Dogs

The benefits of raising dogs are actually more than we imagine. Besides providing us psychological comfort, dogs also have considerable beneficial effects on our health. When we walk the dog, we are actually exercising ourselves, of course, there are many other benefits we may not easily notice. Dogs are quite sensitive to some diseases, so they might give you clues to have early check-ups.

Dogs can timely alert diabetic patients to low blood sugar. Muscle tremors, heavy sweating, rapid heartbeat, restlessness, and nervousness are obvious symptoms of hypoglycemia in diabetic patients. Some diabetic patients experience frequent attacks, and those symptoms can potentially cause patients to go into shock or even die. The likely reasons are insulin overdose, excessive physical exertion, or missing meals. According to a report from the Düsseldorf Diabetes Research Institute (DDFI) in Germany, dogs can warn their diabetic owners before an episode occurs.

A study at the University of Liverpool in the UK showed that dogs, as human loyal friends, have quite astonishing abilities. Dogs alert their owners before patients themselves realize their blood sugar is low. The research found that if a person has two dogs, relying on the dogs' sense of smell, they can detect the owner's low blood sugar even at night when the owner is asleep. The two dogs continually bark, trying to open the bedroom door with their mouths and wake their owner.

In fact, dogs observe their owners closely not only when they are patients or people with mobility difficulties but also notice extremely subtle changes in their owners' moods and behaviors. Yet to this day, research on dogs’ ability to timely detect changes in human bodies is almost nonexistent. People still do not understand why dogs can anticipate hypoglycemia in diabetic patients. The fact is, more than one-third of dogs can respond promptly when their owners experience low blood sugar. British scientists analyzed that dogs' anticipatory ability is due to changes in the patient's body odor caused by sweating. Experts emphasize that establishing a good and close relationship between the owner and the dog is a prerequisite for dogs to fully exert their alertness.

The Düsseldorf Diabetes Research Institute (DDFI) plans to continue studying this phenomenon called "the sixth sense." Their long-term goal is to train some "hypoglycemia alert dogs." Owning such dogs is crucial for those diabetic patients who live alone.

The reason dogs can timely detect changes in their owners is inseparable from their keen sense of smell. The body odor undergoes subtle differences between normal and sick states, and dogs can distinguish those differences with their sensitive noses, allowing them to alert their owners in time. So if your dog keeps sniffing or barking at a certain spot on your body, it's best to pay attention, as there may be some problem with your health.