Dogs Could Be a Diabetic's Best Friend

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Even though dogs have amazing olfactory abilities, he said they are not universally sensitive to all chemicals.

"Do hypoglycemic individuals, in fact, emit an odor that is characteristic? I don't know, and I don't think anybody does know right now," he said.

A possibility other than scent is the dogs are picking up on visual cues, which is thought to be the case with seizure detection dogs. Such dogs allegedly can pick up on extremely subtle physiological changes in their human companion that may begin five to 45 minutes before an actual attack. The dogs then warn the humans so they can find a safe environment or take precautionary measures.

"It turns out what the dogs are really sensitive to is subtle changes in behavior of the individuals just prior to seizing," Myers said. "It's more of a fact that dogs are very, very, very observant of human behavior."

More information

To learn more about diabetes, visit the American Diabetes Association.