I've been Dizzy's mum for eight years. She was two years old when I got her from a rescue home after she had been horribly abused. She's a mongrel who has always had issues. She has neer been playful or cuddly though she likes to sit close and have her head and belly rubbed. She has always been nervous, and in her younger years could be aggressive to people she didnt know. Other dogs usually tried to attack her.

I got a rescue puppy at the end of July and Dizzy didnt take to him. She growled if he came near and despite walking them together, hand feeding them and giving her special time the situation didnt improve much.

The crux came a week after bonfire night. I had taken both dogs for a walk at 4.30 and about 5.00 someone let a stream of fireworks off nearby. Dizzy slipped her collar and ran away and she wasn't located until 5 and a half hours later. She was obviously in shock. She was trembling all over and didnt appear to recognise me. She appeared frozen.

I took her home and she fed and drank heartily (which I took to be a good sign) then had a big sleep. I kept the puppy seperated from her.

She was very nervous about going outside, even the garden. She happily went into the car but tried to bite me when I tried to get her out of the car.  She calmed down quite a bit over the next few days and nervously went for a walk. However a couple of days later our local shopping centre set off a loud of fireworks and they were so loud. Dizzy seemed demented, trying to dig into me and chewing the furniture. She had never done this before. The next few days she would'nt get out of the car and hid away in my bedroom all day and night and seemed depressed. She coped with the puppy even worse than before and wouldn't even go out into the garden for the toilet, doing it in the house instead. She got lost in gorse bushes when we went out for a walk and ran away yelping when my brother and I tried to catch her. When I eventually caught up with her she yelped again and bit me several times before calming down because I would not let go of her collar and risk her running into the gorse bushes. She had cut her face on the thorns and was bleeding a bit.

I arranged for my puppy to be rehomed because she wasn't coping.

The following few days she started to come out from my bedroom but still didn't want to go outside for the toilet. I bought her a thunder shirt which made her freeze then slowly fall over into a big sleep. I noted that a couple of times she would twitch her head lots and stumble for a few moments when standing still.  She was and still is eating and drinking very well.

I have to work and returned home last week to find that she had pooped and peed all over the house and appeared to stare into space, not responding to her name or familiar commands. I also noticed that she was stumbling over the few steps into the garden which she was now going out in. She chewed a cupboard and piece fo furniture and later began clawing at her mouth making it bleed but there did not seem to be a cause.

I took her to the vet the next day, Friday, who advised that she was blind in one eye and could hardly see out of the other eye. She also didnt seem to be able to smell. She huddled in the corner of the vets and I had to carry her back to the car despite her leading me to the vets. He prescribed Vivitonin, clomicalm and 7 days worth of xanax. He advised that an MRI might be needed (she is insured luckily).

Friday night she took her self out into the garden for toilet though peed on my bed in the night. She paced lots through the night.

She took herself out in the garden for the toilet yesterday and responded to commands such as sit, ask nicely and bark. She could definitely smell and see out of her right eye for some distance. We even had a little walk on my front lawn on the lead.However she continued to pace through out the day unless stroked but slept well after a bit of pacing in the evening.

Today she pooped and peed in the house in the afternoon, didnt respond to commands and completely freaked when I took her for  walk in the park on her lead. She kept circling me and peed in the car on the way back home. When we got home she ran to my bedroom and tucked herself in a corner facing the walls for about an hour. She has since happily gone into the garden of her own accord for the toilet and sits with me in the front room asking to be petted lots and responds to basic commands, when she is not pacing the entire length of the house and garden

I'm rather distraught about the situation. She was and active and healthy dog two weeks ago. I have to go back to the vets on Tuesday. How long should it take for the medication to work. Is an MRI worthwhile given that she will have to have a GA? Is this sort of behaviour to be expected whilst she adapts to not being able to see? Or does this sound like its time for her to go to the big dog pound in the sky?I have to work full days on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and am worried for her being alone given her condition.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you

Poor Dizzy,

It sounds an awful lot like post traumatic stress.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9344094/ns/health-pet_health/t/pets-vulnerable-post-traumatic-stress-too/

Hope shes feeling better soon x

me too,poor both of you x

What breed is she?  Is she coming to the end of her natural lifespan?  It sounds like she might be having mini strokes that set her back and that she subsequently recovers from.  Hopefully the vet will be able to tell you more, but I must say that her quality of life doesn't sound great.  I really hope she stabilizes soon & applaud you for re-homing the puppy.  

For my dog I will always try to remember 'better a week too early than a day too late' when considering if it's time to put her to sleep.  But ever so much more difficult to take the decision during such an emotional time.  I think she will tell you when it's time to run free - just make sure you are looking and listening.

This is a horrible situation for you both, and this might be the end, but I'd advise waiting until you go back to the vet to have the conversation regarding her quality of life.  In meantime do not take her out for walks - she's obviously disorientated and these are making her stressed and frightened.  She is an older lady that needs some comfort and reassurance.  Garden visits only - and keep her on an extending lead for her own safety if necessary.

Indoors: I'd confine her to a wipe clean floor and safe secure area.  If she is messing inside after previously being very clean this will be upsetting for her too so you need to give her somewhere where it doesn't matter to either of you.  Use baby gates and give her a covered crate or box to nest in.  Give her things that smell of you, but items that can easily be replaced or washed.  Towels are good and vet bed is brilliant even after hundreds of washes!  A few chew toys might help too if she's interested.  If you don't want to leave her at night then a second crate, or a puppy pen in your bedroom would do the job.

Whilst you are working - consider getting someone in to stay with her or asking for some time off this week.  I appreciate this won't be an ideal long term solution but I think it would be good for the pair of you to stabilise a bit; for you to gain some thinking time, and to allow the meds to work.

Thank you for your replies,

Dizzy is scruffy wire haired heinz 57 with a big dose of terrier. She only turned 10 this month. Thats not that old for a mongrel I think.

I think she may be suffering from PTSD too. Being lost out in the open with fireworks going off everywhere must have been a nightmare come true for her. She trembled and shook almost constantly for days and just as she was begining to relax, the shopping centre fireworks went off nearby. When I first got her she had issues with noise. Putting a plate in the sink or stirring a cup of tea makes her jump are trot around now and we are back at square one (I've just read that pacing is the same as ambling and Dizzy is jogging back and forth as if anxious. definitely not ambling).

As she came from the blue cross I can access the support of a behaviourist. I will give them a call tomorrow.

Watching her closely this weekend and observing her now, I am wondering if the occassional jerkiness and twitching isnt her fighting the effects of the drugs meant to relax her. She looks just like a child fighting sleep. Before going to the vets I gave her one piriton each night for a couple of nights to see if it would help. I having been putting rescue remedies in her water and have a DAP diffuser too

The blindness I cant account for. And must be truly distressing if, as it seems to me, it came on suddenly.

Its hard to distinguish between what is a behvioural issue and whats  medical issue. Im not sure if I will go ahead with an MRI. If its a tumour or cancer then I dont want her to suffer anymore than she is. Equally, if I cant find a way to make her feel safe and at ease again I dont want her to spend her days half scared to death.

It was very hard to let go of the puppy. He was fantastic. But I knew I was the better thing to do.

I'm finding it hard to cope with the thought of the loss of two dogs in such a short space of time.

My first thought was dementia. This must be a horrible time for you but as others have said it is quality of life and dignity that counts. Fingers crossed for you both. X

It sounds like PTSD to me too - she is clearly extremely stressed after an absolutely awful experience.  I wouldn't walking her as this obviously makes her considerably more stressed and it could be weeks before she is calm enough to cope with that again (if ever), poor girl :-(

Might still be worth doing the MRI - she was lost for over 5 hours and in extreme fear, dogs in that state of mind don't think about what they're doing and she could have done herself some damage without you seeing it (i.e. a knock on the head).  Might explain the blindness also possibly?

The 'fighting sleep' thing sounds like stress to me also - if she's so worried about what may happen (fireworks) then she likely would fight her body's attempts to sleep so she can keep an ear on her environment.

My dog had dementia in his last year and he would sit in a corner and look at the wall like that.  He could also put on the act of being a pretty normal dog too but the one thing he could never remember was his name.  And he would randomly bark at the wall too.

My thoughts are mini-strokes.  My spaniel was 13 when she suffered a series of these. 

Thanks again for the replies.

Dizzy has in the past gone into a corner and faced the wall when she is afraid.

She could definitely see after the firework events. Only last saturday we visited my brother's home and she didnt bump into anything at all and twice asked to go out to the toilet.

She knows her name today and can respond to commands. She pooped once in the front room (luckily I have wooden floors throughout my home). I dont think she is incontinent. I think she is scared to go out for a poop at times though she has definitely done so in the last week.

She came to the front gate to greet me when I returned home at lunch time and wagged her tail. But did trot up and down the entire home. She is as I type clawing me for a stroke and obviously wants her dinner.

I spoke to the behaviour team who advised that I should give her a month to see how she settles and I feel so much better after hearing that. They advised that I was doing all the right things but said not to try taking her out for a walk and give the drugs time to work.

We are off to the vets tomorrow to see what they say. But I will give her a month at least to see how she adjusts.

She's been terribly frightened and seems to have hearing and sight difficulties which may fluctuate, another possible cause could be an aneurism which I am sure your vet will be looking into, this could affect why it comes and goes depending on pressure to the brain, so yes to the MRI. PTSD is also in the running very much so here, but you need to rule out an aneurism so please have it importantly checked. :-)

You need to treat her like a puppy and go back to basics of calling her out to toilet and praising her, ignore the toileting in the house and protect your home from her chewing, possibly see if you can adapt her to a crate and a safe den for herself, dress it with favourite toys, blankets, chews make it a good place and hopefully she will take to it,  I would put the crate in your bedroom on a night-time so that you can keep her close and also use it when you go out to keep her safe and keep any toileting confined.

I hope that things improve but take things slowly and build up her confidence whether due to PTSD or her health failing she needs a slow build up to doing normal things again.

Might be worth going out with her, just standing there quietly and not interacting or distracting her from toileting, but just being there? My little girl hasn't had the terrible traumas of your poor girl, but she had a lapse in housetraining at the start of this colder wetter weather, and after a couple of weeks of my going back to standing in the garden with her, she seems to have relearned that it's ok to go outside even in bad weather.

Just a thought about the sudden blindness which I think the op said has improved in one eye. Although rare humans can suffer from elective ( not consciously elective) blindness due to stress or trauma I would assume that the same can occur in animals. If we follow the line of  being lost in these circumstances and so traumatised it could be possible. The same with the jerking etc during sleep similar in human ptsd
The good thing is things can improve. After vets investigation and if nothing turns up maybe a behaviourist who has knowledge of ptsd if such a person exists

Hi everyone,

I really am truly grateful for all your advice and support.

I've just come back from the vets. They accidently booked me in when the vet I saw last week was on a day off.

We've agreed to take her off the xanax because all the while she is drugged up she is not learning new coping strategies. He also said we needed to give her longer to see how the drugs worked. I am booked to go back  on the 8th of December for a review with the first vet I saw. He clapped his hands and whistled and she could definitely hear because she started jogging around the room and peed. He used the pee to to do a test and everything was ok. As was her blood work. He said that an opthalmologist would be a more appropriate referral to see what is going on. He is going to speak to the vet I saw first who is dealing with Dizzy.

She didnt have any accidents yesterday evening or through out the night. Today she did poop in the house first thing in the morning but I think that was related to neighbours starting building works at 6.00am which freaked her out.(sods law!). She didnt have any accidents in the house whilst I was at work and is happy to go out into the garden by herself though I have been going out with her most of the time. I cant just take time off work, I am a child protection social worker.

She hasn't chewed anything indoors for a few days now and was very calm when I got home despite her xanax from this morning having worn off.

However as I was tying the above Dizzy came rushing in from the garden clawing at her mouth, having chewed some sticks and got one trapped between her back upper teeth, across her upper palate. She accidently bit my finger and made it bleed as I removed the stick and she has somehow cut one of her feet. I think this was her way of getting rid of the stress of the visit to the vets. I am trying to subtitute the chewing of furniture and sticks with chewy treats such as dental chews etc which I give to her in the morning and evening and my brother gives her one at lunch time when he pops in.

I realised last night that the thunder shirt has a profound calming effect on her. When I put it on she starts staggering backwards for a few minutes before falling in to a deep sleep where she snores loudly about 5 minutes after I have put the shirt on. Yesterday after sleeing soundly for half an hour she woke with a start when I accidently woke her up by shifting in my seat and she walked without staggering with the thunder shirt on.

Im trying to stay positive and doing all I can to try and help her feel safe and calm again.