I shared my fitness goals the other day, which are going well so far EXCEPT for one thing. My “do morning workouts” goal was based on the idea that it is the one time slot in the day that I can generally always count on. Everyone else is sleeping, there’s no soccer practice then, etc.
Well, wouldn’t you know it that out of the blue this week, Charlie has decided that he doesn’t want to sleep in anymore!
Normally I get up around 5:15. Before our trip, Charlie would occasionally stir a little when I got up (he sleeps at the foot of our bed), but usually would just roll over and go back to sleep when I left the room. Now and then if he seemed more awake, I’d quick let him out to go potty, but then I’d bring him back to bed and he’d curl right back up by Ivan and go back to sleep.
Well, today marks day 3 where he has NOT stayed asleep after I get up.
After I leave the room, he has been getting down and sitting and whining at the bedroom door (which naturally wakes up Ivan, who doesn’t get up until later).
He doesn’t have to go potty- I’ve usually already let him out. Basically I think he has decided he just doesn’t want to be in our room anymore. Or he wants to come and see what I’m doing. ARGH!!!! I am so annoyed with this.
The thing is, I don’t want to be with him in the 5:00 hour. That’s MY HOUR. He gets alllllllll the other hours of the day, trust me.
But, Ivan also doesn’t want to get up in the 5:00 hour to entertain the dog, either. The thing is, I don’t think Charlie actually wants to be “up”. He just wants to leave the room/ go find me. (I think?)
Case in point: Today I was planning to start my (treadmill) run at 6:00, but ended up bringing Charlie downstairs to be with me (since he was just whining and being bothersome…). Well, here he is at about 6:05:
I’m thinking maybe I’ll have Ivan try putting him in his crate if he whines…maybe after a couple times he will learn that his options are a) stay in bed with Dad a while longer and be quiet or b) go in your crate. I think he may just need to learn that Mom is OUT OF THE OFFICE from 5:30-6:30 a.m. 😉
I am happy to report that despite this naughty little guy trying to derail my morning workouts, I have still managed to make it happen. Went to the gym yesterday and today I ran 3 miles on the treadmill (albeit a little later than planned, once the boys were up and could take Charlie).
(Also, WHYYYY does my treadmill feel SO HARD?! Way different than the gym treadmills or outside. I have completely given up on matching my outdoor pace. My treadmill is well over 10 years old now…. maybe just getting old? I don’t know.)
In other news, it’s a winter wonderland around here. Big snowstorm on Tuesday, another couple inches last night, and a BIG big storm predicted for tomorrow. Looking super likely the boys will have another snow day tomorrow.
I don’t really mind it, exactly; it is so beautiful… but yet another dog complication: I shovel out a grassy area for Charlie to go potty in, but he completely ignores it and always just goes bounding out into the chest deep snow. WHY?!?! Every time we let him out, he comes in covered in snow, head to toe, which then forms little ice balls all over his curly fur… I try to towel him off but he still ends up just really…. wet. And dripping on my floor. Yuck. Tips?! Only thing I can think of is standing out there with the short leash to keep him out of the deep snow (doesn’t sound super pleasant… it’s COLD), or, I guess, shovel a way bigger area??
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful that I mustered up the energy to call and schedule a couple appts I needed to make. Not hard, just… you know. It’s the phone. haha.
GRATEFUL KAE 
Oh those fur kids…it’s totally reasonable for you to have the 5 AM slot as “you” time and for the other three members of the family to take care of any Charlie needs during that time. Well it’s reasonable if you ask anyone reading this but I know that sometimes I have trouble getting the message across in similar situations to the three able bodied people that I live with.
I think the best solution for the snow is just to let him get wet – dog will hunt as they say – and then towel dry him as best you can and let it go.
Yes WHY are some treadmills harder than others?????? WHYYYYYY???
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The problem with Charlie’s longer/curly fur is that if he goes in the snow for even a minute or two, he comes in with these ICE BALLS attached to his fur!! It’s like the snow leeches onto his curls. They don’t just brush off, either! This morning I literally had to stick him in the sink. I mean, eventually they melt and/or he sits and licks and bites them off. But in the meantime, they melt into a puddle wherever he is…. I googled it and apparently using a metal kitchen whisk to brush the ice clumps off can work? I’ll have to try that next time. Haha. Oh the things we google.
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Charlie is like a toddler. He doesn’t want to be away from you. It’s like if mom’s up, I need to be right where she is. I hope he learns that that slot is YOURS!
I HATE treadmills. Phil and I have an ongoing debate about this. He swears it is easier to run on the treadmill because there are no changes in elevation. I vehemently disagree! That’s why I call it the dreadmill and absolutely LOATHE running on it and avoid it! But I think I hate it more than the average person!
We have yet to get much snow. We’ve had some dribs and drabs but supposedly a storm is arriving tonight. We were supposed to drive to my parents lake home tomorrow after school… of course a storm would come when we had travel planned!
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Of course, this morning I got up “late” for me, and assumed he would definitely not want to stay in bed while I went downstairs…. but after I let him out to go potty, he went trotting back down the hall and looked at me to open the bedroom door! He went right back up by Ivan in bed and went back to sleep, no complaints today! So who knows!! Maybe he was feeling the “snow day vibes”. Lol.
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The thing with Charlie sounds so frustrating. I hope he adjusts quickly to the “crate or bed” option because, as you said, you are OUT OF THE OFFICE.
We woke up to a bunch of snow falling this morning… but it was all melted by the afternoon. I miss the snow! It’s my favorite part of winter. Without it, what is the point of the endless dreary days?
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Yes, fortunately Ivan is on the same page and agress that I should probably just stay out of the way… he is willing to deal with it/ try to train him to either stay quiet or go in crate. I think if I get involved it will just make it worse.
I do love how the snow looks! I just wish it could stay off the roads.
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hahaha… Charlie seems like a new baby? what if you let Charlie whine a bit? or ask Ivan to deal with it some days?
good job to stick with him despite this issue. I hope you and Charlie get a new morning routine so you can stick to the workout. Don’t’ give up yet 🙂
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Yes, I think we’re going to try just having me stay out of the way and Ivan will deal with it. Going to try having him put him in his crate in the other room if he whines, hoping that he’ll learn that if he wants to NOT go in his crate, then his only other option at that time is to stay quiet in bed!! I’m also wondering if this first week back from vacation maybe he was just a little off the routine and will settle back in here in a couple days. I am committed to the morning workouts and Ivan seems to understand/agree that it’s a better thing for me! (and all of us, really, to have the evening load lightened up.)
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Yes, Charlie is like a new baby or a toddler. Just when you think you have it all figured out, they change. I can see why you don’t want to just let him whine- Ivan is trying to sleep, and you wouldn’t feel good about heading off to the gym in that situation. Hopefully the crate idea will work???
I agree with Birchwood- I would just let Charlie run in the deep snow and get wet. I can see how it’s a pain when he comes back in, but he must enjoy it, and not be too bothered about the cold. Anyway good luck with all this! How annoying to have all these great fitness goals and then be thwarted right away… but that’s life, I guess.
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I think we’ll be able to work it out one way or another! Charlie really is usually pretty good overall and has been largely adaptable, even as a little puppy. So I’m hopeful we’ll straighten it out soon! Today I got up later than usual and assumed he’d never want to go back to bed at that point, but he did! Out to potty then right back in and snoozed for another hour. So who knows! I hope it continues! haha.
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Charlie does need to learn how to be left alone, poor guy. Hopefully putting him in the crate helps. If not, ugh. I hate to say it, but maybe he’s just too little still? I don’t know much about puppies, but when is it okay for puppies to be alone for short stretches of time? Puppies are SO HARD.
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I think we’re actually making some good progress in that area! I am feeling more and more comfortable leaving him unattended for stretches of time, and he usually has free reign now our sunroom + kitchen area. Honestly most of the time he will just sit and look out the sunroom window, lol! He LOVES to do that. We’ve never left him out alone while we’re not home yet, but he will stay in those areas alone while I’m downstairs for a bit, or in my room, etc. Or if the boys are “watching him” 🙄, sometimes that equates playing video games in their rooms and he is just roaming around. So far, he has been pretty good! He will still settle in to chew on a shoe or a sock if he can find one, but so far (knock on wood) he never seems to attempt terribly destructive things like digging into a couch cushion or ripping up carpet, etc. He mostly just chills! I’m feeling really optimistic that by 1 year or so we may be able to leave him out in those areas even while we’re gone sometimes. But we’ll see. Baby steps!
In the mornings though it feels a little different as it’s dark in the house and everyone sleeping, etc. Not sure what he’d do out there all alone if I went to the gym and everyone else still in their rooms sleeping….
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The snow is so pretty! We got hit on Wednesday and I think it is supposed to snow again this weekend, so my Dad and brother are living it up on the slopes today and loving it! As for the dog, maybe you can towel him and then leave him in a mud room or at least a room with tile so he can drip dry a little? I don’t really know if that would work.
The treadmill sucks. Full stop. It is because it is boring that it seems slow, although I don’t know why the gym one doesn’t seem as bad to you. To me, they all seem slow!
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I’ve got to say, I completely understand wanting you time in the morning. I also have some little ones begging my attention right now when I just want to have Me time. My husband and I have joked a bit that although newbors are hard, at least it’s not a puppy haha. All this to say good luck and hope you get your time soon 🙂
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Charlie loves you too much and wants to protect you! But yeah seriously, that is annoying and he should stay in bed. I don’t have any new advice, it sounds like you have plenty of ideas to try. I definitely will pile on in agreement that you are allowed time to yourself!
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Oh, the Charlie situation sounds so hard. I think the crate or bed solution sounds like a good one! I hope that does the trick because I do understand wanting that first hour of the day to be for you!
I hate the treadmill. Walking, running, whatever… it all sucks.
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Oh, it sounds like Charlie is transitioning out of the ‘toddler’ phase and now needs less sleep… but trying to force him to stay on some sort of “schedule” is probably a good idea. I get that you just settled on the morning workout and don’t want to have that time “derailed”. Good luck.
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