Dogs on drugs. Our journey with doggy anxiety.

 Part One.
I don't think it's any secret that I'm 100%, head over heels in love with my pups.
I'd do anything for them. They're more like children in our family than pets.
It's also not a big news flash that dachshunds as a whole are somewhat needy, have some anxiety issues, etc.

Let's start with this guy. I've had him since he was 11 weeks old. He weighed in at just under 2 pounds and was so stinkin' cute I couldn't stand it.
 He was literally attached to me for the first year of his life, aside from when I was working and he was at home in his crate. I took him with me shopping, not in huge stores like Walmart or anything...but once we had to go buy a new fridge and he came.
 He often went with me to get my hair cut...it was a very dog friendly place and the girls there just loved him. Just off the top of my head, I can think of at least 20 places in the Chicago suburbs that this dude has been into.
He was at my bridal shower, in my wedding, and everywhere in between.
We went through a lot. He did have another sister, Lyla, from age 8 months on. They loved each other and played well together. I did not want to leave her in Chicago, but in the end, it was the best decision for everyone, including Lyla.

Fast forward a few years, and I went through my divorce and health problems, left Chicago for good, moved back in with my parents (and their 5 dogs!) and he was with me every step of the way. I often wonder if I would have made it without him.
Anyway. He loves his momma, but he's never had an issue going into his crate when necessary. He kinda likes it in there and will go in for a snooze on his own during the day, especially if momma isn't available (if I'm cooking or working on a craft project where I'm standing and he can't snooze in my lap.) He really doesn't mind when I'm working either. He is his momma's boy...he loves sleeping.

Then came this little lady. Lucy. We adopted her in February 2014.

Our little Lucy did not have as great of a life before coming to live with us. She was part of a backyard breeding operation. She had never been inside a home when the rescue got hold of her. She had puppies ripped away from her at a young age. She had no idea how to act sometimes.
Luckily, she had a great series of foster homes, which helped her through some of her issues.
When she came here to live with us...she immediately attached herself to her daddy.
Even though I was the one home with her most of the day, she couldn't get enough of Chris.
Things were OK but then suddenly she started freaking out when she was put in her crate at night.
She was OK during the day, but night time was just insane.
We tried everything.
We put her in the crate with Oscar.
We put their crates next to each other.
We put on white noise machines.
We put on the radio.
We put her crate next to our bed.
We covered her in blankets.
We put Christopher's tee shirts in the crate with her.
Nothing.

She was wailing and barking for hours and hours and hours on end. Nothing calmed her except being let out and having her sleep with us, or staying up with her and sitting in the recliner. Ugh. I don't think I slept for weeks.
I took her to the vet a few times. They tried medications. Xanax and benadryl.
Dr York also talked to us about behavior modification.
This went on once a week for over a month.
Ugh.
Nothing worked.