Hi everyone! I am brand new to the forum, and the proud brand new mama of an 8-week old male miniature dachshund named Amos. I got him only three days ago (Saturday morning). It's now Monday evening and tomorrow will be my first day leaving him, as I took today off from work, and I am EXTREMELY nervous and overwhelmed with guilt. I live in an apartment and have a roommate but we both work full-time. Amos will be spending the days in his crate, I leave for work around 6:30 in the morning and I get home around 4. I have arranged for a friend who works evenings to come once a day to let him out, feed him, play with him, etc. He has slept in his crate every night. I initially started him in the guest room but he cried uncontrollably so I moved the crate to my bedroom at night and he goes right to sleep. He gets up and whines a little once or twice a night, I take him out to eliminate and he goes right back to sleep in the crate. He is very attached already and cries a little when I go into another room just for a minute. Tonight I left him outside the crate with my roommate while I ran a 30 minute errand and she said he cried at first then he was fine. He consistently falls asleep for a couple hours after about an hour of playtime, so I'm hoping to play with him and get him tuckered out before I leave in the morning. I am so worried about leaving him in the crate, I worry that he will cry ALL day, but I'm mostly concerned that he will somehow hurt himself trying to escape the crate or something similar. His crate is proportionate to his size, it is a wire crate filled with blankets and a couple toys, but I can't get over the worry that he will hurt himself while he's in there. If anyone has tips or stories that might ease my mind - please share!!! I am one nervous mama!! Thank you!!