Brody and Baby-L – The bond builds and the reports come in
Jessica’s first reports come in:
JDP October 22, 2018, 9:03 am
Things are going well.
This weekend was sweet – I was on the couch giving Logan a bottle when Brody asked to snuggle. He burrowed right in with us, but I had a pillow in between the two just for an extra buffer. Logan was also sleepy and not grabby at that particular moment. Since they were both calm, it was a nice 10 minutes! Then Brody got hot under the blanket and crawled out for some air 🙂
When our dog is calmly snuggled next to us with our body (and even an extra pillow) between dog and baby, we can insure all stays calm and safe as we continue to build their bond.
Trouble passing other dogs…
Because Brody also had some trouble passing other dogs when out walking, we worked on a desensitization and counterconditioning protocol. Taking baby and dog out for a family stroll is a great way to build a positive association – almost like a date night.
JDP October 24, 2018, 8:01 am
One more thing that happened last night that made me explode with pride!
I was walking with Baby-L in the stroller and Brody beside us. A woman with two big, lunging dogs was approaching us. I crossed to the other side of the street to give everyone more space. As I crossed the street, another big dog was in his front yard – he is on an invisible fence and he started barking and running up and down the front yard. We were in the middle of these two.
I did “LOOK AT THAT!!! LOOK AT THAT!!! Those are silly dogs! Hooray!!!” and marched us all right in between all those crazy dogs, and Brody just trotted alongside the stroller – no reaction at all. I heard the lady with the dogs on leash say “Look, you guys – THAT is a good dog.”
Wait a minute. Someone used MY dog as an example of a GOOD DOG!? Once we got past the madness, I had a little party for Brody right in the street. I was so proud of him!
Happy Wednesday!
J
See more about Brody and Baby-L – How this beautiful relationship got started.
See excerpts from Please Don’t Bite the Baby and Please Don’t Chase the Dogs for more safe dog and baby tips.