oofasis, I totally understand where you are coming from...so much so that I had to re-read your post to remember what you said...oh yeah, you said you can't remember...I turn 58 on May 22. So.. I hear ya. Sleep has always been a problem but these last couple of years, it has been a major issue. I am sure that menopause and worrying plays a huge part in this. The loss of hormones is key. Knowing and ruminating on how you will feel the next day does not help. No one and nothing I have read has caused me to believe otherwise. It's always "fun" to be one of the older folks at work anyway, and the effects of insomnia night after night only reinforce and highlight that. Not a good thing for those of us who need and like our work. I know younger people have insomnia, as did I, but I believe it is tolerated better when one is young. I was always able to make it up. Now I am not. I sleep 3-5 interrupted hrs each night now for the last couple of years. If I get the 5, I can function. If I get less, well, you guys know how that feels. Irritable, loss of desire or ability to go beyond the simplest activities, (guess I really don't care what movies are playing after all...a new picture of my great/grand nephew...maybe tomorrow I'll have a look). This is not me. I eat right, I exercise (40 years now) regularly, I weigh 110, take vits and calcium, etc)..I am so very sick of living like this. Drs today don't give a hoot. All they think about is "Herd em in, herd em out." So forget it. They shove prescriptions across the table for Ambien, Lunesta, etc. I try none. Too afraid of having an anxiety episode. I have a restless mind, am a realist and therefore, unfortunately, not a real positive thinker. I am sure none of that helps my sleeplessness. I have taken Klonopin (a benzo) for about 15 yrs at night for help. It takes the edge off but doesn't do a thing to help me sleep thru the night. Certainly I am addicted to. it. My husband and I have both had job losses thru the years due to offshoring and it has taken the starch out of us. We have a 17 year old daughter (our only) and I have done a piss poor job with her due to my personality and mood issues due to menopause and sleeplessness. Can you imagine menopause vs puberty and PMS? It has been rocky. I try but am so tired all the time, I can't give her my best..she has seen ugly sides of me. I am always concerned about health care, money, etc. I used to have so much energy and a better attitude. Now I just feel like a zombie. Sure I feel depressed. I don't get any sleep. OK, I am rambling. My daughter is here and wants me to come upstairs...It is Mother's Day. It would be nice to have some emotion about it. Thanks to all of you for the suggestions. I have printed a lot of them and won't give up trying. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

My DD is 3 months and for the first month or so she slept in bed with me. I was so scared to have her away from me. I was worried she would stop breathing or something. But I was not getting any sleep. I would wake up everytime she would move and make a sound. So now we have a travel crib and she sleeps in it in our room. It works great for us. I can sit up in bed and see what she is doing. She sleep a good 6-7 hour straight now. :-) We live in a small apt. now anyway but when we get our own house maybe when DD is 9 months or so she will have her own room and bed. Do what ever feels right for you. I remember when DD was 2 weeks old and I tried to put her in the travel crib (in our room) I cried because I didn't want to leave her but I am much better now and feel comfortable. I am still not to the point to have her in her own room but maybe in a few more months I will.

Llama: You obviously have no real idea of canine behavior when they are alone, as you admittedly say you never let your dog from your side. I sense some "that's not the way we did it back when I was young, see...?" Crate=Den (So long as it's done properly and ALWAYS with a positive reinforcer). Where do wolves, coyotes, etc sleep and spend 80% of their day? THEIR DEN! It's a natural thing for them. For most breeds, the outdoors would be a great place to live if we all had no jobs and 20 acres of protected land. That's just not the case, and for that matter, most breeds are so domesticated that outside is NOT the optimal place for them 24 hrs a day. That said, the crate for 8-10 hours everyday isn't optimal either. Furthermore--and to the point of your post--I'd be willing to bet that all those people who can leave their pups out in the yard or a rural setting give the dog a den of some sort: a dog house, a pad under the porch, a nook in the barn, a nice shady spot under a lawn chair...well, I think you get my drift. However, a crate used as a CAGE to house an animal 100% of the time IS cruelty. Crating is MOST CERTAINLY NOT! Let's be sure and make these lines of demarcation perfectly clear: CAGED isn't the same as CRATED (even if the same housing structure is used) as we all know the unsettled nature of a caged animal vs the demeanor of a crated one. The crating method gives ANYONE who cannot watch their dog 100% of the time the ability to set the pup up to WIN at the tough things in their lives, i.e. potty training, not being destructive, feeling safe and secure and thus well-adjusted, etc, etc, ad nauseum. Go to any dog sporting event: Show, Agility, Frisbee, Obedience, Flyball, etc and look at how the best of the best dog owners and handlers house their dogs...wait for it...IN CRATES!!!!!!! Dogs sleep 15-18 hours a day depending on breed, age, etc; thus, one could argue that you forcing your dog by your side every minute of every day isn't allowing the dog the true rest it needs. I'd bet he wishes he had a crate to get away for a moment's peace sometimes...Let's not even mention the safety issues (for both pet and owner) of not crating the dog while traveling. All this isn't so much to attack you (but it was fun considering your lack of knowledge/misinformation on the subject) as to say that with tens of thousands of dogs euthanized in shelters every day, working families have no right to adopt a pet and save its life while enriching their own? Are YOU mad? Where is the good in that dog's life once he hits the autoclave? I submit to you that Fido would pick the crate 100% of the time rather than death, even if it was 8-10 hours a day...but if your master's not retired, then too bad puppy dog. Llama says to hell with you. After 20+ years as a cop, I'm one year from a well deserved retirement myself and I've been lucky enough to have 4 wonderfully unique, well adjusted and socially adept canine companions over these last few decades and each was crated with excellent results and loved their den until the end. All while I worked full time. My current little buddy, Marco, a 3 month old Chocolate Lab is responding well to crate/potty training, too. He gets 40 minutes of walking/offleash play before i go to work, a 10 minute walk by a friend and another 30 minute walk on my lunch break, then at least an hour on the trails or dog park in the evening, not to mention all his potty breaks. As he is a pup and demands my FULL attention, when I can't give it or need a break, in he goes with his Kong and he relaxes. The crate is simply another tool in the arsenal for developing an awesome and well behaved friend for life. All that being said, if you can watch your puppy 100% of the time all day everyday, then there's no need for a crate...otherwise, have fun and I look forward to hearing what all the uncrated pup has destroyed/eaten/soiled... Jay

Okay I am going to try and answer all the questions I have been asked. Daisy does stay in a crate during the day as my husband and I both work full time. She is not holding herself throughout the day. I don't allow her a lot of water in the morning and I take her out 2 to 3 times before I leave. She is not on a leash, none of out dogs were, but she has a designated "potty" area. When she wakes me up at night we go to teh door directly and to the potty spot. Once she is done, I tell her its time to go back to bed. She has actually improved on getting in the crate at night and not throwing a huge fit. Her Crate is in our room and its not a big one its actually the smallest wired crate I have seen but she has enough room for a small cushion to lay on and room to move around with her toys , and its in our room. The thing of trying to ignore her is a great idea but she will pee in her crate and that is what I am trying so hard to avoid. Also I have a 5 year old dog and when she throws a fit he gets restless then nobody sleeps : ) . She actually didn't wake me up until 4am today and I was so excited but then I found evidence that she potty in the crate I don't thik that was from yesterday unless my husband missed it which is possible. When she does pee in there I try to clean and wash everything in hopes she won't smell it and do it again. Is there anything to help with the odor?? any thoughts. So we are being patient and trying to do what we can, I may try the leash idea, that is a good one. Now Prairie Love you asked me about the Parvo. You all have NO idea what I have gone through. I had NO clue when I picked my precious baby out that she had Parvo. We found out the Sunday after we got her on Wed. She was so sick. I did call the humane society and to my suprise found out 2 days late that they knew on Saturday. I went straight to a board member with my concerns. Its been a huge ordeal but they are working on it and investigating and having a special session to keep this from happening again. I am very aware of how serious it is now, as all of her litter mates lost their lives due to it. Another thing I want to ask you all about. They made me have her fixed before I could take her home, yes at 8weeks of age. Would this affect anything with her. I need to ask my vet. We finally have enough of a "sample" to take in now.. whoo what a chore. Thank you all for your ideas, I love having animal lovers to talk to. Now if I can get my 5 year old to love her as much as her daddy and I do : ) !