It is always good to take the dogs to new places - it means they are not at home causing mischief, but it also means that they expand their experiences. The more new experiences dogs have, the easier it is for them to adjust when you throw them into different situations.
When we were babysitting, we asked if we could bring the beasties along, and the answer was yes! The only problem from the dog's point of view was that N only bought along ONE DOGGIE BED!
The house had a hard floor and there was only one bed. Barbie in particular was perturbed by this. They had to share.
Barbie started off by trying to take up the middle of the bed in the hope that Bender would give up and let her have the whole thing.
Bender was aware of this tactic, and somehow managed to reclaim the whole space, with Barbie having to accept the corner of the bed as a pillow.
As usual, the dogs were great with the kids. We always supervise them very closely, but the girls are very gentle. The dogs certainly appreciate it. I think it helps that they can have a dog each, though they did seem to prefer patting Barbie for some reason. Perhaps it was because her hair is silkier? Or maybe because she is generally more still and calm than Bender is?
I like to introduce the dogs to children at every opportunity. It's really a learning experience from both sides - the dogs learn to be calm and sweet and tolerant. The kids learn how to act around dogs, and hopefully learn that dogs are the most awesome thing ever.
Yes, that's me, on a mission to create more 'dog people' !
