Longing for a Good Night's Sleep
I now remember what it was like to have a new-born who was up every few hours wanting my attention, wanting to eat. At the point where the baby was obviously not hungry, there was that dilemma of whether to let him cry. In my house the baby always won this standoff.
Dylan’s untimely death a few months ago and Jake’s almost 3-week ordeal with the Elizabethan collar when he was injured seem to have rendered him totally in need of human presence at all times. My husband takes him out in the wee hours of the morning before he goes to bed, and then Jake is up again at 5:00 or 6:00 wanting us to come downstairs.
It’s not enough to take him out and even feed him. He wants to be WITH US upstairs. This morning my husband took him out at 5:00 and he continued to bark after being confined to the downstairs. I fed him and took him out again at 6:00 and he barked incessantly until 8:30 when I finally got up.
We need a new plan because we are always tired and the dog is not giving up at all. Tonight we have decided to let him come upstairs but make him stay off the bed. The problem with his being on the bed is we end up with a fine layer of dog hair everywhere that is not healthy for people with allergies.
Will it work? I hope to God it does because otherwise either my husband or Jake will be moving out. Whoever thought a 9-year-old dog could be such a big baby?
He’s asleep on the floor at my feet as I write this. He’s catching up on his lost sleep.
posted by Barbara at 10:53 AM
12 Comments:
You know I struggle with this too but it sounds like Jake may only be misbehaving temporarily as he makes an adjustment to being a single dog.
Hmmm...I think he needs a puppy!
Jamy -- I concluded the same thing. My husband isn't buying it for a minute.
But I'll bet Jake's even cuter when he's under the weather. I took my "nephew" Spencer hiking recently, and he came back with a large collection of ticks. Now he's on meds, which disagree with his stomach. The face he makes now is even more irrestible than before.
Aw! I'd give in too...I'm a sucker for those eyes! Even our cats are like this and get sulky and demanding in a whiny sorrowful way if they've been left alone too much..as has been the case lately during the holiday season!
Matt -- I would love to meet Spencer and introduce him to Jake. Sorry we live so far apart.
MOI -- Pets are really just like children although they don't roll their eyes when you talk to them.
I'm happy to dump Sammy and Thora off there for a few years.
Do what I did with my kids . . . give in and let him sleep with you. At least you'll sleep. And he'll feel loved.
Velvet -- Thanks for the offer and it might actually work, but you couldn't go for very many days without those two in your life. You weren't thinking of moving in too, were you? :)
RuthD -- Jake has a smirk on his face tonight because I think he knows he has won the battle. He has always been such a smart dog.
We have the same problem with Zaybel. We are unable to lock our bedroom door and his head can butt anything open. If he can't get his way, he scratches on the door for us to let him in (or out). Since he lost his cuddle partner last month, I just let him sleep on the bed. I have to admit, it disturbs Mr. R. more than it does me, because Zaybel loves to rest his head on Mr. R.'s feet. I have come to conclusion that whoever has to get up and go to work has priority space in the bed, so I don't suffer, I just put my feet where I want them, but Mr. R. feels guilty if he moves his feet with a cat head snoring on them.
For your particular problem, you might consider not letting your puppy get caught up on his rest during the day, so he sleeps on his own at night. "What? You want to sleep? Noooo... we're going to play a couple of hours of fetch the stick!" You might consider employing a needy high school student to liven up his afternoons...
Poor Jake. Poor you! It sounds like a rough situation for everyone. He must be lonely after so many years with Dylan.
Our Corgi cannot make it up the steps herself either. Now, she sits at the bottom of the steps and whines (usually just as we have drifted off to sleep at about 1 am) so that we'll come and get her. We can't bring her up earlier because she just whines at the TOP of the steps to get down.
Last night we brought her up only to take her back down again, only to have her whine again within 1/2 hour. My husband refused to bring her back up so that she would "learn". HaHa!
She whined for two hours until I caved!
Boy do I love that dog!
Kristin -- I think he is lonely and that I have become the Alpha dog in his life! Such an honor.
Gewels -- Giving in is far easier than listening to a child or a dog cry. Jake is now the model dog who sleeps on the floor in our bedroom. Life is good once again.
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