Dogs Sniffing Out Disease

The power of the canine nose has an increasingly valuable place in human medicine. Dogs have been trained to detect cancers of the bladder, lung, prostate, ovary, breast, and skin. These cancers, in many cases, are often detected before the patient knows of the disease. Cancers emit different chemicals than healthy tissue. Dogs can smell these chemicals.

Dogs are also being trained as epileptic seizure alert dogs and "hypo alert" dogs -- to alert their diabetic human of a preeminent low blood sugar attack. Here is how one dog trainer, who happens to be diabetic, trained her dog.

Kimberley Cox is a dog trainer at the Cancer and Bio-Detection Dogs centre in the UK who suffers from diabetes. She's training a golden retriever called Rory.

When Kimberley has a hypoglycemic attack, she captures her body scent in cotton wool and bottles it.

Sitting with Rory in a room at the center, she simulates an attack by opening a bottle.

Rory immediately leaps onto her and licks her face. He then fetches her insulin kit, so she can check her sugar levels. Having achieved his task, Rory is rewarded with a food treat. Read full story from National Geographic.

Dogs can detect scents in the range of parts per trillion. Disease-sniffing dogs are trained by positive reinforcement. Trainers use a clicker or food reward when the dog identifies the positive sample (breath or urine) from the patient out of several negative samples.

For cancer detection, the dogs work alone; they do not meet the patients, just the collection of samples. For service dogs sniffing out seizures and diabetes, they work closely with their human. These service dogs bark, whine, lick or nuzzle to get the attention of their person so they can "prepare" as best as they can. Some dogs will also aid by fetching needed items such as insulin kits.

In a related news story, one dog appears to have detected a brain aneurysm in a woman suffering from a headache. She refused recommendations from co-workers to go the hospital, but went straight to the ER when a co-worker's dog ran up to her and began licking her right temple "as though it had been smeared with bacon grease."

The cancer and diabetic disease alert dogs have proven their skills time and time again in various tests. The aneurysm case is the first of its kind I have read about, but I definitely think it is viable. Animals pick up on subtle scents and cues; many times we are completely unaware of it.

What do you think about these disease-sniffing dogs? Do you have a service dog that is also an alert dog? Please share your comments and stories. I love reading about the wonderful ways dogs (and cats!) use their superpowers to help humans.

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Photo: Sophie's snow nose © Janet Tobiassen Crosby DVM