mara, sometimes shortened to m in posts, is my belgian malinois and she’s training for sugar alert. i am aware of the mixed science out there on alert dogs (and, given what goes into truly training one of these and then maintaining that training and those behaviors over time, i am really not surprised the data is somewhat mixed! actually, until m started alerting on me on her own unprompted, i was as big a skeptic as anyone…)
i’m starting this thread for a couple reasons:
- because she is super cute, and connected to diabetes, and so i have an excuse to talk about her here! besides, she is easily the most fun and adorable part of my diagnosis and treatment plan by far.
- to address the aforementioned skepticism, mine included! our story is anecdotal, nothing more, but she does make a compelling daily argument for the utility and functionality of an alert dog. once you experience (or even see video of) her in action, it may just give folks something to think about. sure changed my perspective.
- to share, for anyone curious, what goes into training and living with a medical alert dog. how we did her scent work for BG, how we do her public access training, and so on. m is entirely homeschooled (we have never seen a professional trainer), and most of my methodology is cribbed from my in-laws (LEO k9 handlers). we do all of our training independently.
mara is a little over 1.5yo and a purebred belgian mal. most mals go into law enforcement or the military, but m didn’t have the temperament and ended up being sold to me (originally) as a companion animal/pet in fall ‘22. she’s now a nurse/medic and heading for law school with me this fall. 
given what we know now, sometime between fall ‘22 and fall ‘23, my diabetes Sx started. once i got diagnosed and started wearing a CGM, it became very clear that certain new behaviors by m were directly linked to BG changes: she was beating the meter by 5-15 minutes and she was pretty consistent, i even started logging it to be sure. once i was sure, at that point i got some books and we started reinforcing her natural alert behaviors with stimuli and rewards to turn her into a working alert dog.
that’s the actual sugar detection, which (oddly) is the easy part: it’s simple scentwork, just like training a drug- or bomb-sniffing dog. the hard part is what’s called public access training; that’s the work that goes into her conduct and manners in spaces where animals don’t normally go. her VIP (very important puppy) pass i call it. we have another 6-8 months on that probably, til her manners are on lock and she’s able to keep focus on her duties in any environment. that will put her right around 2yo, and the associated canine cognitive development at that age is significant for this final stage of training.
other than her diabetes work, m is like any 1.5yo pup: a bundle of energy and good intentions, something of a chaos monster, and just sweet as can be. in addition to her alert work, she uses a word board to communicate beyond normal dog comms. she has and uses 105 word buttons in her board. she also loves fetch, hide and seek, long woodsy sniff walks in our forests, trail running, race days, a bite of literally anything i’m eating (hot sauce on anything is not a hit though, she’s got a flyover state taste for spice), squeaky toys, and frozen marrow bones. she’s on full voice control (but i leash her in public spaces like pharmacies and coffee shops just for appearances) and doesn’t take days off in any format. we use a blend of training techniques and tools for our many different scenarios that we navigate together.
ask us anything!
Can’t wait to hear how she continues to progress!
and yeah those cascade passes are a bigger barrier than they seem like they should be! the cost of living is also a lot more approachable in spokane or salem than seattle, quite honestly 
as far as alert work, i don’t know what’s “normal”, but we are homeschooled and independent, so we didn’t go through an organization. as far as mals, i feel like the relevant issue is that regardless of the service the dog can provide (and they are more than capable of any kind of medical service work i can think of), most people very simply cannot keep up with a mal. they are a LOT of dog and if you don’t have a pretty specific lifestyle, that dog’s placement will not be successful. if their needs are met they are incredible! but if those needs aren’t met, they’re anywhere from destructive to dangerous… and yeah, the breed definitely has intense needs around exercise, emotional bonding, and intellectual enrichment. they can’t be successful in their training or tasks if their needs aren’t otherwise met, and so they are just generally a crapton of dog for most homes (especially ones with say, young children, other pets etc). the placement has to match the dog to work out, and such a high-need breed isn’t suitable to everyone. otherwise i expect you would see more of them in service and therapy work: we happened to be that match that worked out (my lifestyle, her talents, my needs: stars aligned!), but again, my situation is fairly unique 
I love all dogs though and your pup looks so beautiful and her expression shows her great intelligence!
love it!!!
