My niece is four years old and has always exhibited interest in stuff toys. Her parents and I thought that she would be a natural at making friends with dogs but we were wrong. The first time she met Keegan and Charis she was scared. She did not like them to go near her nor jump on her however, she kept looking at them. So I started introducing the dogs in a different manner. She associated with them under her conditions. If all she wanted was to touch their back that's all she had to do. She soon progressed to touching their face, stroking them all over, allowing them to smell her back and walking them inside the house.
One day my brother made a mistake and allowed Keegan to play with her with no control over the dog. So Keegan happily greeted my niece and started jumping on her to play. She got scared and started running, thinking it was a game, Keegan chased her. When I heard about this I thought "Oh no, now she's never going to make friends with them". Boy was I wrong! After the incident she came to me and said that she was now scared of Keegan but she still wants to play with Charis. So she started by touching Charis' back but I had to hold on to Keegan. Her fear of Keegan was pretty bad, every time Keegan shifted in my arms she would run away. She only comes back to Charis after he settles down again. After a few minutes of this she progressed to touching Charis' face then she started playing with Charis when I saw this I invited her to touch Keegan. She did and I still had to hold on tight. I let her do that then invited her to touch the tail, and so on. After an hour with the dogs, my niece was touching both of them and allowing Keegan to step on her back and on her stomach. I had to get Keegan to step on her stomach so she will know what it feels like when he tried to jump on her. The next day we spent another hour with the dogs this time I started pushing the envelope, even if she was afraid I would get her to try new things. She is back to walking the dogs indoors, letting them step on her back and stomach. She gives them commands and tries to separate them when they are playing rough with each other. She even allows Keegan to lean on her arm and shoulder - something she was not able to do before. I'm really glad that my niece is brave enough to try things despite her fear. I hope to see more kids like her - daring to overcome their fear and show their pets that they are loved.
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AuthorJoy has had 17-20 dogs, four cats, at least a dozen rabbits, three to four chickens and one turkey in her lifetime. She was close to her brother's bear cat and the snake, who she rescued from the attic. While in Canada she decided to get a cat and ended up with two. Since she lived alone she had to find ways and means to develop a harmonious peaceful relationship with her cats by "training" them. Eventually she decided to get formal training and invited dogs to join her family. Archives
May 2012
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