A guide dog with behavioural disorders

Karel is a German long-haired shepherd dog. I first saw him when he was 10 months old and had just begun his training as a guide dog. After an initially good start he became hyperactive and ran round and round in his kennel all day.

11-week-old shepherd puppy

He was unresponsive until he was let out, only then could contact be made with him. When he was outside he also showed hyperactive behaviour, chasing everything — cats, joggers, birds and even fast cars. When he was taken back into his kennel all contact with him broke off completely again. It was impossible to continue training him.

For his breed and age he should have weighed around 40 kilos; he weighed only 27 kilos and his hip bones and ribs protruded beneath his coat.

He was well fed and received high-quality branded food specifically tailored to large dogs. He ate everything, but it mostly came back up almost undigested; his stools were always soft.

A guide dog spends its first year living in a house with children, where it is well treated and constantly accompanied. The dog thus learns, almost incidentally, everything it will later need to know: it goes shopping, travels in cars and learns all the little things, such as not paying attention to other dogs or sitting down before crossing a road.

He was the first guide dog brought to me for treatment. The owners had little faith — neither in him nor in homeopathy. I was told that he was on probation and training would continue; two weeks later I heard that he had been disqualified and even put on the euthanasia list. He was considered completely disturbed and regarded as a hopeless case. There was nothing to lose, but I did my best for him!

I gave him Jodum C 200 twice because of his obsessive behaviour, his digestion, his impulsiveness and because he had lost his home — an important theme of Jodum according to Jan Scholten. He improved significantly, and after being let out every two hours for two weeks his digestion returned to normal: he ate well, his stools were firm and he could hold them. He was disqualified from training and began a new life.

He was lively, cheerful and enthusiastic, but the problems were not entirely overcome. His impulsive behaviour remained; he frightened people by chasing them for fun. When he reached them he barked twice, wagged his tail, turned and ran off; he did not want to bite anyone. Car travel was also a problem. The idea that it had something to do with small spaces was confirmed by his behaviour in confined spaces such as lifts. He was a typical example of the saying: "Dogs that bark don't bite!" He was afraid of things that were normal for others. For example, he would get diarrhoea from anticipation. He was outgoing and liked to make contact with everyone.

He was then given Argentum nitricum C 200, which also helped him enormously. This remedy was repeated over the following years and his improvement continued. Eventually he became a wonderful dog who charmed everyone with his charisma. He weighed around 47 kilos, without being fat.
 
He recently died of old age and his ashes were scattered at one of our favourite spots on the beautiful island of Schiermonnikoog. I would like to dedicate this article to him, one of the kindest, happiest dogs I have ever known.

Fortunately, guide dog training has changed since Karel's time; today dogs usually live at home with their trainers.