This is Lola alerting me to low blood sugar – she is licking my hand to see how I taste and smell.

She doesn’t always do this – when I’m on the computer, if she thinks there’s something wrong, she comes and sits in a very upright stance and stares at me. When I notice her, I give her my hand and she might lick it as above, and then stroke my hand with her paw, which confirms I either have high blood sugar or low blood sugar.

But if I don’t notice her, she butts my leg with her nose. And if I still ignore her (deep in writing my blog, perhaps, or maybe I have low blood sugar and am slow, or confused?) she goes up on her hind legs and waves her paws at me, and dances, or puts her paws on my arm.

Sometimes she goes and rings her bell by swiping it with her paw. She has a bell on the back door and in the living room to ask to go outside. This stops any confusion, so I definitely know what she wants! Eventually she gets me to give her my hand, and if she is very sure she just gives it a cursory sniff and then paws me.

I do a blood test to confirm she is right, and then of course, she gets a yummy treat!

If you’d like to read about the charity which trains Lola, and other medical detection dogs who save lives every day, click on the link:  http://www.medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk