My vet has at last agreed to seeing a Behaviourist. They use Sarah Heath. Has anyone on here heard any reports of her work.

The referral is for on leach agression to other dogs. My vet has not done a thyroid test first, From what I've read their supposed to do this first. Am I right? 

Thyroid function can affect a dog in alsorts of different ways, aggression being just one of them.  But ideally, yes, a thyroid test should be done, but it often won't show the whole picture, as 'normal' ranges for thyroid are so wide, that was is low, but normal for one dog, may be too low for another.

Sarah Heath is a well known 'behaviourist' whose is actually a vet.

As Digger says, ideally the dog is given a very thorough testing but often if a dog is not showing any outward signs of say, (eg) thyroid, it won't be tested for it.

Outward signs can include: skin infections/dry skn
                                     feeling chilly
                                     slow heart rate
                                     ear infections
                                     seizures
                                     aggression
                                     anxiety
                                     lethargy
                                    
... and often a dog will show none of these and still have a thyroid problem!

Lindsay
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