I decided that it was time to start training Senator to alert to the high blood sugar scent. I made a sample when I was at about 220 and began on a Tuesday evening. I did the same procedure that we did when I started the low scent. I had him smell the low scent in a small plastic cup and then gave him a treat. I did this several times. Next, I had the scent in the cup in my left hand and another scent in a small plastic container with holes in my right hand. I told him to " find the high". We did this several times and called it a day.I repeated this same procedure the next morning.
Then on that Wed evening, I was putting on my shoes to go for a walk after dinner. Senator came over and alerted me. I backed away and said "I don't think so" thinking that this was a false alert for a low. Then I started wondering if maybe my insulin beat my food to my blood stream and I really was low. So, I checked. I was 184. Was he alerting to my high? By then it was too late to reward him and I still wasn't convinced that he could learn that quickly.
After our walk, I did some more training with the high scent, but went to the next level to see how he would do. I hid the scent in different rooms in our house. He found them quickly. I had Gary hide the scent in a more difficult place. He found it right away. I hid the scent in my pocket and he found that. He did have it. Amazing! He learned the high scent in less than 24 hrs with only two training sessions. I had read that the high scent was easier to train, but I never would have believed this.
I have been continuing his training with both the highs and the lows for a few weeks now. He really does have it. I'm still not sure how I want him to distinguish them. I've been having him alert me by pawing for both. I say good high or good low depending on which scent I use or am experiencing. What a smart puppy!
