The Doggie is Not a Horsey

Kevin usually does really well with Dakota.  He'll walk up to her and pat her head and rub it back and forth.  She is equally tolerant of him and his antics.  His favorite game is to grab her tail and have her pull him around the house.  Mostly, she just ignores him and continues on her business.  I haven't heard her yelp from anything that Kevin has done lately.

However, Kevin's favorite game involves doing something that causes the dog some discomfort.

He loves to climb on her back when she's laying down and pretend to ride her. She tolerates it, but she gives me this pathetic look every time it happens, like she is saying, "Save me!"

Save me!

We are trying to teach Kevin that the doggie is not a horsey. You can ride daddies and mommies when they are laying on their stomachs like that (and Kevin loves that too), but you shouldn't ride the poor, ancient, arthritic, thirteen-year-old dogs. 

Dad's version of the game.

He's slowly getting it. Dakota deserves a reward, though.  She puts up with a lot.  Granted, that's pretty much the only downside in living with us, but she and Kevin get along pretty well most of the time.

Kevin is a very sweet little boy.  Even when he is hurting her, he doesn't mean to.  He just wants to play. Dakota doesn't play very much, even with me.  She's never really had much interest in fetching for a long period of time, and now that she's old, she could care less.  Kevin really wants to interact with her, and they're figuring it out as they go.  My job is to act as referee. Dakota understands that if she tolerates Kevin, I'll save her before it gets too bad.

Best game ever.

I'm sure this is just preparation for when we have more children. I'm going to have to save them from Kevin's love, just as I've had to save the dog from his love. Someday he'll have to learn that his younger siblings aren't horsies either. Hopefully, having a dog is good preparation for that. He's already learning to be gentle and sweet, and what those words mean.

Waving as they ride by.

It's still a work in progress, but he's a smart little guy. He'll figure it out. At least he has a very patient teacher.  We're lucky she's such a good dog.

Dismounting