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!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't think there is any such thing as "normal" when it comes to what kinds of people dogs like; just like humans, each one seems to have different preferences. For example, I personally am not one of these women who loves babies and thinks they are all adorable; to steal a line from Fran Lebovitz, I think most babies are barely presentable. You will never catch me asking to hold someone's newborn, either. They make me nervous. Yet most of the women I know can't wait to get their hands on any infant in their immediate vicinity, and then they don't want to give it back to the mother, lol. 

You may already know that the vast majority of doodles given up to DRC by their owners lose their homes because of issues with children, and by the time they get to rescue, many of them are very nervous and skittish around kids. I know the hype is that doodles are great with kids, but the reality doesn't always work out that way. To me, it would make sense that a dog would be nervous around very small children; their voices are loud and shrill, their movements are jerky, sudden and unpredictable, and they are usually in constant motion. 

But JD, who was badly unsocialized and afraid of almost everything in the world when I adopted him, has always loved very small children and is more comfortable around them than any other kind of human. So go figure.

The photos are adorable.

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Very interesting about JD. Any breed that is labeled as "good with kids" ends up being a bit of a misnomer as you have just noted, IMO. There is so much variation in personalities within every litter of every breed that I'm not sure how you could come up with all the labels that people do. 

And that just leaves more babies for me to hold! ;)

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

No human babies for me either. I suppose many humans might think I should be rehomed in the land of early motherhood. I'll take a teenager any day. I found those first 7 months as utterly exhausting and plain miserable. Maybe I had a case of PPD but it turned me off for life.
No Pizza, No Babies!

Spud LOVES children however he is active so I supervise but they fascinate him to no end :). Even their little voices. I'm glad though that a family with a lot of children did not choose him. He is high energy and high maintenance. Visiting and playing is real good though but going home afterwards is good for him too

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Love, love , love these photos!
Enz is an equal opportunity attention seeker! ;)
But she does love the kids. If we are out and about, if she hears kids, she immediately changes to the direction of the kids. I swear, she looks as if her feelings are crushed, if they don't make an effort to pet her.

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Yes, I know that hurt look well!

[Christy&Riley]

Riley is an embarrassing spaz around all size humans but she too seems to especially like little ones. Our neighbor brought over a baby last summer. She was beyond excited to see the adults. Oddly though, every time they put the baby on the ground, Riley would tinkle in excitement. Really weird. Our challenge this year is to get her to sit still and not knock over the kids in excitement. Last summer the kids were bigger than she was so it wasn't a problem. Not so this summer.

[Stephanie and Ragley]

I agree that it is important to nail down the obedience when they are still little! They won't always be so tiny!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Ragley's is endearing. Love toe pictures.

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Thank you, F!

[DJ & Chance]

Karen's summary is just right, in my view. What cute little ones!

[Sally S Miles]

Fabulous photos - thanks for sharing them, made me grin.  Yes, our Journey loves kids - but has some variables. Our 3yr old grandaughter is absolutely a commander in chief and the dog is mush around her, Journey will lay there and let her talk to her, smell her toys, and so on -  when a small child can  get my dog to sit still and behave I am pleased. The 7yr old grandson is a perpetual motion machine and he amps her up to a point where I want to clobber both, but it has gotten much better as she aged and so has he. The twelve year old who has ADHD is so not interested in her that she looks at him with confusion, but accepts it after a minute or two and walks away - he prefers cats and only likes the dog to either walk or play ball with, just hanging out with her is not his bag.

Neighborhood children on bikes, walking, doesn't matter - she will happily do a down/stay for some child cuddling and can watch them wheel past. Babies in strollers are same thing.   Any person will do, for the most part, but she seems to accept the little ones so easy.  

Our biggest issue has been adults who think it's cool to whack her on top of her head, thump her hard, and it gets her going to a point where - well, they really should know better.

I can't argue with Karen, not a bit, I used to be a major baby cuddler - looks like I've outgrown that, too :)

[Stephanie and Ragley]

I have that problem with our pyrenees with adults who interact inappropriately with her. Whacking on the head, grabbing the sides of her head and shaking it by her ears, etc. It always baffles me and she does NOT react very nicely when strangers come toss her head around. Drives me nuts and then people think she is mean and aggressive. makes me want to go up to them and do the same thing and see how they like it!