Dog vs. CGM

Anyone out there with a diabetic alert dog...get lower a1cs with dog or cgm?

 

I don't think you can compare the two.

With a CGMS you actually SEE what is going on, you can see trends, you can spot whats going on here and now.. a dog alerts to lows, the sense the chemical change in a person when they go low.. they don't dectect highs, they wouldn't give you anything on trends.. dogs are trained to do one thing, and that is sense a low, they don't know anything about diabetes, they don't know what your bg is any other time, they can't give advice on what to change, they don't have a screen that shows you what the bg is doing, if you are going high or low, and at what rate.... sense lows, that is the alert dogs job... they are two completely different things.. I wouldn't think anyone would get an alert dog in hopes of lowering an A1c.

if you are looking for something to get better control and lower the A1c, cgms, no question about it.

 

A dog only gives you an alert if your child's blood sugar is low...it does not offer insight into what happens to your child's blood sugar, it does not alarm if climbing bs, and it is significantly - and I mean alot - more expensive to a CGMS.

 

I guess I am going to be the odd man out here, I have both a dog and the cgm and seem to have had more luck with the dog. Of course that is me. It varies person to person. There are so many things to consider on both ends: dog vs cgm.
I defiantly liked the dog MUCH better, for me there was no comparison at all.

 

Has the alert dog helped with your A1c?

 

Yes, absolutely, more then the CGM.

 

I'm curious, Brynn. Does your dog alert high as well as low? This is a serious question.

Also a serious question (my earlier post notwithstanding)...how did you make the determination that the dog's alerting led to a better A1C than the CGM's monitoring. Were the periods of time served by the dog and by the CGM mutually exclusive?

 

Does the dog alert you to highs? trends? are you using a cgms continuously? how do you know the dog helped with the A1c and not the cgms?

I'm being serious.. I'm just curious how an alert dog would help with it. I know many people have great luck with their dogs and helping alert them to lows, or lows that may be coming, but I've never heard of anyone saying that their dog has helped with highs/trends and A1cs.. really curious here.

 

The dogs alert to both high and lows, I am also epileptic so these dogs can alert to both conditions.
For me, what happened I had an A1C that was 7.8, it stayed exactly the same with a CGM, when I got my dog, it dropped considerably, down to 7, and then down to 6.1. I do occasionally still use my CGM but rarely.

 

Does the dog react different for highs than lows? I've never heard of a dog alerting to highs.. your doggy has a lot of jobs, must be very well trained.

 

Yes, the dog gives different signals for highs and lows. He gets more persistent if I ignore him, and if I continue to ignore him, he will eventually go get someone he knows, like my parents/siblings/boyfriend.

 

how long have you had him? he sounds very welled trained. curious, what number high number does he alert at? I'm just curious how meals go, after you've eaten and your bg spikes.

 

I am curoius if other's with alert dogs have expereinced the same - it is my understanding that most dogs do not alert to highs...plus, I am also curious of how a dog would alert to a climbing or dropping blood sugar that is still in range like the CGMS. To me, the cgms telling that she is going up or going down is the best benefit - even when in range, I can be more proactive. So does a dog do that? I am also curious about how it works, how much the cost, how much training, how long it took,etc?

I know of a few people here who live and swear by their dogs, and I believe that they have good reason to. I am just not ready to give up my CGMS for one so it would be great to hear more info.

 

Well one thing I am certain of, a dog can bark louder than a CGM will beep!

 

It is a great benefit, I swear by my dog, like others swear by their CGM. However, he is a living, breathing, dog. What might have helped me more then the CGM is that he is a dog.. :cwds: He is not a machine, not something so "diabetes" if that makes sense.
They are expensive, what I paid for my dog it was not cheap, I have had him for two years now, and I am constantly working with him. If anyone has questions feel free to PM me about it, I will answer anything you have.
I completely understand how someone prefers the CGM and would not give that up. After all, thats how I feel about my pump

 

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. I would not have expected this response, and it has really given me (and likely others who read this thread) something to think about.. :cwds:

 

I'm very dissapointed that you would speak so adamantly on a subject you don't have all the facts on. YES, diabetic alert dogs are trained to alert on HIGHS as well as lows. My dd's dog starts alerting at about 148 & higher. They do alert when her bg shows a change even when it is still in range and can tell us wether the bg is trending to a high or a low.

Here is a quote from a person I know who just got a diabetic alert dog. This is from FB but I don't think she would mind me quoting her here:
"We went to Endo yesterday....Anthony's A1C dropped from 8.6 to 7.2...Well the only thing that changed in the last 3 months is Dash..We have had him for exactly 3 months and he has showed us what he is capable of doing! GO DASH!!! we love you" This kid was still having seizures with his CGMS.

I would be more than happy to answer any questions or give you info. but I ask that you please do your research before giving out false information. An alert dog is not for everyone but it certainly works for some.

I do know that 'you know who you are' pm'd me and I plan on getting back to you in the next day or so. We've been travelling for almost 2 weeks now and just got in last night. I will pm you back - thanks for being patient!

 

Diabetic alert dogs certainly DO 'alarm' if the bs is climbing and some organizations even offer them at no charge to the diabetic. Some are less expensive than a CGMS and some are more expensive. There are even a couple of organizations that are scamming people with these dogs. Anyone considering one needs to do lots of research and ask for references.

 

I think that the exchange on this thread, with the obvious exception of my first response, (which I am about to remove), has been in the spirit of learning. Let's take a step back and start over. No one needs to be attacked.