The dogs have a morning routine and I find it one of the most endearing and annoying things about them.

It’s not really about them having a routine and is actually more about the fact that they don’t greet the dawn like sane creatures. No shuffling off the bed and stumbling to the coffee pot.  Nope, not my little critters, instead they are so happy to greet the dawn that I am sure if they spoke English (and lived in a Disney movie) they would be singing, “Good-morning sweet dawn,” while birds fluttered into the room and mice and cats lived happily as they sewed my clothes for the day.

Since we don’t actually live in a Disney movie (thankfully), I get a different type of routine.

My two lay on the floor, waiting patiently, every muscle in their body tense as they wait for the alarm.  I know this because I am usually ignoring their excited stares by this point. 

When the alarm finally goes off, a horrible shrieking (nothing Disney about it), the dogs are up.

Petey celebrates the alarm with a little jump, his front feet bouncing up as he tucks his tail between his legs in a half sit, half butt tuck.  Once the first leap is complete, he does a full twirl and goes back into a butt tuck.  He does this the whole way to the door; tripping me as I try to shuffle to the coffee pot on my way to let him out.

Indi has a whole new way to greet the dawn.  She does a little foot shuffle, like a horse getting ready to jump out of the starter gates adn then she is off, racing out of the room and into the kitchen.  She is on a mission to rid the cat food dish before I can yell, “Out of it.”

She is surprisingly nimble with the quick run and inhale and she is usually at the door, quickly crunching up the last few kibbles in her mouth, before I can say the first word. 

Once they are outside, they do a quick chase around the room (yes, even before they do their business) and I’m sure they have probably started singing that song, “Welcome morning.”  Usually, I close the door to the singing birds and the whole Disney mood that has gripped the early morning.

When they finally come in, they settle into a more relaxed routine and I get in a few minutes of coffee before the kids get up and I’m off to start a whole new routine.

So what about you?  Do you and your dogs have a morning routine?