I want to apologize for the loong post I am going to write. I just can´t help myself when I want to give as much info as possible.

I am thinking of taking in a 5,5 month old dachshund puppy. She has wonderful temperament and ALOT of energy but the owner told me she screams for 10-15 minutes after been put in the crate at night and restarts early in the morning to go on and on until she hears people moving around. People sleep on the second floor, she sleeps on the ground floor in a separate room in a big dog crate (they have howavarts so their size crate).

I have a feeling that this behavior started because she has alot more energy than is used. I took her to a show a week ago and the owners were scared that she would scream all the way (about a 2 hour drive) there and back. She tried to start in the morning (stopped when I told her to QUIET without being sure she has ever heard this command), the evening she was as well behaved as my own dogs and really nice and tired

The thing is that I can´t have her screaming in the crate hours on end because my neighbors are not deaf and, boy, does the dachshund voice carry. If I decide to take her, I have to get a hold of this situation fast so I want to have an action plan before I make the final decision. So I hope you can give me good advice.

What I would do is try to get her as occupied and tired as possible. Marker training (including crate games), toy play (nor sure about tug games until I can take a close look on how her teething is going), walking (I take 1-1,5 hour walks in the woods 4-6 times a week to exercise the adults but I am afraid it might be too much for her to begin with) and frozen Kong with wet dogfood in it when I put her in the crate (she has been fed kibble whole her life so I want her to settle a bit before giving her raw stuff to chew on not to create more stress of changes- or am I far off with this one?) is what I am thinking of.

I plan to place her crate in the room that we are sleeping in near a dogbed where another dog sleeps (the pups father that is temporarily staying with me- also terrible with being crated at home but he hasn´t been trained to so I figured it isn´t worth it to struggle training things that the owner doesn´t need to a dog that will be leaving soon anyway) so she can see the other dog (she can´t see us) and won´t feel left alone that might also be a problem- currently she is crated in a washing room alone away from the pack.

I have an anti barking collar but I am hesitant to use it as she is so young. The current owner thought she might be good if crated with another dog. She couldn´t do it because one of her dogs is too old and the other wouldn´t tolerate this. My dogs would probably be fine (especially the dobe) for it but I am highly reluctant to do this as I don´t want her to become doggy and I want her to eventually be fine alone and I can´t see how this would help. At times my dogs are crated together as they are fine with it but they are just fine alone to start with.

I really love this dog (looks, temperament, pedigree and as a bonus an experienced breeder from Germany that I, as I aspire to breed dachs, could learn loads from and with having her pup I have a great excuse to bother her all the time ) and I really want to take her but I don´t want to make my life (and the lives of my neighbors) miserable. My hubby thinks the pup is too old to be retrained but I think that at 5,5 months she is still a toddler- not a baby anymore but by far not an adult. I do realize that this behaviour is already a habit, not just a puppy trying our what works and it will take some work to change that.

I would really appreciate your input on the plan I have so far and what else I could be thinking of.

I'd go ahead and take her since it sounds as if you have a handle on the situation. Perhaps take your close neighbors some nice homemade cookies or fudge and explain that there may be some temporary noise problems coming from your place but that you'll be working to eliminate that problem as quickly as possible. Also, enlist their help by asking them to let you know if she starts up when you happen to be out of the house.

And ask your hubby if he thinks a 7-8 year old child is too old to learn?

I agree with Elaine.

She could absolutely learn to be quiet in the crate and you sound like you have more than enough experience to get her there.

If you can take her on a Friday and that way have the weekend to work with her that would be the most ideal.

Do lots of short training and exercise sessions, then crate her for 15-20 mins after and reward her for being quiet with treats, then if she is quiet after the allotted let her out and play with her. Also, introduce her to the Kongs so she knows what to do with them IMO she has probably never been crate "trained", maybe just put in there and left to figure it out on her own. Start slow and treat her like an 8 week old puppy that has never really been shown a crate before, so make it a place she WANTS to be, not a place she has to be.

If it were me, I would take her, she sounds like a great dog!

Thank you for your kind words!

I actually am a full time mom at the moment so I am home all day every day so I can keep her occupied. It dropped to 12 degrees F around here today (and probably dropping even more) so I think I have to bring my a-game indoor entertainment since outdoor exercise is off limits for a week or two (my adult dachs told me that by walking on three legs after 3 minutes of walking outside). I love that they are small and can actually run after a ball indoors without crashing into every piece of furniture :P

I think she really hasn´t been crate trained. Some dogs just get it with minimal effort and vocalization and if one has had dogs like that it can be a surprise that some don´t do well this way.

I feel really good about it. My hubby hadn´t seen the pup since she arrived in Estonia at 2 months old so went to see her today and my hubby cuddled and played with her most of the time (YAY- a natural retriever makes a prospect to waterwork I´d like to try ) so I think the ice is broken. Since he has been the bigger sceptic on this topic but now I think we are well on our way to seeing him like THIS once again (he is showing off HIS newly acquired dachshund pup on this picture).

What a cute picture!