Can dogs get upset by certain medical conditions?

I just saw the story about the little girl with Downs who got attacked by 3 dogs. In a distantly related way, it reminded me of an 'incident' a couple of months ago...

Jake and myself were in town waiting for Mrs. C to do some shopping when a lady with some sort of learning special needs (Wording used not necessarily to be PC, I just don't know what the specific illness was!) and her carer walked past. The lady in question showed some (Possibly too much, for him...) interest in Jake and wanted to make a fuss of him, but Jake was having none of it and barked until they moved on. (A bit embarrassing, as he has a big old woof!)

Has anyone had a similar experience? Do you think perhaps dogs get a bit worried when they can sense someone isn't wired up quite right, for whatever reason?

Probably, to answer my own question, it's because Jake had never been in that kind of situation before...

i beleive that dogs can sense when somebody is a bit different.Diesel certainly can,she used to bark at a guy who walked with sticks(this is odd as i walk with crutches)i didn't know the man but have since found out he is really nasty.she used to be afraid of a lady in a wheelchair and did the hackles and barking thing,after a lot of effort she now likes the lady.i struggle to get her to behave around a lady who has brain damage,for whatever reason diesel doesn't feel comfortable around her she can spot somebody with mental problems at about 100 feet and will try and drag me away
so i think that dogs can deffo pick up on differences in people

hi rich

not sure but my brother has cerebreal palsy and his carers used to have a hienx 57 - that dog was amazing with my little brother who used to whack him, twist his hair, pull his ears etc as didnt know any better and that dog just took all of it - she was very patient with him and once when my brother had fwallen out of bed at his carers house, she went and woke up the carers

also my bruno is good with my bro and is very patient with him - I think they are more aware and sensitive to them
however thats just my experience
dani

Aha, so very aware then, probably not too sure how to deal with it unless they've been trained/are accustomed to it. Clever pups!

Hey Jake My sister is epileptic, and our last dog Ben used to get all nervous a few hours before she had a fit.

I think they definitely sense more than we give them credit for!

Hello
I do believe dogs really do have a 6th sense, my Westie waits at the front door at least 15 minutes or so before my hubby comes in from work and the same when the children are due home from school, apparantly when im out he gets all fidgety about 30 mins before i get in as if he knows im on my way home.

Perhaps dogs, like some humans, are un-nerved and a bit scared of those less fortunate than ourselves?

Many dogs will be disconcerted by anything outside of their usual experiences and expectations. A person who is physically or mentally disabled may move or speak, or act in a way that makes the dog uncertain. Some dogs will show the same reaction to the unco-ordinated movements or shrill voices of children, or to the appearance of people in uniform - in fact anything that they have not previously encountered. If you came home rolling drunk one day your behaviour/movements/speech would be so unfamiliar that your dog might react in the same way with displays of barking, anxiety, fear, etc.

I think you're right about the behaviour thing but what about the epilepsy SB?

A lot of people with epilepsy have dogs that will warn them when they are going to have a fit.

Then again, it's always possible that something is secreted in the sweat or something, prior to having a fit, which the dog can smell?

That's spot on acutally, one of my old poochies used to growl at me and act all weird if I'd "had a few". Thanks for that