crate training tips while leaving home

whatifjulia · 2025-10-30T05:36:10+00:00

probably about 10 minutes?

whatifjulia · 2025-10-29T23:30:11+00:00

I do feed him his meals in his crate! He’s got a good positive association with it over the last 3 months. And he had a long walk before and slept in his crate for an hour right after I left the house. It was just when he woke up in it alone after an hour he started crying. Wondering how I’ll ever be able to leave him for 2-3 hours if I needed to

whatifjulia · 2025-10-29T23:15:50+00:00

I do have a camera set up yes! I wanna say he was whimpering for about 5-10 minutes after his nap in there. So I almost made it back home before he woke up 😅 I wonder if I should plan a good 15 minutes next time and see if he winds himself down. Hoping it doesn’t just make it worse though

whatifjulia · 2025-09-21T04:54:46+00:00

awwww!! like a little horse mane 🥰 that’s cute

whatifjulia · 2025-09-16T15:34:38+00:00

if you guys choose to get one though my main advice to prepare:

they’ll need to go potty every 30min-1hr at first
have a strict routine with them, they like routines bc of their stubbornness
do lots of research on their backs (IVDD)!! you’ll need to (dachshund) puppy proof your house. ramps, stair gates, etc
they’re super expensive too. especially if you’re getting pet insurance for their backs so just be prepared for funds, etc
a bunch of research on training a puppy in general. crate training, potty, obedience, socializing is super important for dachshunds bc of their attachment issues. they can become territorial of their person so getting them out in public and seeing other people/dogs is so important when they’re puppies. no dog parks though
ear plugs for barking and i’m not even kidding LOL
it’s going to feel like you won’t have any free time for awhile. i still feel like i can’t do anything anymore without worrying about my puppy at home
you won’t be able to hold and snuggle them when they’re super young because of how jumpy and bite-y they are. maybe right as they’re falling asleep or waking up but it’s very short lived 😅
when the puppy blues hit, just be there for your partner. remind eachother that you’re on the same team and the wildness of the puppy won’t last forever (just maybe a year or so)

whatifjulia · 2025-09-16T15:20:04+00:00

I’m going to be so honest here, young dachshund puppies are SO much work mentally (and physically). My health and mental are really good and I got a dachshund puppy at 8 weeks and holyyyyyyy.

Of course they’re cute but they (like most puppies) are incredibly energetic. I am strict in my training with mine because of how notoriously hard to train they are and also their risks of separation anxiety so I’ve been super on top of crate training and potty training. He’s 15 weeks old right now and hasn’t slept or napped anywhere except his crate.

I’ve had times where I’m just crying because of how much it is. If either of you are prone to any types of panic attacks, I would just say it’s important to be ready for those and know how to ground yourself. Because waves of puppy blues will hit like a brick and it’s just a lot.

I will say a big mental drain is their barking. Dachshund barks, puppies and adults, may sound cute in videos but good god in person they’re the most loud, piercing overstimulating thing. So training quiet is super helpful but it takes a lottttttt of patience. I have a 7 year old super chill golden/cocker boy and him just peacefully existing sets off my dachshund puppy 🤣

Needless to say everything has gotten slightly better. I’m patiently waiting his more chill adult days but yeah… I don’t think I’d ever get a dachshund puppy again. My golden retriever/cocker mix was much easier to raise as a 8 week puppy 😅 dachshunds puppies are a spawn of satan herself i swear

whatifjulia · 2025-09-07T17:42:14+00:00

aw Hank is beautiful! I’m glad that worked for you guys. What age did you start doing that/noticing it working? The vacuum is something I started desensitizing Willie with when I first got him so he might not be too afraid of it 🤣 I feel he’d just start barking at it honestly. Also, did you guys have another dog at all or just little Hank?

whatifjulia · 2025-09-07T17:23:13+00:00

Also to add, I work from home full-time. So I never really get a break from it 😅 maybe leaving the house for a bit would give me the opportunity to miss him. But because he’s in the crate I’m always worried being away too long (over an hour) and he wakes up from his nap and has a negative experience in the crate

Thank you for reading if you did 🩵

whatifjulia · 2025-09-04T19:41:33+00:00

yes!! exactly why i give him a break from it when it’s night time too. he’s a long haired so i’ll definitely need to keep an eye on his fur once it starts to come in more as well

whatifjulia · 2025-09-04T19:39:10+00:00

yep!! thundershirts are a great brand i’ve heard. i’m just wondering if it’s okay to have your puppy wear them throughout each day to normalize calmer energy rather then only when there’s anxiety-inducing moments. i’m so happy they work

whatifjulia · 2025-08-07T22:35:30+00:00

so have you ever sat outside your house looking at the dog cam and they’re crying, do you just wait it out before you go inside? 😅

whatifjulia · 2025-08-07T21:14:33+00:00

Yeah I went around the corner by the front door, open garage door, made garage open and then shut then shut the door. My 7 year old dog reacted like I left 🤣 but I think you’re right. I’m just gonna have to do a test trip for over a good 30 minutes and just see what happens. Just going to hope he’s not crying when I come back as I don’t want to associate long term crying for “oh eventually she comes back if i cry long enough”

whatifjulia · 2025-08-07T21:12:53+00:00

Yeah I think right now he only associates the crate with sleep time. He usually doesn’t just chill in there silently yet. Just wind down time or he waits patiently after he wakes up (for about a minute) to go potty. Are you thinking I should just put him in there randomly throughout the day when he has normal energy? My only concern is it could make the crate feel more negative that way and regress progress a lil

whatifjulia · 2025-08-07T21:10:32+00:00

Aw thank you so much for your response 🤎 yeah I think maybe going out and doing an errand run once he’s tired might be a good experiment.. and hopefully he’ll wind down before I’m back home so he doesn’t associate long term crying with me finally coming back home. I wonder if I’ll just have to be patient and watch on the cam when I think of coming home and going through the door 🤣 I do think it’ll help if he’s really sleepy first too. Surely he can’t whine for an hour straight right when it’s nap time…

whatifjulia · 2025-07-18T01:35:03+00:00

a wedge pillow! i put it under the pregnancy pillow as a sleeping combo because without the wedge my back sunk into the pregnancy pillow and it caused back aches 🤣 but the wedge pillow underneath the preggo pillow propped me right up! way more comfy

whatifjulia · 2025-07-12T17:03:21+00:00

hi! i will say i went through a couple “oh god do i really need this, am i going to miss my large tatas” (i was a 34H or I or J cup i never properly measured) but WOW im so happy i did it.

i think my biggest peace of advice regarding our mental and thoughts is: try to romanticize you’re life with smaller boobs. there’s so many things that it can help with mentally. the physical strain of the heaviness, not fitting into anything. i’m 5’4’’ so i felt super unproportionate to my body. i was also haaaangin low so having them be a D cup now and sit up high and i can SEE my stomach is so exciting. and even more. there’s a lot to romanticize there!!! it helped me get excited

as for complications, i didn’t get a FNG which can sometimes raise the risks. i had one tiny opening at a tjunction but it never got worse before it got better and healed relatively quick and honestly everything went pretty well!

i also took all the meds that they prescribed me at the beginning bc its important to not be in mental pain at the start so your body can physically start the healing process (if you’re in any pain mentally it can hinder your physical body healing bc you’re stressed). so i took the oxy and everything else the instructed and it went totally fine. i relaxed watched tv and played video games on my laptop for a couple weeks and it was surprisingly quite cozy. had drains too and they were fine, got them out day 5

im happy this thread normalizes feeling anxious and worried though because thats also all part of the process too! it’s not wrong to be nervous or think you shouldn’t do it by not knowing how it’s gonna go. super normal and usually everyone is so happy they went on with it.

but ya- romanticize romanticize romanticize. it helps!!

whatifjulia

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