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Editor’s note: Major came to ABR in September 2021. With the guidance and love of his long-term foster family, backed with ABR's support, he has celebrated baby steps and major strides and is a much happier boy than he was 16 months ago. His foster dad shares his journey.
Major (Round Island Creek Major Miller Time Peach Brandy) came from a line of hunters and was a breeder’s dog. His habits and preferences lead us to believe he enjoyed his outdoor lifestyle immensely. He was adopted for a brief season, then fostered briefly, then adopted, then fostered. That cycle lasted somewhere around 15 months, and then my family was asked to foster him to get him over his “fears.”
We had often spoken of the pros and cons of helping a “senior” dog. We were also interested in a playmate for our dogs– a Brittany boy aged 5 and a cocker girl aged 6. At age 7, we thought Major might be a playmate beginning to slow down as he entered his senior years. Assumptions can be dangerous. His energy level is so far beyond our other two dogs that, though they respect him, they say “we aren’t playing with that wild child.”
We caught up with Major and brought him to our home on September 18, 2021. He was very anxious on the two plus hour ride to our house. We thought it was due to being with new people in a different vehicle. But his anxiety never calmed. At home, he paced the house in a circle, always moving the same direction, always against the wall. He did the same in the bedroom. He did the same when we crated him. We tried a large crate, a small crate, a crate beside the other dogs, a crate isolated, a crate covered, a crate uncovered. Eventually, we tried the bathroom with a baby gate; nothing changed.
He has an incredible energy level and correspondingly a deep sleep level when it is dark. However, daytime presented challenges that almost overwhelmed us. We had no concept of the noise phobias and separation anxiety that Major was already living with. Outside noises had no impact on him, but inside noises were another story. Every house noise — every kitchen noise — every bathroom noise — every noise we even thought about making — would make him jump and move as far away as possible. It could be laying the phone down, placing the coffee cup, moving the toothbrush, putting shoes on, cooking — any of the regular routine noises that occur in a house made him tuck his tail and retreat. He could never settle because he was always on alert for the next noise.
And then we went to work (or the store, or church, or to eat), and we slowly (too slowly) learned about his separation anxiety. We failed to recognize it at first, but we could tell he was not resting in his crate so we put a camera on him. What we observed broke our hearts, and we knew that Major was going to be not only a project but a long-term love.
By October, we were beginning to understand separation anxiety and started seeking solutions. He exhibited such extreme anxiety that by November we were chasing neurological issues and visiting vets and specialists to try to resolve what we thought was pain. By mid-December we were seeking out a separation anxiety specialist. The last time he stayed home by himself was Christmas Eve 2021. On December 31, 2021, we began formal daily separation anxiety training using a trainer based in another state.
The trainer asked if we could keep him with us at all times for a month. We worked that out and quickly agreed and began training. At first, the progress was painfully slow. At the end of the first month, he was averaging 2.4 minutes alone without anxiety. At the end of the second month, 3.2 minutes. At the end of the third month, 12.4 minutes. Here we are at the end of the 12th month, and we still have not left him alone. He is now averaging 52.1 minutes without anxiety.
It seems that maybe Major will never be able to stay home alone for an entire workday. But maybe, and hopefully, he will learn to stay long enough for us to go out. Thankfully, our jobs allow us to bring him to work. We trade him off throughout the day, so mostly we are able to work out his care.
While we have seen only slow improvement in his ability to not get anxious when we are away from home, we have seen huge improvements in other areas! He is now comfortable with the house noises and no longer paces the house. He can fall asleep and sleep soundly. He rarely paces the room and is easily redirected. Change is not as scary as it used to be. He is no longer scared of our big Brittany and he understands the boundaries with our cocker, who is similar in size. They occasionally play together (under our watch), and they all seem happy with each other. He has learned the joys of toys. His two favorite indoor activities are removing the toys from the toy box and stealing the toys from his cocker sister. He no longer paces the yard, instead exploring like a regular dog. He now tolerates the feral cats who hang out in the front yard and greet us coming and going.
He has grown accustomed to riding (hooked) in the back seat of the car. He has grown accustomed to the noises and the people and the patterns of our workplaces and lays comfortably at our sides, whether in our offices or in meetings. People who visit our offices comment on his decreased anxiety. He has grown comfortable at lunch spots with patio dining. He has grown comfortable with our Monday night Bible Study group and now greets each person as they arrive. He is completely comfortable and wonderfully cooperative with the going-to-bed and getting-up routines.
We have turned the morning routine into a game. He generally wakes first and plays with several toys we leave out for him. Then his dad gets up and they play together on the floor. Play time includes toys, wrestling, and some obedience training. Then it is on to outdoor time with the other dogs, followed by breakfast.
His all-time favorite activity is to sit under the oak tree staring up for squirrels. He will do this for an hour without moving. He loves to watch them and chases them only when they are on top of the fence.
He has gone on two vacations recently and does incredibly well with long rides crated in the back seat of the truck. It is the only time he successfully uses a crate, and he is completely comfortable! We do notice that he is more dependent on us and looks to us for safety when we are in a vacation setting.
At times, Major’s slow progress is discouraging. Having walked him through two winters, we are now exploring the effects of the shorter winter days (and less oak tree time since he doesn’t care for the dark). We are hopeful that the lengthening days will bring some speed to his progress. More sunshine lets him use more energy!
Major will probably live with anxiety the rest of his life. With a combination of the right meds, ongoing training, healthy eating, and appropriate play, he will live a good life with manageable anxiety—just not a life separated from his people all day. He is always excited to see his people and his people love him; his brother and sister have accepted him as part of the family—he and his Brittany big brother now even hang out together in the yard!
Major requires a lot of work but he is a joy, and we and our friends love having him around.
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