21
LIVING
day were the two hypo dog trainers
and handlers, both ex-police doghandlers. A volunteer
sat in a room
that had a glass wall, so we could
all see the demo. She was given
a small canister containing a gas
developed to smell like a hypo, took
the top off and kept it in a trouser
pocket. The dog, Dori, was allowed
in and immediately started to sniff
around, homing in on the volunteer.
Within a couple of minutes, the dog
had 'told' the trainer that there was
something that needed attention in
the room by jumping up (the dog's
'tell') and then identifying the pocket
the canister was in, to the delight of
everyone watching.
Game, set and match
Pearman explains, "So much of what
we do is about the training of the
dogs, but to an extent it's about
matching them to the client. For a
start, the dogs are selected at puppy
level. We do work with breeders, but
we pick the most likely to succeed
from each litter. All the puppies are
gorgeous, and have the potential,
but some just have personality traits
that are needed. They need to be
constant, persistent, gentle. We
allow for no ambiguity, no doubt. We
match the dog to the owner, then we
match their 'tells'. A dog might jump
up or place a paw on the owner's
knee or give a 'high five' - asking
for his paw to be touched. This will
be decided based on the age of the
person and the behaviours of the
dog. It might be based on whether
(or not) the person wears a pump - if
it's a tubed pump, you don't want
dog jumping up and pulling it out, so
another 'tell' needs to be trained-in
and suited to the owner."
Applications are
open!
How to apply for a
Hypo Hound
Applications for an amazing
Diabetic Alert Assistance Dog
are now open for 2025. Go to
the to website to download an
application form and return it via
email. If your child is under five
years old and newly diagnosed,
complete the form to the best
of your ability and get your
DSN to complete the medical
form for you. Then we will be in
touch. If your child is over five
years old, and does not have any
other additional needs, we will
need you to wait one year from
diagnosis to apply. This is so
that you utilise all the support
services available to you from
the NHS.
www.hypohounds.co.uk
*The HQ, and training centre,
has been made available due to a
legacy donation.
The training is meant to be fun
for the dogs and is rewards-based.
The charity was set up in 2014, so
celebrates 10 years of supplying
hypo alert dogs this year. They have
trained 50 dogs since 2016, with no
fails - which means the dogs are all
still doing the job they were trained
to do. Says Pearman, "Depending
on the dog and the client, the
majority of our dogs can sniff out
blood glucose highs as well as lows
- we train the dogs so that they are
'tailored' to the person. Scooby and
Dori are both trained to alert Sophie
when she is less than 5.5mmol/L or
more than 12mmols/L. Scoob has
been with Sophie for 10 years. He is
being retired because it's tiring to be
alerting her around 10 times a day,
that's a lot of alerts over a 10-year
period. He deserves a rest."
So much of what
we do is about
the training of the
dogs, but to an
extent it's about
matching them to
the client ~
Jane Pearman