How to Train a Service Dog: Glucose alert

Answer to say: Glucose alert DOJ (what the tags mean)

What the dog does: Alerts you when your blood sugar goes low (or high), so you can check it.

You'll need: patience, healthy low-calorie treats, short 5–10 minute sessions, a marker word or clicker, sweat or breath samples taken during confirmed lows and confirmed normal readings, glass vials or tins, and your meter or CGM.

Steps:

1. Collect samples during a low and during normal readings, confirmed on your meter. A published study used perspiration samples taken at a low (46–65 mg/dL) and at a normal level (85–136 mg/dL).
2. At home, teach the dog to put its nose on the vial with the low sample and sit right away. Reward every correct sit.
3. Put the low-sample vial in a can. When the dog goes to it and sits, reward.
4. Add more cans one at a time, with blank or normal samples from the same person. Reward only the low.
5. Move the samples onto the person, and switch the alert to a nose poke on your body.
6. Practice in real life, at home and then in pet-friendly places, and check your meter every time the dog alerts.

Know the limits: In a 2017 real-life study, trained dogs alerted on time in only 36% of lows, only 12% of alerts matched an actual low, and a CGM would have alerted before the dog in 73% of shared events. Another study found one dog of two could learn a person's low-sugar breath scent, and results across different people were unclear.

Never rely on the dog alone. Keep using your meter or CGM, and keep your glucose tabs or meds with you.

Common mistakes: using old or mixed-up samples; skipping the meter check.

When to get a pro: before you start. Scent discrimination is hard to get right on your own.

Sources: Hardin et al., 2015, Dogs Can Be Successfully Trained to Alert to Hypoglycemia Samples; Los et al., 2017, J Diabetes Sci Technol; breath-sample study, Can J Diabetes 2019; ADA.gov FAQ Q2.

Your condition stays private. When staff ask what your dog is trained to do, just name the task. See What to say when they ask.

These are general training tips, not a substitute for a qualified trainer, your doctor, or your vet. Stop any exercise that hurts or stresses your dog. Sources checked October 19, 2026.