Monday, November 21, 2011

I Wish I were Joking

We have finally gotten settled for our temporary stay in my parents' basement. Clothes are hung, beds are arranged, food is put away. There has only been one issue that we can't seem to master very consistently.

My parents' dog, Buddy.

 Buddy really is an adorable dog, as dogs go. I'm sure if I were a dog lover, I would love Buddy. I'm not a dog hater, mind you, but at this stage in my life the idea of another warm body that needs to be fed, loved, and cleaned up after is a little more than I want in my life. Especially because I already have one on the way (baby, not dog). Maybe later in life....maybe, but I doubt it.

Unfortunately  for Buddy he has started interfering with something I prize above all else. My sleep. Only my children have enough pull that I got up night after night to feed them. Yet even they, after about nine months of life, lose this privilege and have been left to scream their lungs out cry it out, in order to break the habit. For multiple nights multiple times a night, Buddy has woken us up barking to be let out of his laundry room bedroom. Sometimes he needs to go out, mostly he just wants to play. The "bark it out" strategy to let him know that it is too early to be up has been somewhat less than successful.

The other night was particularly bad. Buddy started barking at 4:30. After Russ got up three times, I was awake enough that my nightly cough turned into a contest between my body and my brain over whether or not my lungs would stay inside my chest. In order to allow Russ some sleep I went to lay on the couch. At about 5:30, with no sleep for an hour, I heard Buddy (who had not remained silent during this time)  starting to whine and scratch at the door. I figured maybe he would finally calm down if we took him outside (even though there is a place for him to do his business in the laundry room for emergencies such as this). So I trudged upstairs and let him out in the back yard.

 Buddy rushed out into the freshly fallen snow.

Thus triggering my parents' alarm system, and waking the entire household up.

Buddy is not my favorite right now.

1 comment:

Allison said...

Did you try moving him, in his crate, with a towel over it, to the room with the pool table? That's what I've sometimes had to do when we're there visiting. At least the barking is a little farther away. It was either that, or let him sleep with us, and I'm not at all interested in sharing my bed with a dog. Clearly, you're not either.

It will be really interesting when we're there in a month.