The other day I met a Groodle who is an Assistance Dog. They are trained to alert their diabetic owners in advance of low or high blood sugar events before they become dangerous. The owners can take steps to return their blood sugar to normal, such as using glucose sweets or taking insulin.
How does this work? The dog smells the molecular change, which is not necessarily the breath smell or diabetic halitosis. It sounds too easy, but that is what happens. At night during a low blood sugar episode, the dog may lick the face of the diabetic and if that does not awaken the person, will scratch vigorously at them until they awaken. A diabetic has about 20 minutes to react.
The dogs are trained to accompany their owners wherever they travel (similar to guide dogs). A diabetic must be consistent with testing and not rely on their dog to monitor their blood sugar levels.
What will dogs do next I hear you ask? Well apparently they are currently being trained in the detection of cancer and other diseases. Wow!
And of course they can still smell a bone or biscuit from 10 metres and a walk or ball game from about a kilometre!
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