love'laska
New Member
Hi everyone,
I've been lurking on the forum ever since I put my deposit down on a mini red-colored short-haired dachshund (about a month ago)! I figured that since the puppy comes home tomorrow that it was time to introduce myself.
My name is Emily and I'm a 19-year-old sophomore in university in Chicago, IL. Growing up, I always was surrounded by animals. Since moving to college, this is the fist time in my life I haven't had a pet. I've never owned a dachshund before, but my uncle had 4 of them when I was younger, so I'm used to being around them.
I've been thinking about getting a dachshund for ages now, and originally was going to get my first pup next summer, but I recently was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and PTSD and my therapist believed getting a dog now would be very beneficial to me. My puppy is coming home as an emotional support animal and this morning I got verification that she has been registered with my university to live with me in the dormitories, which are typically no-pets.
I'm driving about six hours tomorrow morning to pick up my pup, and then we're driving to Michigan to spend time with my folks for a week before I move back on campus. I've been preparing for her to come home for quite a while now and have two toy boxes full of dog supplies (one for toys and one for food/health/grooming/cleaning/training products), as well as a small wire crate, a small travel crate, an x-pen, and a dog bed. I also have two sets of collars, harnesses, and leads.
So far, I've gotten a lot of skepticism from my peers who believe I'm not capable of raising a puppy while in school, but I've rearranged my class schedule so I'm taking a minimum amount of classes and my pup will never be alone for more than 2 hours at a time. I've also already prepared a feeding, exercise, and training schedule (it's very flexible at the moment because I realize my puppy's needs may be different than what I'm preparing for). I'm planing to train her with all positive-reinforcement methods.
I've named her Alaska and I can't wait to bring her into my life tomorrow. I'm really thinking this is going to be an incredibly positive change for my life.
This post got way longer than I intended, I'm just incredibly excited to become a part of this community after lurking around for so long.
I've been lurking on the forum ever since I put my deposit down on a mini red-colored short-haired dachshund (about a month ago)! I figured that since the puppy comes home tomorrow that it was time to introduce myself.
My name is Emily and I'm a 19-year-old sophomore in university in Chicago, IL. Growing up, I always was surrounded by animals. Since moving to college, this is the fist time in my life I haven't had a pet. I've never owned a dachshund before, but my uncle had 4 of them when I was younger, so I'm used to being around them.
I've been thinking about getting a dachshund for ages now, and originally was going to get my first pup next summer, but I recently was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and PTSD and my therapist believed getting a dog now would be very beneficial to me. My puppy is coming home as an emotional support animal and this morning I got verification that she has been registered with my university to live with me in the dormitories, which are typically no-pets.
I'm driving about six hours tomorrow morning to pick up my pup, and then we're driving to Michigan to spend time with my folks for a week before I move back on campus. I've been preparing for her to come home for quite a while now and have two toy boxes full of dog supplies (one for toys and one for food/health/grooming/cleaning/training products), as well as a small wire crate, a small travel crate, an x-pen, and a dog bed. I also have two sets of collars, harnesses, and leads.
So far, I've gotten a lot of skepticism from my peers who believe I'm not capable of raising a puppy while in school, but I've rearranged my class schedule so I'm taking a minimum amount of classes and my pup will never be alone for more than 2 hours at a time. I've also already prepared a feeding, exercise, and training schedule (it's very flexible at the moment because I realize my puppy's needs may be different than what I'm preparing for). I'm planing to train her with all positive-reinforcement methods.
I've named her Alaska and I can't wait to bring her into my life tomorrow. I'm really thinking this is going to be an incredibly positive change for my life.
This post got way longer than I intended, I'm just incredibly excited to become a part of this community after lurking around for so long.
I definitely feel like I have a good grasp on everything, but of course I'm still a tad nervous.