So Very Proud

[Guest Willow]

My little SWF is a lovely dog, but can get quite cranky if he is bumped or knocked by other animals. He has growled on a couple of occasions when humans have accidentaly bumped him (has habit of lying very small & still & quiet, and people just don't see him at times).

When we decided to have kids, I put a massive amount of effort into desensitising him to the stuff he will be living with, such as the occasional accidental too-hard pat, or a bit of hair caught in a sticky fist....you know, kids are wobbly & prone to bumping stuff when they're learning to get about. He loves older kids, but I htought a baby might be abit much for him.

Now, I need to add that I don't allow my daughter to annoy him, and I don't leave her unsupervised, but she's a baby, and is learning how to live with animals, and I wanted to have him prepared for the occasions when she might be less than gentle with him. They have to learn how to live with each other.

He has done really well (and so has she, I think my daughters first word will be "gentle now" ), but today I was the most proud of him I had ever been.....

He had quietly come to sit near the baby, while she played on the floor....she knelt up, and then wobbled backwards & fell on him ....

and

he

did

nothing.

:p

He waited while I pulled her back up & helped her get her balance, and then happily accepted his huge amounts of praise

The moral of the story??? Firstly, no need to panic if you plan to have kids and you think your dog might not be ready!!! And also, even if you think your dog is awesome & you won't have any dramas, be prepared because you just never know....animals are unpredictable, but kids are even more so!!!!

Just so proud of my boy

[twodoggies2001]

Isn't it a great feeling? When we had a standard schnauzer he had never had any interaction with babies. When our first granddaughter was born he just took over parental duties lol. He absolutely adored her BUT we made sure that that our grandchild treated him with love and respect too. She was taught early on to be gentle etc.etc. When he left this earth, she cried and to this day, 5 years on and she's 6.5 years old, she still talks about him and how much she misses him. Obviously you have done a great job with your boy, and yes, you should be proud.

[percyk]

well done

thats great training!

[Loving my Oldies]

Just so proud of my boy

And so you should be . I read again where you said "he did nothing". But, in fact he did :p . He showed you (and us) yet again how amazingly intelligent dogs can be, how intuitive they are and how they can discriminate between the accidental and the intentional, the large and the small, the vulnerability of babies, etc etc.

[luvsdogs]

Not to burst your bubble but just be aware if it had happened while he was sleeping dogs have an automatic reflex to snap at anything that wakes them suddenly. Also if you blow in a dogs ear, the same can happen. There has been research done on this in the US & they believe that this is why small children get bitten on the face when they cuddle dogs, they are usually excited & breathing into the dogs ear.

But well done to your little dog.

My parents had a bit of a cranky dog when I was a baby but when she walked with both of us to the shops he would guard the pram while she was in the shop.

[Guest Willow]

Not to burst your bubble but just be aware if it had happened while he was sleeping dogs have an automatic reflex to snap at anything that wakes them suddenly.

She's not allowed anywhere near them while they sleep....he approached her to sit with her

[OSoSwift]

Great job Willow. You have put the time and effort in and it shows. It is a nice feeling when it all works. HAd a similar thing happen with my Dobe. Makes you very proud of them.

[Cosmolo]

Thats so wonderful Willow. My SIL have a 10 month old and a dog who does not like her (and yes i am very concerned and have let them know). When i take my dogs over, my niece is so happy to have dogs that will interact with her and it always makes me especially proud, warm and fuzzy when they are so very good with her, under my extremely close supervision. They have some beautiful interactions and there is nothing quite like it!

[parrotpea]

That is fantastic! What a wonderful dog you have there

[B-Q]

Good on you for being so responsible about him.

I do kinda hope if I ever have kids its while Buster is still around, I don't let him meet kids or anything now because he hasn't had much to do with them and I don't know how he'd react with their unpredictable behaviour. Although he has had a kid run up behind him and pat him without warning and he's had no reaction.

But I think once he relied which kids were "his" kids he'd be an amazing dog to have around.

[dogfan]

That's awesome! Good on him.