_GG_
Well-Known Member
So, this is our girl Hollie...
She does have a body I promise, this was the first pic I found
Hollie came to me at around 6 years old. She was used as bait for fighting dogs as a puppy and ended up in Bath dogs home. She had two new homes from there but was returned from both. Then she had a home with someone for 2 years before her new dad died and his wife, not wanting Hollie to go back to the centre put her up for rehoming privately. I saw and ad in my vets and took it from there. Rescue centre didn't care, said she was mine if I took her so I did.
That was 7 years ago now and so she is around 13 now. She isn't really showing any physical signs of age in terms of her mobility, she still runs about like she did when I got her. She doesn't keep it up for the whole walk any more, but she can still move and doesn't show any signs of stiffness unless it is really cold. She is brain damaged. She has been scanned and has areas of damage in a few parts of the brain. This normally is just shown in her being like an autistic child. She can stare at a remote control for three hours if you let her, jumps to catch water dripping off the guttering, NEVER STOPS WANTING TO PLAY, barks at a gnat scratching it's nads in the next county...you get my drift.
Now, over the last few months, she has been getting a bit more high maintenance. We now have to have her and the other collie in the bedroom with us. If we leave them in the front room as we always have done, she now will start barking randomly in the middle of the night, I come down and she will be stood, staring at the wall barking or staring at the floor barking. She will also "dig" the carpet and wee which she has never ever done before. She is left in this room with Stig (other collie) in the daytime when I am out and about and never digs or wees, it is just overnight. Have her in with us and we don't get any of this behaviour. I thought maybe her sight was going but according to vets, she is in perfect health. Vet actually can't believe she is as old as she is. She is just a lot more anxious than she has ever been. She's being, well....weird, which for an already weird dog is difficult to watch.
She is being more sensitive to noise, even someone on telly shouting will make her run out of the room and it is rubbing off on Stig now.
We know we will have to have her PTS long before her body gives way as we don't want her to live a life of stress and unhappiness BUT, she's not there yet. She still is happy and playful and her usual weird self most of the time, but we want to try and make the stressful times a little less stressful for her.
Wondering if anyone has any advice regarding things like Valerian drops?? Vet said to try them in 20% of adult human dose based on her weight and for me to report back, but had no idea if it would work.
I wanted to ask here if anyone had used this or anything else as a long term aid for an anxious dog. Just something to help her remain a bit calmer through life???
Jacket spud with BBQ beans for those who can help
She does have a body I promise, this was the first pic I found
Hollie came to me at around 6 years old. She was used as bait for fighting dogs as a puppy and ended up in Bath dogs home. She had two new homes from there but was returned from both. Then she had a home with someone for 2 years before her new dad died and his wife, not wanting Hollie to go back to the centre put her up for rehoming privately. I saw and ad in my vets and took it from there. Rescue centre didn't care, said she was mine if I took her so I did.
That was 7 years ago now and so she is around 13 now. She isn't really showing any physical signs of age in terms of her mobility, she still runs about like she did when I got her. She doesn't keep it up for the whole walk any more, but she can still move and doesn't show any signs of stiffness unless it is really cold. She is brain damaged. She has been scanned and has areas of damage in a few parts of the brain. This normally is just shown in her being like an autistic child. She can stare at a remote control for three hours if you let her, jumps to catch water dripping off the guttering, NEVER STOPS WANTING TO PLAY, barks at a gnat scratching it's nads in the next county...you get my drift.
Now, over the last few months, she has been getting a bit more high maintenance. We now have to have her and the other collie in the bedroom with us. If we leave them in the front room as we always have done, she now will start barking randomly in the middle of the night, I come down and she will be stood, staring at the wall barking or staring at the floor barking. She will also "dig" the carpet and wee which she has never ever done before. She is left in this room with Stig (other collie) in the daytime when I am out and about and never digs or wees, it is just overnight. Have her in with us and we don't get any of this behaviour. I thought maybe her sight was going but according to vets, she is in perfect health. Vet actually can't believe she is as old as she is. She is just a lot more anxious than she has ever been. She's being, well....weird, which for an already weird dog is difficult to watch.
She is being more sensitive to noise, even someone on telly shouting will make her run out of the room and it is rubbing off on Stig now.
We know we will have to have her PTS long before her body gives way as we don't want her to live a life of stress and unhappiness BUT, she's not there yet. She still is happy and playful and her usual weird self most of the time, but we want to try and make the stressful times a little less stressful for her.
Wondering if anyone has any advice regarding things like Valerian drops?? Vet said to try them in 20% of adult human dose based on her weight and for me to report back, but had no idea if it would work.
I wanted to ask here if anyone had used this or anything else as a long term aid for an anxious dog. Just something to help her remain a bit calmer through life???
Jacket spud with BBQ beans for those who can help
