opinions on a health related matter - Page 1

I am looking into some possibilities as to what might be wrong with a clients dog. When they came to see me yesterday, I told them they need to take the dog to the vet ASAP. I am not a vet, although I have a limited knowledge of animal medical stuff and am constantly reading and learning. I will tell you everything I know about this situation and if you could, please let me know if you have seen similar cases and what the diagnosis was. Thank you.

Yesterday we evaluated a dog for a couple who are having problems with their German Shepherd. The dog is a 3 year old WG working line male, unaltered. They have had him since he was a pup. They want to possibly get rid of him due to agression issues. They have been to another trainer who put on a bite suit and let the dog bite the crap out of him for a month because he said that was the only way he could get near the dog. Both myself and my partner walked the dog last night, no problem. Nobody will board him because aparently he turns into cujo behind a fence. Any ways, from the time the dog got out of their car to the time they lef the dog acted like he had to take an enormous dump. The people said he does it all the time. Squeezes little brown diarhea droplets out. They said in the morning when he dumps its liquid and a whole lot of gas. They told us it has been going on for quite a while. (Duh!! Take the dog to the vet!!) He eats taste of the wild. We both told them to take him to the vet because before we can do anything, either which way, the dog has to be healthy and not in pain, which there is a good possibility he might be. The guy loves his dog and would like to do training. His girlfriend wants him to get rid of it. I'm not sure which route we're going yet, but I was hoping on some opinions on what this might be. I was thinking partial blockage? He looked to be at a good weight. Nice looking very masculine  male. If he is in pain, that would cause agression.

Any comments are appreciated. Thank you.

Melissa

The very FIRST thing they should do is submit some stool for evaluation and a look under a microscope. People often miss the most simple thing, and that is that the dog has parasites, bacterial or fungal or protozoal infection. No, that is not likely the only cause of the supposed aggression the dog displays, but not feeling well can certainly contribute to any dogs' bad attitude (or humans as well). Secondly, they should wait until the fecal results are in, but I would recommend treating the dog for parasites even if they are not seen. Sometimes they are missed and then one goes on a wild goose chase looking for a problem that does not exist.

If the parasites are clear, and/or treatment resolves the issue with the stool, great. If not, the next thing to consider is some sort of malabsorption syndrome. Most people will immediately jump to suggesting exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, but there are many causes of the signs seen with that condition. The thing to do in this case is to consider treating for malabsorption and that can be a bit tricky. A simple change in diet may make a difference, but maybe not. If you like, have your client, or you, email me as I need to know more information and I can probably suggest some things to try. 

The problem you are writing about is NOT normal. Neither is the supposed aggression. If what you say is true about someone putting on a bite suit and letting the dog go nuts, there is really something wrong here too with common sense in your client. You say nothing about what, if any, obedience training this dog has. Hopefully, that has been part of the picture too. 

Do what Hodie says. This isn't normal dog behavior. Something is wrong physically with the dog. That's the first thing to diagnose and fix.

The agression was not always there. He is a lot of dog for these people, from my understanding. No, none of it is normal. That is why we told them we would not do anything with him, be it work with them, which is what the guy wants, or see what kind of drives the dog has and try and place him with a department.

I'm not saying these people are the brightest in the bunch. The dog should have gone to the vet when the symptoms first presented themselves. And common sence would tell most anyone that letting the dog bite the trainer is not right. I walked the dog no prob.  and my partner. Just waiting for the people to call and let us know what the vet says