Do you like this story?
The incredible canine alarm clock strikes again
By Dr. Marty Becker
July 27, 2010
The old adage is, as Liz pointed out in her post this morning, “Let sleeping dogs lie.” But what about sleeping teenagers?
Those of us who share our lives and beds with pets seldom need an alarm clock. Our dogs wake us up with the precision of an electronic clock to go outside, do their business and eat breakfast.
While we don’t have cats that sleep in bed with us (we have barn cats), I’ve heard countless stories over the years about cats treading on faces, purring or breathing to wake their owners up.
I was waking our 20-year-old son, Lex, this morning for an early trip, and I smiled remembering how Teresa and I used to wake him.
He’s now a junior in college and either wakes up on his own or, if he’s had a little too much fun the night before, responds to his cell phone alarm. But in high school Lex would sleep the sleep of a warrior returning from battle. He wouldn’t respond to an alarm clock, you couldn’t yell at him to wake, and he’d get mad if you woke him by shaking him or threatening to pour water on him from a drinking glass (my Mom’s old trick on the farm to get me out of bed to tackle the milk cows).
Faced with a long list of failed strategies, we finally found a fool-proof method of waking him. Teresa and I would go up together to Lex’s room and open the door. Our small dogs Quixote and Quora would jump up on the bed and wait by either side of Lex’s head for our command. Then we’d use our fingers to silently count 1, 2, 3… and then we’d all start howling.
We called it “Rover Reveille,” and it worked. Lex tried to get mad a time or two but ended up accepting the process and the kisses that the dogs would give him when he roused.
What about you? Do the dogs get you up? Have they helped you with the dreaded slumbering teenagerus americanus?
Photo: Our son, Lex, on a recent family trip to Arizona.
Share & Enjoy
|
Facebook
|
Twitter
|
Google Buzz
|
Digg
|
|
Technorati
|
StumbleUpon
|
Delicious
|
Email
|
Home
I will have to try tis. My daughter is just entering teen hood and the sleeping in ing has caught us by surprize. I always assumed it was a myth. I mean, she woke up at the crack of dawn for twelve years…running to me and trying to pull my eyelids open , Wake UP, Mommy!
How am I going to get her to wake up when school starts in three weeks?
Plus, how will she focus on learning?
I guess I can try tossing a cat on her. Or the hamster.
Comment by Ericka — July 27, 2010 @ 9:56 am
This is how I wake up hubby on the weekend on occasion. Open the door, and the dogs know their job, bouncing about and tackling him til he rises.
The best part is that if the roles are reversed and it’s me lazing in bed, the dog will just curl up and go back to sleep with me ;)
Comment by Michelle — July 27, 2010 @ 9:58 am
Michelle:
“The best part is that if the roles are reversed and it’s me lazing in bed, the dog will just curl up and go back to sleep with me ;)”
I love that! Dogs know who to cuddle with!
Comment by Ericka Basile — July 27, 2010 @ 11:00 am
We have a 20 yr old son also, and (I assume) he manages to get himself up and awake in the morning to go to classes. But when he’s home in the summer on days he doesn’t have to get up early for work, it’s not unusual for him to still be asleep past noon. Maybe I should try howling…
Comment by Peggy Frezon — July 27, 2010 @ 11:46 am
I loved going to college because I arranged my schedule so that I didn’t have any classes until 11 a.m.
Comment by Kim Thornton — July 27, 2010 @ 12:45 pm
I am blessed to be the proud owner of 3 infallible lab mix alarm clocks that have the precision of an atomic clock and the subtlety of a civil defense siren. In high school, my alarm clock was a German Shepherd Dog with the patience of Job, who stood by me each morning as I groped his face blindly searching for his snooze button…..
Comment by Virginia Rud — July 27, 2010 @ 1:52 pm
LOL We always joke when we lose DST that someone needs to develop a switch to set the dogs back. Sam is VERY serious about breakfast and dinner being served at 6:00.
Comment by Verde — July 27, 2010 @ 2:46 pm
My son is only 10 years old but already is hard to get up for school. His beagle is no help, he tends to curl up and go back to sleep. However plopping a retriever puppy in the bed does the trick. The licking, biting and toy stealing gets the kid up in no time.
Comment by Arleen — July 27, 2010 @ 3:53 pm
Yes, my dogs wake us up at the various hours of the early morning, from 1AM to 5AM. Sometimes just once or more often than not “in the wee small hours of the morning”
Comment by Paul — July 27, 2010 @ 7:09 pm
We had a red heeler growing up that my mom would send on rounds to wake the kids up. At mom’s command, Callie would run upstairs, jump on the bed and lick your face until you sat up, then head to the next room.
My dog now waits pretty patiently, but if she sees your eyes oepn, watch out!
Comment by Dani — July 28, 2010 @ 6:20 am
My childhood Golden Ginger woke me up every morning on cue. When I went to college she checked my room every morning. Miss her. When we got Finney our 4 year old Collie I would bring him downstairs to wake my son. He woud lick his face and when that didn’t work, he stole his pillow. I wish I had gotten it on video because after he got a good yellen’ at, he never did it again. It was soooo cute!! Charlee will howl on cue and we do use her to wake the kids sometimes. When she wakes them up, they wake with smiles.
Comment by Nancy Freedman-Smith — July 28, 2010 @ 11:30 am
Our small border collie mix Peanut can’t wait for me to tell him to go wake up my husband of the mornings. He watches and as soon as I say wake him up he gets beside him and pushes his head down in his face, sometimes paws at him and kisses him. He only does it if I saw wake him up.
Comment by Anita Epperson — July 28, 2010 @ 12:47 pm
Back in high school, Lex and his friends would crash in the basement after playing video games all night. It would be about noon and we’d try to rouse them for lunch. They’d grunt a response to our repeatedly calling them to eat but wouldn’t budge. So Teresa and I would sneak down to the basement together. I had a super-sized boat air horn in my hand and Teresa had a camera. At the silent count of three, I’d blast the 120 decibel air horn in
the direction of their heads while Teresa snapped away capturing their shocking, sudden rise for perpetuity. Gosh, wait till we’re older and they’re our caregivers…payback with be, well, you know.
Comment by Dr. Marty Becker — July 28, 2010 @ 4:10 pm