A significant number of our behaviour cases have a history of compromised gastrointestinal health — either in the past, or as an ongoing, unresolved issue at the time we meet them.
It is a connection that, in my experience, is still not taken seriously enough. And it matters.
What does compromised gut health look like?
Some of the signs are obvious. Others are routinely labelled as behavioural problems, or simply accepted as normal for that particular dog.
Here are the symptoms we commonly see:
- Stools that are frequently loose or liquid in consistency
- Eating grass to the extent that it appears in faeces or vomit
- Consumption of non-food items such as wrappers and packaging
- Audible gurgling stomach
- Excessive or frequent flatulence
- Poor appetite or very picky eating
- Excessive appetite
- Low body condition score
- Tear staining
- Coprophagia (eating faeces) and excessive consumption of herbivore droppings
- Excessive scavenging — characterised by deliberate seeking and searching rather than opportunistic grabbing
- Repeated anal gland problems
- Frequent infections affecting the skin, ears, or anal glands
- Frequent licking behaviours
- Excessive mouthing and chewing
- Restlessness
- Conflict behaviours around food, including resource guarding or caching (relocating, hiding, or burying food)
- Sudden attention paid to the back end — a characteristic head-flick towards the hindquarters
- Reluctance to let other dogs sniff their hind end
- A roached spine or tucked-up abdomen
- Touch sensitivity, which can include avoidance of harnesses and other walking equipment
A suitably knowledgeable and qualified behaviourist will know how to unpick these signs during a thorough assessment and begin to narrow down potential causes.
Why these symptoms are so often dismissed
Too often, these signs are normalised. They are written off as simply the way things are for a particular dog.
Picky eating is a common example. So is variable stool consistency; occasional bouts of loose or liquid stools are frequently blamed on something the dog must have eaten, with no further investigation.
This is particularly true with puppies. Assumptions are made too quickly, and what begins as an acute issue can become a chronic one if the underlying cause is never addressed.
The gut-brain connection
There is now a substantial body of research, in both humans and dogs, demonstrating the role the gut plays in emotional health.
A 2026 paper published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association found that dogs with chronic enteropathy showed signs consistent with compromised emotional health when compared to healthy matched controls, even when disease activity was low.
This makes sense when you understand the mechanisms involved.
Neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that regulate emotions, arousal, immune function, and digestion, are produced in both the gut and the brain. Compromised gut health can interfere with this neurotransmitter activity in ways that directly affect behaviour and emotional state.
Beyond that, physical discomfort matters. Stomach cramps, bloating, spasms, and gut inflammation are painful and uncomfortable. That discomfort does not stay neatly separate from how a dog feels and behaves, it feeds directly into it.
Act early. Chronic issues are harder to resolve.
Getting on top of compromised gastrointestinal health can be challenging, which is precisely why acting sooner rather than later is so important. Long-term, chronic gut problems become significantly harder to address over time.
There is also a compounding effect worth understanding: the stress of exhibiting or engaging in behaviour problems can itself further compromise gut health. And some dietary interventions designed to help, such as hypoallergenic foods, can create their own complications if they are unpalatable, reducing a dog’s food motivation and making training considerably more difficult.
Relieving symptoms is important, and sometimes medication is the right short-term step. But if the underlying cause of the gut issue has not been identified and addressed, the problem is unlikely to go away.
What to consider if your dog has ongoing gastrointestinal issues
If your dog is showing signs of compromised gut health, these are the steps I would encourage you to think about:
- See your vet — this is always the first step. If your dog has a chronic issue, I would strongly encourage you to request a double appointment. The standard 15–20 minute slot is often not sufficient to explore a complex or long-standing problem thoroughly.
- Review their diet — consider moving to a food with a single animal protein and a single carbohydrate source. If your dog has struggled with dietary changes in the past, approach this carefully. A qualified canine nutritionist can support you and work alongside your vet.
- Consider a NutriScan test for food intolerances.
- Run a microbiome screen — we recommend Biome4Pets.
- Assess their stress levels — consider whether your dog is frequently in a heightened state of arousal or experiencing ongoing stress. This is a contributing factor that is easy to overlook.
- Screen for parasitic infections such as Giardia and Campylobacter. In our experience, a surprising number of behaviour cases test positive despite being on routine anti-parasitic treatments. We recommend Wormcount, though your vet can also test — it is worth knowing that there are two different methods available for screening these particular parasites.
A final thought
Imagine experiencing an upset stomach as often as your dog shows these symptoms. Would you simply accept it as the way things are?
We need to stop normalising suboptimal gastrointestinal health and start recognising how central a healthy gut is to a dog’s emotional and behavioural wellbeing.
If your dog has both compromised gut health and behaviour problems, it is important that you work with a qualifed dog behaviourist who operates via vet referral. This means your vet sends your dog’s full medical history to the behaviourist, and reviewing that history forms part of the assessment.
What we can piece together from a dog’s medical records is often revealing. Your vet and behaviourist can then work together as a team to support you and your dog.
