THATDOG Oh How I hate THATDOG!

First of all I am awake at an ungodly hour this morning because of thatdog.  Thatdog is the dog who has recently decided that he needs to bark at 1:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m., 4:30 a.m. etc.  and will keep barking until I finally get up.
This has been going on for the past several months. It doesn't happen every day, but at least about 3 times a week.   Ross and I take turns getting up and letting him out, because we think that is why he is barking.  Well, actually, the way it really goes is, we each try and wait the other one out to see who will finally get tired of listening to the barking and get up to let him out, because we think that is why he is barking.
If you were a lurker in our bedroom, what you would hear in the middle of the night might sound something like this:
Bark, bark, bark, bark, bark - that would be thatdog, just in case you wondered.
Then, it might be, "RICO!" "NO BARKING!"  That would be me.
"What's the matter puppy, huh?"  "Tell me what you want."  "What is it?'
That would be the much more tolerant Ross as he tries to calm thatdog with a soothing whisper.  Only it doesn't seem to soothe thatdog and it is kind of annoying to me.
Lurker, this is what you would have seen at 4:30 this morning.   Me half asleep, one arm hanging down the side of the bed, half heartedly petting the dog.  Well truthfully, it would be more like thatdog pushing his head under my hand hoping for a pet.
We have tried everything. He has two beds in our room.  And by our  room, I mean the room that the three of us share -  me, Ross, and thatdog.  
Actually, thatdog has a bed in every room of the house.  Two of them are even Martha Stewart designer beds.  
We have tried everything.
We bought him a puppy tent. He wouldn't go in it, so  we had to return it.

We bought him a cute little dog house.  He hates it.

I made him go in it for this photo this morning.

So now, I am cranky and wide awake, while Ross and thatdog are sound asleep.

If you turn up the volume you can hear thatdog snoring.   Notice he is not in one of his ten beds, but instead he chooses the floor.

I made him pose for this picture this morning too. 

By the way, I think I know what you are going to say.  What Rico really wants is up on our bed.
When he was a puppy, we did let him sleep with us.  It was fine for a few nights. Then one night he wet the bed.  So, ever since that peeing the bed incident, eleven years ago,  we have not let him back in the bed with us.
But, you know how it was when your little girl or boy would cry in the middle of the night, night after night,  and how you finally gave in because you were so tired?   Well I was pretty close to doing that this morning with thatdog.
And poor Rico, he has never figured out how to jump up, on anything.  That reminds me of another gadget we tried, doggie steps.  He wouldn't go on them either.

 So Ross is now awake.  See how happy and refreshed he is?

Ross loves thatdog

I hate thatdog

Oh, in case you are wondering about the hats we are wearing, making hats has become my obsession. More about that next time.