History: Rescue collie of indeterminate, but working origin. Age around 8yo, male, neutered, 19.75kg. Rescued by RSPCA following prolonged period of being short-chained up in a dark barn with 5 other collies. Likely a failed sheepdog, as far as anyone knows had never lived in a house and had minimal himan contact. When rescued, his condition was moderate, slightly underweight, poor muscle tone, but nothing else obvious. Received a dental before rehoming. Has been with me for 11 months.
Behaviour: He has all of the behavioural issues one might expect - he's moderately anxious (generally-speaking) and always 'on'. Has goddawful separation anxiety and is a total Velcro dog, won't let me out of his sight. Likes his space, not particularly cuddly; cautious, but friendly. Not reactive to people or dogs.
Extreme coprophagia, of both his own and other dogs' stool. Has a preference for his own. Seems desperate to eat stool, returning religiously - on each and every garden break - to spots where he has previously defecated, to lick and nibble the grass . Left to his own devices would easily consume 10-12 stools per day. Also eats loose soil, mostly molehills, but also from plantpots. More easily called away from soil than from stools. No other pica noticed. Pica and coprophagia developed during a bout of anal gland compaction/infection which required 3 courses of antibiotics to resolve. Anal gland impaction developed when I had had him for 3 months and noticed he wasn't holding his weight, so switched him to a working dog food. The first recipe I tried was too oily and contained grains (salmon and rice), resulting in poor stool consistency. He's now on chicken and sweet potato recipe and consistency much improved.
Produces 5 (!!!) large stools per day, slightly softer than ideal, Bristol type 5. Sometimes needs to defecate during the night. Drinks around 1-1.5 litres of water per day. Stool consistency improves when large beef bones are constantly provided; bone seems well-digested with no apparent shards in stool. Mood also improves with constant provision of bone, but he can strip a roasted "postman's leg" in a matter of hours, so constsnt provision isn't really sustainable. Loses interest in bone as soon as all meaty matter and soft bone is removed.
Low impact exercise - 20 mins in morning, around 80 mins in evening. 2 stools passed in each outing. 6 additional toilet breaks per day in garden, with one of these usually producing stool.
Diet - 300g Skinners Field and Trial Grain-Free per day, split over 3 meals (around 125% recommended amount). Additionally, has around 4 apple cores per week, 3 teaspoons of peanut butter per week and a daily denti-stick at bed time. Previous efforts at increasing fibre via carrot/apple supplementation have not improved stool consistency. Holds weight well with current intake, but is always hungry and constantly alert for food. Does not steal food in the home, but scours the ground every time he goes in the garden and a good part of every single walk is spent preventing coprophagic behaviour.
Serum albumin - below minimum range
B12 - low
Negative for proteinuria
TLI normal
Low mood correlates with poor (soft) stool consistency - when it occasionally improves, so does his mood.
Fully up-to-date with all vaccinations, worming and flea treatments.
I was really hopeful that that the TLI test would indicate EPI as it would explain his full range of symptoms and behaviours, but TLI levels are fine. No proteinuria, so kidneys OK. Will commence B12 + probiotic supplementation within next few days and retest bloods in 4 weeks.
Next steps suggested by vet (after 4 weeks of supplementation) are ultrasound followed by intestinal biopsies.
Can any vets here offer any insights into any other possible causes of these symptoms now that EPI and renal damage have been ruled out? The low mood, constant hunger, high stool volume, obsessive coprophagia and pica seem to be the most consistent signs and symptoms. Of course, he's a rescue working collie with an unknown history, a sensitive tummy, inability to switch off and in all likelihood has been under-nourished in the past. I'm aware that all of this could be behavioural...
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