Ok, I have no idea if this is possible or not, but I think Drift may be a diabetic alert dog.

Last week we went to a friend's house that is a diabetic and Drift was all whiney and weird. She was going back and forth between my friend and I whining and jumping on my friend - she's not a jumper. After the third time she jumped on her, my friend decided to test her blood sugar and it was way super low. We worked to get it raised up and Drift never left her side. I went home later thinking that was the oddest afternoon I had ever spent.

Then today I took Drift next door to play with the neighbor's dog while I visited with my neighbor. Drift started acting really weird and whiney again. As a joke, I suggest that my neighbor check her blood sugar (she is also diabetic). She laughed and said she had recently checked it and it was fine, but checked it again just to be safe. Her sugar had plummeted. She said that as fast as it was falling, she's not sure that she would have had time to notice the symptoms of it being low before she blacked out.

I was stunned. These are the only two people that Drift has had any contact with that are diabetic, and she's never been trained in any kind of alert behavior.

Is it possible for a dog to just sense that something is wrong and act out as an alert? Or is this just an odd coincidence?

--Kel

Wow Kelly! That gave me chills. I don't think it is coincidental considering that this is out of the normal realm of Drift behavior. I'd say you have one special girl!

As in turned to people & their feelings etc that she is....it seems absolutely possible for her to have 'sensed' some 'change'. I don't know much about alert dogs or what they actually sense or smell in a diabetic that they are 'trained' to understand needs an alert, so I can't say what caused her to act up. She may have just sensed some kind of chemical change. Might be interesting to look into it & find out how they are trained & what exactually they alert to.

As usual...she is an exceptional girl taking care of people one way or another at a real job or just on her own time. :-)

I doubt it was a coincidence. I'm betting that she smelled something that indicated the drop in blood sugar. Good girl! Read this:
http://www.wsfa.com/story/15448185/dog-smells-low-blood-sugar

From what I understand the seizure dogs are not trained but some just "know" somehow......

So why not our Drift?

Thanks, Lynn, So it is an odor change that they detect. Kinda what I thought, but wasn't sure.

That is really something. I completely believe that could be happening. Incredible.

These super sympathetic empathetic dogs, big hearted dogs, should be selected and bred. THESE are what we should all select for IMO. The rest of it, the phenotype, the coat etc, it's all just extra.

Wow,
Drift just keeps getting better and better. Maybe you should talk someone into making a movie about her - we need a new canine hero. She can be a modern day Rin Tin Tin or Lassie.

(may I humbly ask for her autograph, please?)

ANOTHER super power for Drift? Kelly, that is awesome.... Wow. She is such a special dog. I hope I get to meet her some day!!!

 Quote: Kelly

Is it possible for a dog to just sense that something is wrong and act out as an alert? Or is this just an odd coincidence?

--Kel

Not a coincidence, Kelly...Drift's nose knows. The odor changes, usually a fruity smell, would be what I'd guess she detected.They use these scents when further training dogs to alert.