Morning Monster

I wanted Radar to get into a morning routine when we first got him, in anticipation for the end of summer when I began teaching again. So after a week of sleeping in till 7 or 8 am (okay, maybe 9 some mornings), I started getting him up between 5:30 and 6 am, unsure of how long morning walks would interfere with my pre-Radar mornings. At first, he got up with me, then went back to bed after a few minutes, looking at me like I was out of my mind, and didn't I realize the sun wasn't up yet? After a few weeks of this, however, and with the beginning of school, we settled into a pattern. We got up about a quarter to six, I ate breakfast, fed Radar, got dressed, and we went for a walk. (My husband and I began trading off morning walks once his schedule changed and he didn't have to be at work until 8, instead of 6:30 or 7.)

The problem? Radar used to get up when I got up. However, my alarm went off at 5:30 so I could hit snooze a few times. My alarm also woke up Radar, but he, like me, ignored it. After a few weeks, though, Radar decided he didn't need an alarm (which by that point I had set back, deciding 5:30 was unnecessary). He has a special high-pitched keen that he saves especially for 5:30 in the morning, the time he has decided he needs to go outside every morning, weekday or weekend. What have I created?