Sleep Deprivation

I love Sadie.  I'm so glad we saved her, that she's officially a part of the family, and I have no regrets in our decision to keep her permanently.  One of her cutest traits is how much she loves to be with us.  She hates going into the bathrooms, because she hasn't quite figured out how to walk on the linoleum, so while I'm getting ready in the morning, she'll sit in the doorway and whine.  She misses me even though I'm 5 feet away.

What's not cute is when she whines in the middle of the night.  JD (the jerk) is a heavy sleeper and rarely even stirs.  I am a light sleeper, so she always wakes me up.  A perfect puppy parent never gives in, but after lying awake from 2:30-3:00 on Wednesday morning, I decided sleep was more important, gave in, and brought her into bed.  Over the next few sleep-deprived days, I knew I had to come up with a plan other than "being patient till she wears herself out."  She'd already made it clear that her stamina outlasted my patience.  Then, I remembered the Bitter Apple that was sitting downstairs.  

For those of you unfamiliar with Bitter Apple, it's a bitter-tasting spray that dog parents use to prevent their pups from chewing on things.  When we first got Boyd, we used it for house training by spraying a bit in his mouth if he went in the house.  I'm pretty sure that's not what the product was meant for but, hey, it worked.  A few squirts of Bitter Apple in the mouth, and he hasn't gone in the house since.

On Friday, I put the Bitter Apple on my nightstand, armed and ready for the inevitable.  When I woke up to her whimpering, I almost brought her in bed, till I remembered the Bitter Apple.  I grabbed it, leaned over the side of the bed, sprayed a bit in her mouth, and gave her a firm, "Sadie, NO."  I heard licking noises as she tried to make sense of what just happened.  A minute later, the whining started again, I grabbed the Bitter Apple and tried again.  After just 4 rounds of this, she gave up and went back to sleep.

I wish I could tell you this was the end of it, but no.  She has been consistently waking up at 5 to whine, then going back to sleep after I Bitter Apple her.  She wakes me up again at 7, I Bitter Apple her, and the process continues.  Slowly but surely, it seemed to be working... that is until this morning when JD woke up to her whining.  JD, the one who's been sleeping soundly through the night, who hasn't spent the past few days tired and cranky, brought her into the bed.

"Thanks for undoing all of the work I've been doing over the past few nights while you've been sleeping soundly," I grumbled.

I'm starting to have a better understanding why some people don't have kids.