News

New approach to diabetes

APR 7, 2005

 A Wallangarra woman with diabetes is getting mobile by training a 'hypo' dog to accompany her for shopping trips in town - and not merely for company.

Lorraine Roulston's hypo dog in training, a Shetland pup called Ahanu Aramis, alerts her before her blood sugar levels drop (bringing on a potentially deadly hypo).

The danger of a hypo is that often diabetics do not realise until too late - even Mrs Roulston who has been diabetic for years can still be caught out.

Shopping trips and novel readings have to be planed carefully in advance. But things are different now Mrs Roulston has her ‘hypo'dog.

"It is about the dog letting you know you're getting low before a full scale hypo," Mrs Roulston said.

Ahanu Aramis is being trained as an assistance dog under the guidance of the Association of Australian Assistance Dogs (ASDOGS) based in north Queensland.

His hypo alert training will come in another form with President of ASDOGS, Faye Downie pointing out this is not something that ASDOGS can train a dog to do. "What we can do is, when the dog starts to show signs of alerting, which is often a result of a strong bond being formed between dog and recipient, to reward the dog and let him know that this is the behaviour required."

It is said that hypo dogs, like those who alert epileptics, notice subtle change in smells before the hypo is about to happen.

"An added bonus has been the dogs who begin alerting when their person is about to have a seizure. These dogs save the community a significant amount each year by reducing the need for 24 hour care, which a lot of these people need," Ms Downie said.

Mrs Roulston's Australian Champion Ming Dong aka Saki is a Japanese Chin breed and has been alert to his owner's hypos for years.

"A few months back I saw something on television about dogs who are sensitive to hypos and thought, that's what Saki does," Mrs Roulston said.

The only problem is Saki is getting on in years and so the forward thinking Mrs Roulston went about seeking a puppy to train to be hypo-alert to take into shops.

When she posted a query about hypo dogs on a breeders' internet site she had three replies - two who said contact Sydney hypo breeder, Barbara Katon and one from Barbara Katon herself.

This time when looking for a pup Mrs Roulston was not concerned with show dogs, colour or sex. And it worked out well because Mrs Katon had a brown, male sheltie pup to sell.

Both of Ahanu Aramis' parents are hypo alert and their owner Barbara is diabetic.

"It was almost as if it was meant to be," said Mrs Roulston.

Another irony is the fact Shetlands were the first breed Mrs Roulston worked with in her career. Although, not currently breeding dogs she has not put off the idea of breeding hypo dogs.

Now that Ahanu Aramis is home in Wallangarra it is the best time for him to learn off the older dog, Saki exactly how to alert his owner.

"A big key factor in the training is that the dog's closely bonded to the owner," said Mr Roultson.

Not only will he be close but also he will be trained to retrieve insulin and items from the fridge. Mrs Downie said Assistance Dogs are all trained to a certain standard of basic good behaviour. "Once he reaches this standard, the dog begins advanced training, which includes: opening and shutting doors and gates; turning a light switch on and off; fetching various items and placing them on a shelf; removing socks from a person's feet; placing items into a basket," she said.

An experienced dog trainer, Mrs Roulston is finding the hypo training she is completing the under the guidance of ASDOGS quite familiar.

Once Ahanu Aramis is accredited then owner and dog will be legally allowed to go anywhere together, excluding only operating theatres and commercial kitchens.

Along with her diabetes identity bracelet Mrs Roulston will have an identity tag for her Sheltie, which officially recognises him as a ‘service dog.

Source: Tenterfield Star