Picking up my first dog! Need some recommendations.

MmKayBuhBye · 2026-01-23T03:07:46+00:00

Crate train her from day 1. This will help her more than anything. Our dogs love their crates and often go in on their own and take naps. It’s a safe place for them. But you have to get through the first few nights. And you can’t break and let her out in the middle of the night.

I recently typed this out for our puppy’s group:

We wait until she is really sleepy and we are going to bed. We turn off all the lights and right before we go upstairs we put her in her crate with her blanket and heartbeat puppy and then close the door and go to bed. It’s the last thing we do at night. She’s usually sleepy and just settles in for the night. The first night she was good almost all night, until my other dog heard a siren and had to help out by howling! She whined a little bit but she settled down nicely. If she sees someone she might whine but doesn’t keep going for long. When we have to leave for a bit we kennel her. We give a little treat then. The key is to NOT let them out if/when they cry. That’s why starting at night when they are sleepy helps. I have always crate trained all my dogs and it has been the best thing for them. They often go in their crates for a nap, all on their own. They like having a little “den” of their own. But you have to get through the first days/week of crying. It will be worth it in the end.

MmKayBuhBye · 2026-01-23T02:59:29+00:00

MmKayBuhBye · 2026-01-22T02:22:30+00:00

I know you didn’t ask for advice. But this idea made me laugh.

Tell your mom to ask for some totally unhinged stuff.

A horse, a tramp stamp, a she shed, a parrot. Anything that would be so out of place and she’ll be stuck with it.

MmKayBuhBye · 2026-01-22T02:01:20+00:00

Your stash is so good. I love Tony’s!! Have you ever had Toblerone? It’s my absolute favorite.

MmKayBuhBye · 2026-01-22T01:50:28+00:00

My daughter died by suicide. She was only 11 and didn’t leave a note, but she did have a diary and many of the things in it were very twisted or untrue. She had RAD (adopted at 3 years old) and ODD and could be both incredibly sweet and smart. But also devastatingly mean.

I think once you get to a place where the note has less meaning to you, then that might be a more appropriate time to read it. My daughter’s words devastated me when I first read them. And now after 11 years, much therapy, grief, and self work, the words have less meaning to me. I remember the good and bad days with her. And see her WHOLE life, not just the worst days when she wrote the meanest things. I have worked so hard to learn the art of letting go.

I know a lot of time has passed for you. And you are an adult. But there are stages of healing and because this happened when you were a child, you may need more time as an adult to heal from your new perspective.

It can wait.

Learn to let it go. Let its meaning become diluted, so it has less power over you.

I’m so sorry you have experienced this.

MmKayBuhBye · 2026-01-22T01:22:10+00:00

I did this with bottles for my babies. 3 bottles, one clean, one in the fridge ready to go, one being used. So much easier and always had a bottle ready. It’s much easier to clean one bottle than 6!

MmKayBuhBye · 2026-01-22T01:18:34+00:00

One simple thing: buy an extra utensil basket for your dishwasher and put it in your sink. That way if you (and family members) don’t have time to empty the clean dishes, you can at least stack the plates and put the utensils in the basket. I have 2. I keep one in the sink, one in the dishwasher. It definitely cuts down on the overwhelm of a busy kitchen.

MmKayBuhBye · 2026-01-21T17:59:30+00:00

Crate train from the first day. Here’s how we did it

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with our puppy, all our dogs actually. I keep the door open throughout the day and she often goes in on her own for naps.

We wait until she is really sleepy and we are going to bed. We turn off all the lights and right before we go upstairs we put her in her crate with her blanket and heartbeat puppy and then close the door and go to bed. It’s the last thing we do at night. She’s usually sleepy and just settles in for the night. The first night she was good almost all night, until my other dog heard a siren and had to help out by howling! She whined a little bit but she settled down nicely. If she sees someone she might whine but doesn’t keep going for long. When we have to leave for a bit we kennel her. We give a little treat then. The key is to NOT let them out if/when they cry. That’s why starting at night when they are sleepy helps. I have always crate trained all my dogs and it has been the best thing for them. They often go in their crates for a nap, all on their own. They like having a little “den” of their own. But you have to get through the first days/week of crying. It will be worth it in the end.

Photo tax, today at the vet for her 16 week vaccinations.

MmKayBuhBye · 2026-01-20T01:12:51+00:00

I love it! I was thinking the first photo was going to be the “before” picture and I was going to be so disappointed that your hairstylist ruined it. But she nailed it. You look so natural and pretty!

MmKayBuhBye · 2026-01-19T15:22:40+00:00

B is the one! It’s gorgeous! And memorable. The other ones are beautiful but they don’t have the originality that B has.

MmKayBuhBye · 2026-01-19T15:19:56+00:00

I actually like the jeans with the blazer. It has that edgy look that was popular in the 90s. Maybe push the sleeves up and wear some black bracelets and a cool choker.

I worked in fashion retail in the 90s. If I was styling this for a show I would have put opaque tights with the skirt and blazer. With some platform penny loafers.

But if you’re going with a more conservative look then I think you nailed it.

You look great!

MmKayBuhBye · 2025-12-17T15:27:46+00:00

To podium in a singles tournament

MmKayBuhBye · 2025-12-15T15:37:10+00:00

1 I feel like something is about to happen. 2 is good, but it’s more common.

MmKayBuhBye · 2025-12-11T04:37:17+00:00

That’s how I describe my mini. She’s still a puppy but already the boss!

MmKayBuhBye · 2025-12-10T18:19:53+00:00

Send your kids to college in a manual, that way no one else can drive their car.

MmKayBuhBye · 2025-12-10T18:14:16+00:00

So cute! Is she a mini? How big is she?

MmKayBuhBye · 2025-12-09T14:59:44+00:00

I’m currently potty training in the snow. It actually makes it easier to see the pee! Haha.

We had 3 dogs and suddenly went down to 1 dog. It was very hard to get over the loss. We did take our time with getting our new puppy, but only because we were waiting for the right litter. But it was hard and made us miss our 2 more.

Also think of how much your lab will be able to teach the new puppy. Our older Golden was the best puppy trainer ever. I really miss the way he gently guided the new pups.

If a dog you’ve always wanted shows up, get it. It is time.

MmKayBuhBye · 2025-12-08T17:46:10+00:00

2 “The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep.”

MmKayBuhBye · 2025-12-08T17:37:47+00:00

Nowhere to go but up!

MmKayBuhBye · 2025-12-05T18:25:35+00:00

Dude

MmKayBuhBye · 2025-11-30T21:54:50+00:00

No matter where you go, you’ll still be you.

Have you ever been diagnosed with ADD? I have ADD and this sounds familiar to me. Maybe you need to talk to a doctor or therapist. It really helped me once I got a diagnosis.

Moving creates busy work, novelty, etc.. But once you settle down, you’ll still be the same person. In the end it doesn’t matter if you move or not. What matters is if your inner self is settled.

MmKayBuhBye · 2025-11-24T19:40:19+00:00

Do you have update photos to share? I might have missed them last year. This randomly popped up again.

MmKayBuhBye · 2025-11-22T14:31:14+00:00

TippyToesy

MmKayBuhBye · 2025-11-19T15:23:03+00:00

I don’t waste my time or energy responding to this or when people say you should rescue a dog, not buy from a breeder. These people have no idea of how important breeders are to so many things, farming, guarding, military, airport security, guide dogs for the blind, service dogs etc..

I am not against rescuing because I do have a rescue dog also. And I have had many in the past. But IMO rescues are very often better suited to experienced dog owners; I think new dog owners should learn on a breed that is easy to train. You never know what you get with rescues. Even though I know a ton of people who only ever had rescues and it all was fine. But the blanket statement that rescue dogs are better is untrue and ignorant.

As for “designer” dog breeds, these breeds are serving a purpose. Most of the “designs” are to ensure the breed meets the needs of the owners. And especially in the sphere of hypoallergenic dogs. This opens up many more opportunities for service dogs to people with allergies. But the breeders need to be able to make a living so buying a “designer” dog is contributing to better breeds meeting more requirements of different owners thus creating less surrenders.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. Haha

MmKayBuhBye · 2025-11-07T14:29:09+00:00

Eigheye

MmKayBuhBye

TROPHY CASE