0:00:09 > 0:00:12Man has had a best friend by his side for millennia.
0:00:27 > 0:00:32We all know that dogs warn, fetch, hunt and protect us.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34They provide companionship and love,
0:00:34 > 0:00:37but could we trust them to do even more?
0:00:37 > 0:00:41Could there be more ways to use our pets and their senses to help us?
0:00:43 > 0:00:46Should parents trust dogs with their children's lives?
0:00:46 > 0:00:49She tries to wake Stephen in the night, but he doesn't wake,
0:00:49 > 0:00:52if he's hypo in the night, so she will come and get me
0:00:52 > 0:00:54and she will bark.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Could we trust a dog to tell
0:00:56 > 0:00:59when someone was about to have an epileptic seizure?
0:00:59 > 0:01:02Every seizure alert dog is 100 percent,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05not 99 percent.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Could canines be trusted to sniff out cancer?
0:01:08 > 0:01:10I think the cancer dog
0:01:10 > 0:01:14is a dog that we should put a huge amount of trust in.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18I'm Ian Hamilton and I have a tale
0:01:18 > 0:01:20that wanders all the way to the edge of medical science.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Taking in dramatic examples.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26What's the matter?
0:01:26 > 0:01:28Is he still not right?
0:01:28 > 0:01:31No, no, no, no, no, it's not there.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34And compelling evidence of dogs changing,
0:01:34 > 0:01:36and maybe even saving lives.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47Two years ago, I made a documentary
0:01:47 > 0:01:50about getting a new guide dog after my old one retired.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54After years of trusting my black Labrador, Moss,
0:01:54 > 0:01:58with my safety every day, it was time to start all over again.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Yes, good, go through.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15Renton was one of the 75 percent of puppies
0:02:15 > 0:02:18that make the grade each year at Forfar Guide Dog Centre.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22And after he graduated, we had to learn to work together.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25And I had to learn to trust him.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28It's not like getting a new car.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32Every dog is different and I'd been handed a baby behemoth,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34with a big personality.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37In you come, come on. Into the right, into the right.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39Has he seen the cat still?
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Both Renton and I were put through our paces
0:02:41 > 0:02:45with the trainer to help build a strong bond.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47A bond that my life depends on.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51Good boy! Good boy, Renton!
0:02:51 > 0:02:53Renton, no, straight.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56This is an old trick, but I've got a new dog.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03I have to trust that Renton will stop, if the cars don't.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05But it's still up to me to listen for traffic.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07He's my safety net.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10If both of us get it wrong... well, it's probably best
0:03:10 > 0:03:14if we don't think about that TOO much.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19Dogs have been guiding blind people for nearly a hundred years.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Renton has been guiding me for two.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26I trust him with my safety everyday and this has got me thinking,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29how much do other people trust their dogs
0:03:29 > 0:03:31and what are the limits of that trust?
0:03:31 > 0:03:35Renton and I are off to find out. OK.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39What I'm about to show you, science cannot yet explain.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43And it takes the word trust to a whole new level.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45A mother who trusts her family pet
0:03:45 > 0:03:49to stop her ten-year old son from slipping into a coma.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00One of these two children has a life-threatening illness.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Right now, he has a needle inserted under his skin
0:04:03 > 0:04:06which is attached to a pump which he wears 24 hours a day
0:04:06 > 0:04:09in order to administer medication.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15This is my pump and it delivers insulin into my body.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18And then it goes through the tube...
0:04:19 > 0:04:24Goes in...either on my tummy,
0:04:24 > 0:04:31my tummy, legs or bottom.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Stephen has type I diabetes and his mother, Serena,
0:04:35 > 0:04:39has to constantly check his blood sugar levels.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43Every bit of growth, every virus, every change in the weather,
0:04:43 > 0:04:49every time the clocks change, exercise, everything has an impact...
0:04:49 > 0:04:54..on what the blood glucose levels will do for the next couple of days.
0:04:54 > 0:04:55It's constantly changing.
0:04:55 > 0:05:00It's common practice for diabetics to run their blood sugar levels high,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02because if the blood sugar drops too low,
0:05:02 > 0:05:06it can cause fainting, dizziness or even seizures.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09- Are you ready?- Yeah.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13Keeping their levels high might lower their chances of
0:05:13 > 0:05:15having problems on a daily basis, but it can have long term
0:05:15 > 0:05:17detrimental health affects.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21The kind of heart disease that unfortunately
0:05:21 > 0:05:22we have rather a lot of here
0:05:22 > 0:05:24in Scotland is considerably more
0:05:24 > 0:05:26prevalent in people with diabetes
0:05:26 > 0:05:29and occurs at a younger age in those patients, so that's probably
0:05:29 > 0:05:31the biggest single impact of diabetes.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35In addition, diabetes can cause its own specific health problems -
0:05:35 > 0:05:37eye damage, which can in the worst cases
0:05:37 > 0:05:42lead to visual loss, kidney damage, and also nerve damage.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44The major burden of diabetes isn't the diabetes itself,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47but is the damage that diabetes can do,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51particularly the damage it can do if it's not well looked after.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Young patients like Steven, who is only 10,
0:05:54 > 0:05:58have a lifetime of trying to balance their blood sugar levels.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02Too high, and he risks long-term damage.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Too low, and he risks a hypoglycemic coma.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09However, he has more than just a meter to help him.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14This is Molly, Steven's diabetic alert dog.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17What this dog does is quite incredible.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20Molly senses his blood sugar change,
0:06:20 > 0:06:24before his mother, his family, or any technology can tell.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26This little spaniel warns him
0:06:26 > 0:06:31so that he can take his medication to stop him slipping into a coma.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34I think she's amazing. I mean, we'd always seen things about...
0:06:34 > 0:06:37You see all these clever dogs and guide dogs and hearing dogs
0:06:37 > 0:06:39and they can do all these things,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42but I guess we just thought they had to be specially trained,
0:06:42 > 0:06:44right from day one.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49And actually any dog, and any breed of dog, and anybody's
0:06:49 > 0:06:52pet dog can have this aptitude.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56It just needs to be channelled in the right direction.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05So how does this work? How does Molly know that Steven's in danger?
0:07:05 > 0:07:09In 2008, researchers at Queen's University in Belfast
0:07:09 > 0:07:13and the University of Lincoln looked at pet dogs with no special
0:07:13 > 0:07:15training to see how they reacted
0:07:15 > 0:07:19to hypoglycemic episodes in their owners.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21Their findings suggested that the age,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25sex and importantly breed of dog didn't seem to matter.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30So you don't necessarily need a dog the size of mine to do that job.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34What they didn't find out is exactly how the dogs
0:07:34 > 0:07:36were sensing the changes.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38Sometimes a dog didn't even have to be in the same room
0:07:38 > 0:07:41as the owner to sense a change in blood sugar levels,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44although the study didn't rule out visual signals
0:07:44 > 0:07:47as a possible clue to hypos.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50So no-one really knows how this works,
0:07:50 > 0:07:51and Serena is trusting in Molly
0:07:51 > 0:07:55without any solid scientific explanation.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59But that level of trust doesn't end with diabetes.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03People are using dogs to help with other serious conditions,
0:08:03 > 0:08:04such as epilepsy.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08CROWD SINGS
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Lynn Radcliffe is a staunch Manchester City fan.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17And she tells me her dog is as well. Although, I'm not so sure...
0:08:22 > 0:08:24Fourteen years ago,
0:08:24 > 0:08:28her life was turned upside when she was diagnosed with epilepsy.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31It was really difficult.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34The first thing that had quite
0:08:34 > 0:08:37a dramatic change on my life was
0:08:37 > 0:08:39I lost my driving license.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41So immediately I was diagnosed
0:08:41 > 0:08:45with epilepsy, my driving license had to be surrendered.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49Ultimately, I lost my job because of my epilepsy, as well.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52But her life has now changed for the better,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56thanks to the little hound, Dougal.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00As remarkable as it sounds, Dougal senses when Lynn is about to have a seizure.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05'Medical science, after decades of intensive research,
0:09:05 > 0:09:09'has still not found a way to do what Dougal does.'
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Dougal's warning for me is actually 10 minutes,
0:09:12 > 0:09:16and to be honest, 10 minutes for me is plenty.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20I might be cooking tea on the cooker,
0:09:20 > 0:09:21I might be ironing,
0:09:21 > 0:09:24I might have the gas fire on.
0:09:24 > 0:09:29All those things are hazardous to me if I was to have a seizure.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34So I'm able to move away from those dangers and then find somewhere safe.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37'When scientists are still struggling to find an early warning
0:09:37 > 0:09:41'system for epilepsy, how does Dougal sense a seizure?'
0:09:42 > 0:09:43On this DVD, we have two dogs,
0:09:43 > 0:09:47both in their early stages of training, and both of them
0:09:47 > 0:09:50again are very significant, alert to their owner.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53She's sat very still, staring at her owner very intensely
0:09:53 > 0:09:57and this is very significant behaviour for her.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00It's something that she doesn't normally do.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03'I travelled to Sheffield to the support dogs charity where
0:10:03 > 0:10:06'Dougal was trained, to find how they do it.'
0:10:06 > 0:10:09We believe that it's definitely physiological changes in the
0:10:09 > 0:10:11person prior to the seizure,
0:10:11 > 0:10:13and this could be things
0:10:13 > 0:10:14like pupil dilation,
0:10:14 > 0:10:16it could be skin tone change,
0:10:16 > 0:10:20it could even be a certain scent that's released from the person.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23We're desperate for some research to be done into this.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27It would make, obviously, training these dogs a lot easier for us.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Fetch the blanket.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32So how do you train a dog when you don't know what to look for?
0:10:32 > 0:10:34You get to the nitty-gritty here -
0:10:34 > 0:10:40talking about people who have seizures, how does the dog know?
0:10:40 > 0:10:44It's minute behavioural or physiological changes.
0:10:44 > 0:10:45Exactly, we're not sure.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Because it's all reward-based training,
0:10:48 > 0:10:52to the dog, the seizure is one of the best things that can happen,
0:10:52 > 0:10:54so they actually can't wait for that seizure.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Although that sounds a little bit weird to us as people,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01but the dogs, they actually love that to happen.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04- Do they get rewarded by that, then?- Yep.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10It may seem like play and treats for them,
0:11:10 > 0:11:11but these dogs are being trained
0:11:11 > 0:11:15in basic assistance work for their new owners.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18It's easy to understand how to train a dog to fetch,
0:11:18 > 0:11:20carry and get help.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22What's harder to understand is how
0:11:22 > 0:11:28to teach a dog to detect something we humans can't hear, see or feel.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30ALARM BEEPS
0:11:30 > 0:11:32What the dog needs to understand
0:11:32 > 0:11:35is what the owner's seizure signals are...
0:11:35 > 0:11:36Get help, get help.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38Go get help. Get help.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41..and the owner needs to learn to trust their new four-legged friend,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44even though science can't explain how it works.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47I don't need to know, I suppose, the science of it.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49I mean, medical people might want to know the science of it.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52I suppose you don't have to be a mechanic to drive a car, do you?
0:11:52 > 0:11:53No, I don't suppose you do.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56No, and you don't need to know how some things work,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59to know that, you know, it works.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02It's obvious that Lynn trusts Dougal,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05but that trust took time and training.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08For that training to be possible, Lynn had to be having more
0:12:08 > 0:12:10than ten epileptic episodes a month,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14so that Dougal could learn how to recognise them.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17Epilepsy alert dog owners are carefully paired with a dog,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20often sourced from rescue kennels.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22Rescue centres we find are quite good
0:12:22 > 0:12:25because the dogs are in there for separation anxiety,
0:12:25 > 0:12:29and for our seizure alert dogs that's quite a bonus
0:12:29 > 0:12:30for our dogs to have.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34They've got to be dogs that want to have that interaction with people,
0:12:34 > 0:12:36want to follow that person around 24/7.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38And yes, you can train that,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41but we always prefer the dog to actually want to do that.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Ask him to sit and wait, like you normally do. All right?
0:12:45 > 0:12:47You're then going to take off his lead,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49and just give him a biscuit for sitting...
0:12:49 > 0:12:54This is Edward and his new diabetic alert dog, Dizzy.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59They're working at building a strong bond with trainer Becky
0:12:59 > 0:13:03at the Medical Detection Dogs charity, just outside Milton Keynes.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06It's day two of Ed's and Dizzy's training together.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08The better he gets to know Ed,
0:13:08 > 0:13:12the better chance that he'll detect his blood sugar changing.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Absolutely, absolutely. They need to form a nice, strong bond,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17so they're really good friends, they know each other well,
0:13:17 > 0:13:21and Ed knows how to work with Dizzy, and vice versa, really.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24It was Steven who formed a unique
0:13:24 > 0:13:28and close bond with the family pet, Molly, and he was the first to
0:13:28 > 0:13:32notice that Molly was aware of his blood sugar changes.
0:13:32 > 0:13:33When I was low I just realised
0:13:33 > 0:13:38that she was always going a bit crazy.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45And at first I didn't really know what was happening.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49She's now a fully-qualified alert dog,
0:13:49 > 0:13:51passing her exams in 2012.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56What does she do then, Steven? How does she let you know?
0:13:57 > 0:14:00Well, she goes really mental
0:14:00 > 0:14:03and fetches the blood glucose meter.
0:14:04 > 0:14:09She'll jump up and down and do...
0:14:09 > 0:14:12get up on her hind legs
0:14:12 > 0:14:17and waggle her front paws around in the air.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20How do you know the difference between when she's playing
0:14:20 > 0:14:23and when she's telling you something?
0:14:23 > 0:14:25Do you know the difference between the two things?
0:14:25 > 0:14:29Sometimes it's a bit hard, but mostly
0:14:29 > 0:14:33when she's alerting, she doesn't stop.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35She keeps on doing it.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38'As I chatted with Steven and Serena, neither of them knew
0:14:38 > 0:14:41'that Steven's blood sugar was slowly dropping.
0:14:41 > 0:14:46'What happened next was astonishing, and a complete surprise for me
0:14:46 > 0:14:48'and the camera crew.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51'Molly, who had spent a lot of the interview either asleep
0:14:51 > 0:14:55'or sitting quietly, suddenly sprang into action.'
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Steady on. The meter's not up here, stop it.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05What's the matter?
0:15:05 > 0:15:07Is he still not right?
0:15:07 > 0:15:10No, no, no, no - it's not there. It's not up here.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13'Molly knew something was wrong, and was frantically searching
0:15:13 > 0:15:15'for Steven's glucose meter.'
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Is it here?
0:15:19 > 0:15:22All right, then. Come on, then. Come here, then.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24Give.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30All right, sweetheart.
0:15:30 > 0:15:31'Being completely blind,
0:15:31 > 0:15:34'I had no idea what was going on at this point.'
0:15:34 > 0:15:36- Come here.- Is she aware of something with Steven,
0:15:36 > 0:15:38is that the problem, do you think?
0:15:38 > 0:15:39She's...
0:15:40 > 0:15:42Stop, Molls.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44She was quite calm before, wasn't she?
0:15:44 > 0:15:46She seems to be quite agitated.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49What's up, what's the matter with him?
0:15:51 > 0:15:53All right, all right.
0:16:06 > 0:16:07What's the matter?
0:16:10 > 0:16:11He's all right now.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Is that the kind of thing she would do?
0:16:15 > 0:16:18That's how she reacts, yes, that's how she alerts.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21'Steven needed glucose, and fast.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25'His blood sugar had dropped, putting him in immediate danger.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27'If it had been high instead of low, he would have been
0:16:27 > 0:16:32'at risk of not just a coma, but long-term damage as well.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35'Molly's reaction to Steven's blood sugar level
0:16:35 > 0:16:37'was certainly hard to miss,
0:16:37 > 0:16:42'and it's also a good example of how versatile a dog can be as a tool.'
0:16:44 > 0:16:49'Steven needs his dog to make a big fuss, and I need my dog
0:16:49 > 0:16:53'to be calm, steady and in control in every situation.'
0:17:05 > 0:17:08'Renton loves working, especially in noisy, busy situations.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11'He can't wait to get his harness on.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16'He's an every day reminder to me how useful canines can be to humankind.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20'But if we start to see dogs purely as tools for our welfare,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23'is there not a danger that we forget about theirs?'
0:17:23 > 0:17:26I think we are going to be able to use dogs in more ways
0:17:26 > 0:17:28in the future, but there are questions about
0:17:28 > 0:17:30what's morally right to do.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33For example, is it right to use a dog to go out
0:17:33 > 0:17:37and defuse a mine when it stands a chance of being blown up?
0:17:37 > 0:17:38That's an ethical issue, isn't it?
0:17:38 > 0:17:41So it depends what you ask the dog to do.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44We looked at assistance dogs in order to try to see
0:17:44 > 0:17:46whether they had major problems
0:17:46 > 0:17:50and we didn't find significant problems.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53There are a few dogs that can't be trained, but once they're trained
0:17:53 > 0:17:57they seem to continue to have a good relationship with people.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01PEDESTRIAN CROSSING BEEPS
0:18:01 > 0:18:03'I trust Renton every day with my safety.'
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Nice and steady. Steady.
0:18:12 > 0:18:13Good boy.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17'I'm well aware of his potential as a tool,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21'but I'm equally aware of his limitations.'
0:18:21 > 0:18:24Is that too fast for you? Are you OK?
0:18:24 > 0:18:26'How smart is Renton?
0:18:26 > 0:18:29'I've been told he's got the same cognitive ability
0:18:29 > 0:18:30'as a three or four-year-old child.'
0:18:33 > 0:18:36- Poppy, how old are you? - Four.- Four.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39Now, you're the same age as Renton here.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42- How do you normally get across the road?- Walk with my mummy.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46- With your mummy? You don't do it on your own?- No.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48- OK. Shall we help Renton help us cross the road?- Yeah.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52OK. Forward, on you go, good boy. On you come.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54'Would you close your eyes
0:18:54 > 0:18:56'and trust a small child to help you across a road?'
0:18:57 > 0:18:59On you go.
0:18:59 > 0:19:04We now feel that we can put a lot of responsibility on dogs.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06We can train the dog
0:19:06 > 0:19:11don't cross the road if there's a car coming and, generally speaking,
0:19:11 > 0:19:14we can trust the dog to do that.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16And you, in some cases, can trust a dog more than
0:19:16 > 0:19:18you might be able to trust another human,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21because the human might be preoccupied
0:19:21 > 0:19:24with other things, but the dog is going to focus on that task.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26'Focussed or not,
0:19:26 > 0:19:28'should we be trusting a dog only as smart
0:19:28 > 0:19:31'as a three or four-year-old child with our health?'
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Renton is my sixth guide dog,
0:19:34 > 0:19:39and just like the others, he has assets I have never harnessed.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Renton, here, has a skill that no human can match.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46His sense of smell is 10,000 times better than mine.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Let me put it another way.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51I could detect a teaspoonful of sugar in this coffee.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55But Renton could detect a teaspoonful of sugar
0:19:55 > 0:19:57in five million litres of coffee.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00That's the same as a cup of coffee the size of
0:20:00 > 0:20:02two Olympic swimming pools.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05The big question is, can we trust this canine super-nose to help
0:20:05 > 0:20:09fight one of our most prevalent and deadly diseases?
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Would you trust that mutt on the mat beside you to find cancer?
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Every two minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with cancer,
0:20:19 > 0:20:23a process that can involve invasive procedures.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29But here, on the edge of known science, discovering
0:20:29 > 0:20:32traces of cancer is down to fur and a long nose.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35So Daisy's going to go round the carousel
0:20:35 > 0:20:37and she's going to sniff each sample in turn.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40If she detects cancer volatile, she'll stop and stand
0:20:40 > 0:20:42and stare at the sample.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46And this will indicate to me that she's detected cancer volatiles.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49So, I'm going to send her off now. Daisy - seek, seek.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54See, she sniffs each sample in turn. But very quickly.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58Dr Claire Guest is head of the Medical Detection Dogs Charity,
0:20:58 > 0:21:01which is currently experimenting using dogs to find different
0:21:01 > 0:21:03types of cancer in urine samples.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09No-one knows exactly what Daisy here is smelling, but after sniffing
0:21:09 > 0:21:15all the samples, she stops at the only one containing cancer.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17One of the biggest issues when you're training a cancer
0:21:17 > 0:21:18detection dog is to ensure
0:21:18 > 0:21:21that's in fact what you're training the dog to find.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24Of course, if you're training the dog to find drugs or explosives,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27you start with that drug or explosive odour
0:21:27 > 0:21:30and teach the dog that that's what you want the dog to find.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Then over time, you make it more difficult for the dog to find,
0:21:33 > 0:21:38either by making the odour smaller or by covering it in things,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41so it becomes harder for the dog to find.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44In the case of cancer detection, we don't know what the cancer odour is,
0:21:44 > 0:21:48so we can't give the dog that odour and teach him that this is the odour
0:21:48 > 0:21:49we want him to look for.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51The only way we can do it is by giving them a number of
0:21:51 > 0:21:53samples from people who have cancer,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56and even more samples from people who haven't got cancer but have
0:21:56 > 0:22:01got other diseases, and ask the dog to try and find out the difference.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03I've no doubt at all that they can detect it,
0:22:03 > 0:22:07I think that's clear from the results we have with lung cancer,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09the breath of people with lung cancer,
0:22:09 > 0:22:11from people with bladder cancer,
0:22:11 > 0:22:14that they have the ability to detect it.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16However, in all of those studies
0:22:16 > 0:22:19so far they're not completely reliable.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22You get some positives and some negatives
0:22:22 > 0:22:25which are not positive or negative in reality
0:22:25 > 0:22:26and it's actually very difficult
0:22:26 > 0:22:30to train the dogs to do this at present.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33Claire tells me in the last five years, there have been
0:22:33 > 0:22:37studies around the world showing an accuracy of more than 90%.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39However, there have been other studies
0:22:39 > 0:22:42that have been far less successful.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44I think that, obviously, there's a growing body
0:22:44 > 0:22:48of evidence that's indicating that there's a huge potential
0:22:48 > 0:22:51in this work, but I think some of the reservations have to be
0:22:51 > 0:22:55in that many of the studies have only had a very small number of dogs.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58In fact in many of the studies there was only one dog,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01and this has to be repeated with more dogs.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04'Dr Helen Rippon is the Head of Science
0:23:04 > 0:23:06'at a St Andrew's based cancer charity.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10'Every year, they give away £9 million on research grants,
0:23:10 > 0:23:14'and currently none of that is spent on dogs.'
0:23:14 > 0:23:18If there is a good, large, robust trial that shows dogs can
0:23:18 > 0:23:22reliably detect cancer, and we're looking at a reliability
0:23:22 > 0:23:23of well over 90%,
0:23:23 > 0:23:28so they've got to get it right at least 9/10 times.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32If we get that kind of evidence, then I definitely think
0:23:32 > 0:23:36that the way forward is to pin down the chemicals involved.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39When we talk about a dog here, we get very sort of hung up
0:23:39 > 0:23:42on the fact that dogs need to be 100% to be of value,
0:23:42 > 0:23:44but of course this is not true.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48And if you look at something like the PSA,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51the blood test for prostate cancer at the moment in men,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54that has a 75% false positive in testing,
0:23:54 > 0:23:58so it's not to say that tests have to be 100% to be of value,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01but of course the nearer you can get to 100%,
0:24:01 > 0:24:03of course, the more valuable the test is.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08In 2011, a group of doctors from Stuttgart published
0:24:08 > 0:24:12an encouraging report revealing that dogs can successfully sniff out
0:24:12 > 0:24:14lung cancer from human breath.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20The dogs identified cancer in 71% of the samples.
0:24:21 > 0:24:26They correctly identified a lack of cancer in 93% of clear samples.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29However, the scientists are currently struggling to repeat
0:24:29 > 0:24:32the success of their previous experiment.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36There's a lot of anecdotal evidence that dogs can detect cancer, and
0:24:36 > 0:24:40of course, scientists don't consider anecdotes to be good evidence.
0:24:40 > 0:24:45I think there is cynicism about the idea that you would fill
0:24:45 > 0:24:47hospital labs full of trained dogs,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50because that of course would just never be practical.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53We don't envisage in the UK that every doctors' waiting room
0:24:53 > 0:24:56will have a dog sat in the corner who will sniff everybody for cancer.
0:24:56 > 0:25:01What we envisage in the UK is that we will learn from the dogs'
0:25:01 > 0:25:06ability to do this and we will, with scientists, be able to develop
0:25:06 > 0:25:09new ways of diagnosing cancer early.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13But the lack of understanding in how this work could be
0:25:13 > 0:25:16applied in the future, I think is very concerning,
0:25:16 > 0:25:19and if it were a little machine here sat beside me
0:25:19 > 0:25:22and I was saying it could do it at 80% accuracy at the present time,
0:25:22 > 0:25:25I think there'd be quite a different reaction.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27So sadly I think some of the scepticism
0:25:27 > 0:25:30comes from bias against the fact that it's a dog that's teaching us
0:25:30 > 0:25:34this and not a small machine.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36Maybe the dog is just a means to an end.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40If we pinned down the chemicals that caused that particular smell
0:25:40 > 0:25:44that dogs can pick up, then perhaps we can find an electronic
0:25:44 > 0:25:46way of detecting those chemicals.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Perhaps we could find a chemical way of doing it in a lab that you
0:25:49 > 0:25:51can do in a test tube.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54And that, of course, would be much more practical.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58How many samples have you got round here?
0:25:58 > 0:26:01'We are some distance from research to reality
0:26:01 > 0:26:03'and to make any of these advances happen,
0:26:03 > 0:26:05'more studies are needed.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07'And for that, more funding will have to be found.'
0:26:09 > 0:26:11Left foot. Thank you.
0:26:12 > 0:26:17Medical professionals might still be trying to sniff out the evidence,
0:26:17 > 0:26:20but every day in the UK, people are trusting their health
0:26:20 > 0:26:24and their family's health, to an animal with four legs and a tail.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27It is really reassuring.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29She tries to wake Steven in the night,
0:26:29 > 0:26:32but he doesn't wake if he's hypo in the night,
0:26:32 > 0:26:35so she will come and get me and she will bark.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38We trust her more than we used to
0:26:38 > 0:26:44because most of the time she's correct, but still
0:26:44 > 0:26:47some of the time she does get it wrong.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49Sometimes, but not very often.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51For your dog to give you warning,
0:26:51 > 0:26:53you're basically going to lose consciousness
0:26:53 > 0:26:55if he doesn't give you a warning, so...
0:26:55 > 0:26:57That must be quite nerve-wracking, is it not,
0:26:57 > 0:27:00knowing he might get it wrong some day?
0:27:00 > 0:27:02No, because Dougal won't get it wrong.
0:27:03 > 0:27:10Every seizure alert dog that has been placed - and I can vouch for this
0:27:10 > 0:27:13because I have one - is 100%.
0:27:13 > 0:27:19Not 99%, not even... you know not 75%.
0:27:19 > 0:27:20100%.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24Dougal has never missed an alert.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29I think the cancer dog is, as with all assistance dogs,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32a dog that we should put a huge amount of trust in.
0:27:32 > 0:27:37That said, no dog is 100% at any task, as us humans are.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39And we must face facts,
0:27:39 > 0:27:44that there can be error, both human error and doggie error.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48'That intense feeling of trust doesn't come easily,
0:27:48 > 0:27:52'it takes time, effort and patience.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56'After two years, I now know how much to trust Renton
0:27:56 > 0:27:58'and more importantly, I also his limitations.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04'But Lynn and Steve are trusting their dogs with so much more,
0:28:04 > 0:28:06'with very little scientific evidence.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09'And there's even some who believe that we should trust them
0:28:09 > 0:28:11'in the diagnosis of cancer.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16'What is remarkable is that we still know
0:28:16 > 0:28:18'so little about what dogs can do.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24'I think it's some time before technology replaces Renton,
0:28:24 > 0:28:29'but if it does, will I be able to trust that as much as I trust him?'
0:28:33 > 0:28:38Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd