|  When I first received Shadow Jr as a young six week old puppy to help me get through the sudden death of my retriever Shadow, I was excited and felt I could really move on with life, and that Keisha would stop trying to commit suicide. It was a such a sad time back then in 2008.
But from the time he was a pup, Shadow Jr had behavioral problems. I thought he was just being a puppy, a very naughty puppy. He had issues with listening, always wanted to run, had a very short attention span, and basically drove everyone crazy. I would walk him twice, sometimes up to three hours a day. He would come home, sleep about fifteen minutes, then bounce awake and run around as if he had slept all night long. Keisha would play for hours with him, and I would wrestle with him. Nothing kept him calm, nothing tired him out.
At three months of age, I had him neutered, hoping that would settle him down. It didn't. It seemed that no manner of exercise, no matter of training provided (I worked with him daily for thirty minutes a day) could or would calm him down. I began to suspect he had ADHD, and discovered that although it is very rare in dogs, it is possible for them to have it. However, I continued to try alternative methods to hopefully gain control of him, and nothing seemed to work. In fact, he was so terrible the manager at Pet Smart called him Marley Jr.
In fact, over the last few months he had actually gotten worse, and I was at the end of my rope on what to do. So I took him to my vet again, and explained what was going on, and how the neutering did not help him to calm down, and that by almost two years of age, he should be acting like a mischievous dog instead of a demonic possessed dog.
Shadow Jr was evaluated, and the veterinarian told me that his behavior was not normal, but that it was not ADHD either. Rather, the poor dog was born with an imbalanced central nervous system. The medicine he is on is helping to balance him out, and I must say it's a relief to see him behave like a dog, even if he does get into trouble still.
But since this is the first dog I've owned with a mental handicap, I am curious as to how many of you own dogs with problems, whether physical or mental. How do you deal with it, and where did you find support to give you encouragement to keep moving onward while helping your dog? Thanks!
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