A to Z challenge, O is for Ollie

It's day 15 of the A to Z challenge and that means it's time for the letter O which is being represented by  lovely little dog.
So O is for Ollie.

Ollie is another Hilltop Animal Haven dog. Although unlike most of Hilltops dogs he is not very old at all, as he was estimated to be around 8 months old when he arrived at the rescue. 

His arrival was not planned either, one day Natalie, who works at Hilltop and her husband, were down with the horses when they were asked by a woman at a nearby caravan park if they had lost a dog. By all accounts one had turned up at the camp site and the woman, concerned that he would be hit by a car, had tied him up to keep him off the road. 

Natalie confirmed that she had not but said that Hilltop could take him in until his owner was found and off she went with her husband to collect him. 

Natalie say's when they walked onto the ladies drive they were greeted by a bag of bones. Ollie stood there, shaking, head down so that his nose almost touched the ground with his eyes closed. He was clearly exhausted but far to scared to lie down. Despite his fears, Natalie found him to be incredibly loving. Once in the foot well of the car, he relaxed enough to lay down and rested his head on Natalie's lap and at last allowed himself to sleep. 

The following Monday Ollie was taken to see the vets, so that he could be scanned for a micro chip in an attempt to locate his owners. Sadly no chip was found, but Natalie has taken this lovely boy into her heart and her home. 

Natalie say's that Ollie is very insecure and as a result needs lots of praise and constant reassurance. Natalie and other staff at Hilltop may never know what Ollie went through before he came to them, but his penchant for barking all day, every day, makes them wonder if he were indeed dumped by his previous owners.

When he first arrived with Natalie there were lots of areas that needed address with Ollie, one of the biggest being his refusal to go to the toilet anywhere but in the stable block, where he and Natalie's other dogs are kept. Worse when he did this he often chose to defecate, right on top of his bed. 

Natalie tackled this by taking him for extremely long walks and within months she had him peeing outside, which she believes was due to him no longer being able to keep his legs crossed until he got home. 

It would be a year before his number 2's could be preformed outside also, and Natalie says that when he finally did they were so excited and proud, they were squealing like pigs with joy, while Ollie Ran laps around them like a proper loony. This was a huge step for Ollie and he still goes to the toilet in the stable as well, but at least he also feels happy and confident enough to go outside if needed.

Ollie is a lively dog and rarely stay's still for long, which Sammy, the manager at Hilltop, tell's me, makes for a lot of blurry photos, but not a lot of clear ones. Which is why in this post we have a lot less photo's than normal; however, this energy and zest for speed was utilized in Ollie into a fun activity last Summer, when Natalie took him along to join in with a local agility group. Ollie loved it and as a result Natalie is hoping to take him along again next season. 

Ollie's start in life may not have been the best of beginnings, but he is a very loving, sweet dogs, and is incredibly good with Natalie's young son. As a result of his earlier problems Natalie tells us that he tends to suffer regularly with worms and as a result can lose weight very quickly; however, they have quickly learned to detect the signs early and keep everything under control. 

Sadly Ollie's breeds are not fully know but the vet thought there may be some Huntaway in him. So instead of breed video's here, I am going to leave it blank and ask you what breed's you think might be lingering in Ollie's gene's. I was thinking perhaps some Collie or Kelpie, how about you?