's blood sugar rise at a rapid rate. This experience served as a reminder to me of how important it is to trust Bo's nose. 

Crate Alert

Bo was trying to tell us he smelled a high this morning from his crate. I was getting ready to bring Austin to school and Bo was whining rather loudly from his crate. This is not typical behavior. Thinking nature was calling, I put him out on his tether, while I ran inside to gather my lunch. After a minute, I went back to find him waiting for me in the garage. I took him off the tether and brought him inside where he alerted with a paw swipe. Austin checked and he was 185. This alert allowed for Austin to get a correction before school that we otherwise would not have caught. The experience has got me thinking about working on teaching Bo an alert signal to use when he is inside his crate.

One Year Anniversary

October 13, 2012

One year ago today we brought Bo home and began our journey to raise and train him to be a diabetes alert dog for Austin. We set out on our journey with high hopes grounded in the reality of knowing our success was dependent on many factors outside of our control. Factors like if he was responsive to D.A.D training and public access training, if he would turn out to be temperamentally stable, and if he and Austin would form the bond needed to make them a successful team.

October 13, 2013

Today, Bo is alerting to highs and lows. He is alerting at home, in public and has even alerted several times in a vehicle. He is alerting remotely and for third parties. Recently, he has started waking from sleep to alert. He is not perfect but he is demonstrating steady progress and a willingness to do the job we are teaching him. We remain committed to daily training and hopeful for his successful passing of the Canine Good Citizenship test and public access test at some point in the future.

This Is Not About Sympathy, We Do Not Need Sympathy

Today we join members of the Type 1 Diabetes community in posting a day in the life of Type 1. This post is not about sympathy; it's about raising awareness of Type 1 and advocating for a cure.

This is our story but it's not unique. It's the story of thousands of families across the country and throughout the world whose children live with Type 1. Read it and share it and let your network of friends know these children did not do anything to cause this disease. Let them know, no amount of exercise or nutritious food will take this disease away from them. Let them know, the prevalence of Type 1 is increasing and researchers don't know why. Let them know, insulin is not a cure. Let them know, we need a CURE.

This is the face of Type 1 Diabetes.

A Day in the Life of Type 1 
October 5, 2013
1:30 am - I wake to check Austin's blood sugar. He is high 218. I give insulin.
3:30 am - Daran wakes to check Austin's blood sugar. He is high 196. He gives insulin.
6:49 am - I wake to check Austin's blood sugar. He is 159. We leave alone.
8:29 am - Austin check's before football practice. He is 131. He eats a snack.
10:35 am - Austin checks after football practice. He is 140. He leaves alone. Exercise will kick-in.
11:13 am - Austin eats lunch and he gives himself insulin to cover what he eats.
11:23 am - Austin decides to eat an apple (not part of his lunch) he gives himself more insulin to cover the carbs of the apple.
11:35 am - Bo alerts to me. Austin checks and he is 159. He leaves alone, he has insulin on board.
12:46 pm - Bo alerts again. Austin checks and he is 123. He leaves alone.
1:00 pm - Bo alerts. Austin is 190. He gives himself insulin.
1:57 pm - Bo alerts to me. I check Austin and he is 86. He eats a snack.
2:19 pm - I check Austin to make sure the snack raised his blood sugar. It did. He is now 108.
4:30 pm - Bo alerts. I check Austin and he is 139. I leave alone.
5:05 pm - Austin eats dinner and gives himself insulin.
5:55 pm - Austin eats some more food than what was on his dinner plate. He gives himself more insulin to cover the carbs in that food.
6:39 pm - Austin eats again and again gives himself insulin.
7:36 pm - Bo alerts. I check and Austin is 103.
8:04 pm - Bo alerts. I check and Austin is 64. Austin takes glucose to raise his blood sugar.
8:19 pm - Bo alerts. I check and Austin is 102. He gets a snack.
8:44 pm - Bo alerts. I check and Austin is 126. He gets a bedtime snack. His target bedtime blood sugar is 160.
10:15 pm - Austin is in bed. I'm still awake. He calls out to me to check him one more time before he falls asleep for the night. He doesn't feel high or low. Bo has not alerted He just wants to be sure his blood sugar is at a safe enough level for him to go to sleep.

Austin makes living with Type 1 look easy. The reality is living with a disease that infiltrates every aspect of one's life is exhausting and down right difficult. He is strong and he is brave and he never asks for sympathy. He does ask for one thing and that is a CURE. We are hopeful a cure will be found in his lifetime. Until that day comes, he will live with Type 1. Help us advocate for a cure by raising awareness of this disease. The more people understand Type 1 is an autoimmune disease and not a disease that can be fixed by diet or exercise, the closer we will get to funding and finding the cure.