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We have a busy house full of energy every single day. Our many pets include Sophie our Siberian Husky, two rescue cats – Delilah and Toby, a hedgehog named Skittles, a fish and a frog! Just like our two daughters, they all have very different personalities and we adore each of them for the friendship and love they add to our home. I frequently read PawCulture™ to stay up to date on pet trends, learn about how to better care for our many pets, and laugh through silly articles. Recently I read 5 Signs You’re Smothering Your Dog and it truly made me take a step back and observe the connection our husky, Sophie, has with our one year old daughter. Baby sister loves her “Soph Soph” but it had me concerned and asking myself, “if your child smothering your dog?”.
There’s a very fine balance between sharing a day full of those sweet moments and your child actually smothering your dog. Let’s take a look at a typical day in our home to work through the question together.
Is your child smothering your dog?
Morning
Baby sister wakes up and immediately finds Sophie for her morning hugs. Sophie naps while she gets many hugs before lunchtime.
Daytime
Baby sister enjoys reading books to Sophie, playing dress up together and a great game of fetch.
Evening
Baby sister loves to help feed Sophie but sometimes she also likes to hold her food bowl during dinnertime. Sophie gets an excessive amount of snuggles before bedtime. Add in the love she gets from our oldest daughter too and it’s easy to see Sophie’s infrequent alone time is only when the girls are asleep.
Sophie is nine years old and extremely tolerant to every activity our daughters try to engage her with. 5 Signs You’re Smothering Your Dog is a short list of indicators your dog might be getting too much unhealthy love. I’ve gone through the list and am happy to report we actually aren’t doing any of the behaviors included. It’s easy to show your pets how much you love them but sometimes, as pet loving parents, we can go overboard. Check out the list and make sure you’re showing the appropriate amount of love for a confident and happy pet. Just because she’s been tolerating the extra love from both our daughters for many years, it’s important we remember to give her some space.
Do you have children at home that give your pets extra cuddles everyday?
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of PawCulture. The opinions and text are all mine.
I have never even thought of a dog being smothered by love. I have seen so many go the opposite way, that it’s so sad and I wonder why the people even have a dog. It’s good to have a balance that’s for sure.
We’ve had our dogs 7, 6 and 4 years. We are past these type of days. But my dogs thrived on attention from the kids, and still do! It’s great to know if its smothering or just friendly loving/playing though!
Our 4 dogs crave for attention all of the time. My children do hug our dogs a lot but not to the point where they are smothering them. BTW, your daughters are so adorable!
I’ve never thought about this before. I don’t have little ones in the house anymore but I do have a niece that likes to tease my dog so I have to be careful of that.
That’s a very good thought. Kids can be a little more affectionate and sometimes the pets might feel a little stressed out because of that. We have to make sure that we keep an eye on the kids to avoid this.
I never thought about this before since I don’t have a child at home but it’s definitely something that parents should be concerned about especially since the pets might feel tired or stressed our after being smothered too much by the kids.
My son doesn’t know how to leave our dog alone lol. Were trying to ease him away from the dog and make him understand he doesn’t want to play and he isn’t a teddy bear.
I was worried about my 5 year old smothering the cats and the dogs at home. I helps if we explain that pets need a break too. I think it’s important that we make sure to use a language that the kids will understand.
They look so cute together. I feel like I’m sometimes loving my dog too much even though I’m supposed to be an adult. Those are great signs and must pass to my cousin who has a toddler who loves getting close to their dog.
Our poor cat is smothered. It is so hard to teach little kids how to be gentle with animals!
Our 11-year old dog is such an attention hog. She is also our 16-year old’s best buddy. So grateful that they have each other.
I didn’t know this was a possibility! We currently do not have pets but I will be on the look out when my girls get their pets. Sophie and the husky are just so cute together.
I can’t stop smiling when I see pets in caring and loving families! You have a big, kind heart! Thank you!
Oh my gosh you have a hedgehog!? How cute I want one so bad!! But we already have 5 cats and 2 dogs so not sure if we can squeeze in any more.