5 years buddy! A bit over 5 years ago, Jinx was at the pound and supposed to be euthanized. He'd been there for months with no apps and they were full. Luckily, a nearby rescue group saw his potential and snapped him up just in time, literally on his kill date.
When I came into the shelter, I asked who had no apps on them. The shelter lady basically threw Jinx at me. I'm bad at decisions so I just went with it.
I definitely learned why people warned me against getting a dog like him in my early twenties. His anxiety and energy was something else.
Everyone said "oh just kennel train"- but turns out, even if you get professional trainers involved, some dogs have had trauma with a kennel and can't be.
Unfortunately Jinx is one of them, collectively (vets, trainer, shelter, me) think this dog was neglected and just left in a crate most of the day as a puppy.
So we ran. Every day.
(picking back up, things came up yesterday)
Every workday morning I woke up at 4:45am to run 3 miles. I came home for lunch and we walked. After work we ran more. His energy never seemed to lessen, but his anxiety slowly started peeling away. 6 months in, we could walk after work instead of run. A year in I could leave him all day at least part of the week.
Slowly he adjusted to my life and I to his, and it has been such a great adventure for both of us.
Sometime last year, something clicked. His anxiety became no worse than your average anxious dog, and he chilled out big time.
He still enjoys big hikes and lots of exercise, but he no longer needs it to not destroy my home. It's been pretty amazing since then, I have been calling right now the good dog years. I have no idea how old he is beyond at least 6, so I have no idea how many years we will get, but I'm so excited to enjoy as many as I can with my best friend.
abby