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TELL YOUR FRIENDS​

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We need your help! Please consider telling your friends and family about this tax deductible fundraiser for a good cause. With such a great fundraising goal, we need your help to spread the word!

ALERT SERVICE DOGS

 

​Certain types of dogs are able to do more with their advanced ability to smell than others. Scent dogs take full advantage of their superior sense of smell.  A dog’s smelling capacity is 10 -50+ times stronger than man’s.  They have the capability of ‘tasting’ smells, as well as categorizing scents and associating smells with specific human responses.  

 

It’s because of their amazing scenting abilities that they can detect the change in blood sugar levels in humans.  We train them to not only recognize the change, but react to the change, as well.  That reaction, in real time, helps us know when a change is actively happening.  To a diabetic, that real-time reaction can be crucial.

 

Many breeds are bred specifically for their sense of smell.  And while hunting dogs certainly qualify for the job, they aren’t the only breed that does it amazingly well.  The best candidate for a DAD is one that scents well, has an above average work ethic, and is able to manage their work drive to be calm enough to live within the parameters of a family setting.

 

Remember that certain breeds fit all of those requirements easily, but not wholly.  In other words, it comes down to the dog, not the breed.  The variances among personalities, temperaments, and drive within a litter can be extreme.  So while a breeder has a whole litter of pups, only 1, 2, or none, may qualify for the demands of being a Diabetic Alert Dog.

 

Please contact ALERT SERVICE DOGS for more information: 800-518-1810

SCENT TRAINING

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Our pups are exposed and imprinted to scent when they are just weeks old. Since dogs will fall back on experiences and exposures they have from a very young age, we take full advantage of this sponge-like learning period to build specific associations and reactions to blood sugar changes. Learn about scent training from ALERT.

TYPE 1 DIABETES

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​Characterized by loss of the insulin-producing beta cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, leading to insulin deficiency. People (usually with type 1 diabetes) may also present with diabetic ketoacidosis, a state of metabolic dysregulation characterized by the smell of acetone, a rapid, deep breathing known as Kussmaul breathing, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, and altered states of consciousness.

RISKS & COMPLICATIONS

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There are many chronic complications resulting from Diabetes. Damage can be caused to the heart, kidneys, nerves, and blood vessels. Blindness, stroke, infertility, cognitive decline, and death may also be results. In the United States, there were approximately 675,000 diabetes-related emergency department visits in 2010 that involved neurological complications, 409,000 ED visits with kidney complications, and 186,000 ED visits with eye complications

 

THE PROJECT

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