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Medical Reasons for Canine Behaviors

Medical Reasons for Canine Behaviors

Medical Condition	Category	Behavioral Sign
Internal parasites, bacterial/viral infection	Illness or disease	Altered personality, lethargy, depression, withdrawal, anorexia, reduction in grooming, altered social relationships, altered response to stimuli
Central (affecting forebrain, limbic/temporal, and hypothalamic), rapid-eye movement sleep disorders	Neurologic	Altered awareness and response to stimuli, loss of learned behaviors, housesoiling, disorientation, confusion, altered activity levels, temporal disorientation, vocalization, change in temperament (fear, anxiety, aggression), altered appetite, altered sleep cycles, interrupted sleep (aggression/waking/activity)
Peripheral (neuropathy)	Neurologic	Self-mutilation, irritability, aggression, circling, hyperesthesia
Focal seizures/temporal lobe seizures	Neurologic	Repetitive behaviors, self-trauma, chomping, staring, altered temperament (eg, intermittent states of fear or aggression), tremors, shaking, interrupted sleep
Sensory dysfunction	Neurologic	Altered response to stimuli, confusion, disorientation, altered sleep cycles, irritability, aggression, vocalization, housesoiling
Hypothyroidism	Metabolic / Endocrine	Lethargy, decreased response to stimuli, irritability, aggression.
Hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing's disease)	Metabolic / Endocrine	Panting, night waking, housesoiling, irritability, polydipsia, polyphagia, anxiety
Diabetes/hyperglycemia	Metabolic / Endocrine	Housesoiling, night waking
Functional ovarian and testicular tumors	Physical	Androgen-induced behaviors: males—aggression, roaming, marking, sexual attraction, mounting; females—nesting or possessive aggression of objects
Hepatic or renal encephalopathy	Physical	Signs associated with affected organ, anxiety, irritability, aggression, altered sleep, housesoiling, mental dullness, decreased activity, restlessness, increased sleep, confusion
Anemia or electrolyte imbalances	Physical	Pica
Pain	Pain	Altered response to stimuli, decreased activity, restlessness/inability to settle, vocalization, housesoiling, aggression, irritability, self-trauma, waking at night
Gastrointestinal	Physical	Licking, polyphagia, pica, coprophagia, housesoiling (fecal), wind sucking, tongue rolling, unsettled sleep, restlessness
Urogenital	Physical	Housesoiling (urine), polydipsia, waking at night
Dermatologic	Physical	Acral lick dermatitis, nail biting, hyperesthesia, other self-trauma