Tiny Humans

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Ragley has always been a very people-oriented dog. She likes other dogs, don't get me wrong, but she definitely gravitates towards the people around her. At puppy playtime, she always made her rounds along the perimeter of the play area to say hello to all the other owners; at the park, she greets the owners before acknowledging the dogs; on walks, she looks genuinely offended if someone walks by us without meeting her. This is both a handicapping and fantastic quality. Her interactions with other dogs is limited by this (daycare, play dates, dog parks, etc.), but she truly does connect with people and brings joy to everyone around her. 

Her absolute most favorite kinds of people, though, are those wonderful, joyful miniature humans! You know- the ones that talk funny, are much smaller, and occasionally pet a little too hard. I have noticed that Ragley seems to prefer kids. She is always so excited to meet them! Of course, I am sure to carefully control these situations when they arise, but she always impresses me with how well she will calmly sit then lay down and allow them to approach her, pet her, and give her treats. When it is children I know well (older cousins etc.), I will even allow them to hold her as she loves being snuggled and held. Don't worry- I never do this in any situation in which I feel she would be in danger of being dropped. She just soaks up all this attention and gladly plays along with being a big snuggly teddy bear of a puppy.

Is it normal for dogs to prefer certain age groups of people? She likes all people, but those tiny humans just bring out the best in her!

[Miss Ellie]

In my experience...I would totally agree...dogs just seem to know when to be extra careful & gentle around babies, little ones, older people & those not feeling well...they are very connected to feelings & emotions...it truly amazes me...love these pictures of Ragley with the little ones:)

[Nancy and Georgia Brown]

She's gorgeous.

You are lucky that she loves people and kids so much.

[Julie and Max]

Max really loves small people too but I thought it was because his breeder had like nine children running around that played with and handled the puppies. His favourite of all time though is teenage boys and if he sees one when we go walking he will just go nuts wanting that boy to pet him. Although I have to say, Max pretty much loves everyone and everything, he loves dogs too, and cats...and squirrels..and birds...you get the picture lol

[Stephanie and Ragley]

That's a good point, Julie- Ragley's breeder has ten children plus homeschool friends that did the exact same thing! Maybe that is why she is so comfortable and confident with them!

[Julie and Max]

Also those pictures are awesome, I love the one with Ragely and the little kid in the blue shirt!

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Me too- he kept giving her "hugs" by placing his head gently to her neck haha it was so precious

[Julie and Max]

Aww Stephanie I bet that just made your heart melt, there is something about seeing children and dogs bonding like that that is so precious. 

[Jordan & Daisy]

I love Ragley! Daisy is the same way though. There can be dogs, people, children, food and she will RUN to the children to greet them first no matter what, she is so gentle with them and sweet. I agree with Karen, though, that all doods are different!

[Rose Coward]

One thing I found a little disappointing was to discover that doodles can tend to be a one person dog.  (I suspect they aren't all this way),  We have a two family house.  My daughter, with her husband and two children live upstairs and I live in a self contained suite downstairs.  Though Molly loves the whole double family she always makes it clear that she'd rather be downstairs with me, which is both disappointing and awkward.  I'm hoping that as the children get bigger that they'll replace me as her favorite.  

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Rose- did all of the family have equal share in the responsibility of caring for Molly? Ragley likes other people, but she definitely has her favorites and, to an extent, is fixated on me as her number one. Since she is my dog, however, I am the one who takes full care of her. I let her out, I feed her, I water her, I bathe her, I train her...you get the idea. It only makes sense that she would have formed a stronger bond with me and thus always prefers to be with me. If you are Molly's primary caregiver, it makes sense that she would prefer to be near you. 

[Karissa & Watson]

I'm not sure how much you know about me, but I had moved away from 'home' for 6 years. Last April I moved back home, and in fact with my 'roomates' aka parents as I am working on a house remodel which is a decent size project that I'd rather not be around all the time. You can definitely tell in our situation that Watson knows that he is mine, that I am his mom/master. Although (since they are semi-retired), they let him out and play with him on a daily basis, he has a much stronger bond with me. Watson and I live in the basement, he will follow me everywhere, be my shadow. Also, unfortunately, since I moved back to the area, I realized that some of the friend I once had were not necessarily the best, and the number of friends with dogs in the area are limited. Therefore, Watson tries to avoid other dogs also, and naturally gravitates towards humans, even tiny humans, hence why he has an interview for puppy daycare tomorrow. I don't have children, and the ones that he is around is also limited, but always knows when enough is enough, and knows how to be gentle. I'll tell you what other IG'mmers tell me all the time that it takes patience, and routinely getting him used to those situations, but that's not always what's able to be done.

 

Sounds like we're raising the same dog. :)

[Stephanie and Ragley]

A lot of that does sound rather familiar! Now if only I could teach Ragley to be as witty as Watson...