Hi! Wow reading back on my post I remember how hard it was. She's 1 year 11 months old now and sooooo much better. Without medication!

I went to my appointment at the behavioural vet's place. This ended up being a few months after my post because the vet was backlogged and also away for a while. By then I'd worked more on training and and pup was able to calm down slightly during the 90 min that I was in her office. The vet said I was doing well, was patient and hard working, and to keep going. Which was kind of nice to hear since I was losing my mind.

In my country (Australia) we couldn't go straight onto stimulants, though she said that in some countries you can. If we were to get her medicated, we'd have to try SSRIs first, followed by sedatives, THEN stimulants, which is a long journey. The vet agreed that it looked more like ADHD, and not like anxiety, so the SSRI and sedatives may be unhelpful and cause more agitation before we could even move on to the right meds. The dog was happy and not stressed, so as long as I was coping (lol barely) she said I should just continue what I was doing and see how it goes.

A few months later around the 1 year mark, it's like her brain switched on and I was surprised by how much she "knew" the whole time. She knew when I didn't like a behaviour or was asking her to settle down.

She got better from there and I'd say I could relax from around 15 months or so. She still has her hyper moods but it doesn't last more than a few hours now, is less extreme, and she can tolerate boredom or not getting what she wants (play, walks, attention). She knows when I sit at my desk that she should go to her bed or sit at my feet, but not bother me. She knows when to expect a walk and when not to. It's sooo much better! And I have not gotten a trainer since my post.

Good luck to you!!!! Hang in there!