Train your Own Diabetic
Below we outline our two options - DIY Self-Training and Assisted Self-Training. Feel free to send us an email to help determine what route is best for you!
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DIY Self-Training Resources
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Are you wanting a Diabetic Alert Dog without needing to fundraise thousands of dollars to cover the expense? Are you familiar with puppy raising and training, ready to commit to it for the next 1-2 years? Is your family comfortable with potentially ending up with a pet if your pup decides they'd prefer to not be a Service Dog? If so, DIY self-training may be right for you! With this method we have provided all the materials below for free as part of our mission to bring transparency to the field. If you have any questions, join the free MD Dogs Facebook community to get help from others or schedule a Zoom call with one of our trainers.
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M.D. DOGS VIDEOS
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ONLINE COMMUNITY |
Assisted Self-Training Resources
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Are you comfortable raising a puppy as long as given guidance? Have time to dedicate to training but want to be able to ask questions? Do you want a bit of help to know what type of dog, whether to get OFA or PennHIP health testing, or when to add in-range scent samples to discrimination tests? Then assisted self-training might be right for you!
Assisted self training enables you to train your own Diabetic Alert Dog but without the stress of being completely on your own! We help keep you and your pup's progress on track as well as help you make decisions that are best for you and your dog. |
Start To FinishWe provide you with a puppy and guide you through approximately 10 months of training, providing lesson plans and check-ins as well as in person training sessions.
After your dog has reached the prerequisites needed (estimated after 10 months), the dog comes to MD Dogs for formal training (scent training and public access training). At the end of formal training, your dog returns to you, you learn how to work with your dog's new skills, and you have a fully trained DAD for about 50% of the cost of a fully trained one. Currently, this is available for anyone within a 2 hours drive of Lexington KY. $11,800 |
A La CartOnly have a few things you'd like help with and want to mix and match? You can do that too! These options can all be done virtually, with the exception of scent training and public access training, as your dog will live in the trainer's home.
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Success Stories
"Libby makes things easy to understand and FUN! She is a joy to watch and she is so encouraging." "Before I found M.D. Dogs, I was lost. My dog was alerting ok, but was struggling in public and was lacking confidence in herself and in her alerting. After I read the M.D. Dogs workbook and watched the videos it was a life changer for me and my dog. Watching Libby train Franklyn on Instagram made me see was real Diabetic Alert Dog training looked like. My faith in having a solid working Diabetic Alert Dog was restored. A long while later and now my dog not only rocks movement alerts, but is also trained to low blood sugar alerts with a bringsel (which is something I had never thought of using for an alert!) and is a dog that I trust to alert me in just about every situation. I've gotten so many compliments on her behavior when I'm in public, and at many JDRF events she's always the most well behaved Diabetic Alert Dog there. she's such a happier dog now and I'm a safer diabetic because of M.D. Dogs. Thank you Libby and M.D. Dogs!" |
"Libby is very knowledgeable and professional as well as an excellent trainer. After attending her MD Dogs Diabetic Alert Dog seminar I am excited to be able to help other owner/trainers who need support while training their DAD." "I had researched scent training methods for over a year, before my pup came into my life. I felt discouraged at first and I honestly thought that I couldn't train my own diabetic alert dog, until I found M.D. Dogs! Libby's workbook is user-friendly and she's always so nice and helpful if you need further assistance. Thanks to M.D. Dogs, my DAD Tógó, is often alerting 15-30 min. before I'm low, giving me more time to treat. My endocrinologist is seeing major improvements since Tógó started alerting with more accuracy and the times I have needed Glucagon, has greatly diminished! M.D. dogs has definitely changed our lives and gave me the confidence to train Tógó! I'm incredibly grateful to Libby and her training methods" |
M.D. Dogs Inc is solely funded through grants and donations from people like you. Any donation truly makes a difference and enables us to create resources and programs to provide Diabetic Alert Dogs to those in need.
