Saturday, November 16, 2013

What My Baby Has Learned From My Pets

I have two daughters - a one year old and a nine year old. Today, I am specifically talking about my little baby girl, Violet. She has a big love for animals, especially cats I've noticed. She's learned a lot from her pets. Some good things, and some bad.

Violet and Lily with my family's Shetland Sheepdogs. 

Learning to Kiss Like a Dog

Our dog, Shiner, likes to lick people. A lot. And she really likes to lick baby Violet. This is probably because the baby usually has some sort of food substance on her face or hands. Or maybe she just tastes good to a dog, I don't know...

Anyways, after a quick licking session from the dog one day Violet walked up to her big sister and proceeded to lean into her face for a kiss. Awww sweet! And then... she stuck out her tongue and began moving it around like the dog... It was pretty hilarious and we got a good laugh out of it.

All Animals Say Meow

When your kids are young, it's fun to teach them the sounds that animals make. I am working on it with Violet, but for now all animals say meow. She learned how to meow like a cat from Honey Delite. She was absolutely fascinated with Honey D. when she was around. Now, anytime Violet sees a cat or dog or even our rat she says "meow". 

Honey wasn't so fond of Violet... 

If Something Is Dropped on the Floor, It's Still OK to Eat

Kids eat off the floor ever now and then. If they find a snack under the couch from last week, you can bet it's going in their mouth. And why not? The dog would do the same thing right? Shiner is good at eating all the crumbs the baby drops, but Violet has learned she better be quick to pick stuff up if she doesn't want to lose it to the dog. 

Shiner waiting for crumbs to drop. 

Eating Like a Dog is Fun

One day, Violet dumped a whole bowl full of Cheerios on the floor. Shiner was ready almost immediately with the clean up and went to work right away. Violet watched the dog for a few seconds and then proceeded to get on all fours and help with the clean up process... just like a dog. 

I had to laugh for a minute, but then put an end to that game pretty quickly. I also catch her sticking her face in her food bowl like a dog from time to time. 

The Vacuum Cleaner Doesn't Have to be Scary! 

Violet is usually terrified of the vacuum cleaner. Then on some days, she's completely fine with it. Shiner of course isn't a fan of the vacuum either, but she mostly wants to bark at it and bite it. In her senior years, Shiner has calmed down with her vacuum attacks quite a bit. 

Earlier this week, Shiner decided she needed to get down off the couch and teach that vacuum a lesson! Violet stopped crying to help Shiner get the vacuum cleaner. Then, she was laughing and squealing with delight at the dog's new game. I guess if you've got a good doggy to protect you from that loud vacuum monster, there's nothing to worry about. 

Cat and Baby
Violet and a kitten at the Austin Pet Expo.

Babies and pets, especially dogs, are a lot alike. Maybe that's why it's so easy for Violet to relate with all of our pets. I think it's pretty cool how she's learning their behaviors at a young age. Even if they aren't "appropriate" behaviors for a human (see "Eating Like a Dog is Fun"), it's still cute. Maybe I'm slightly biased though! 

She's even good friends with the rat, but I'm not sure what she's learned from Nibblet yet. Perhaps she's learned to crawl into tight places from her. 

30 comments:

  1. An apple for the teacher and a big treat for Shiner. Pets are the best teacher ever and to grow up wtogether with pets is the absolute best .

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is so cute that she has learned from the animals. I think she is probably also learning about compassion and kindness. This may make up for the eating like a dog from the floor!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Adorable!!! You are guaranteed that she will grow up to love animals as much as you do!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh and I forgot to say that your photos are PERFECT!!!!! I can sooo feel the love! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Awww that is so cute. he he - it might not be so cute when she's dating! he he

    ReplyDelete
  6. Super cute! Love that she learns from the animals!
    Hugs,
    Pepper

    ReplyDelete
  7. After spending time with our grandson I often say that kids and dogs have a lot in common! The things they do can be so similar. Violet is just too cute and funny though, Ann, especially the part about licking her sister's face!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol, it's probably more funny to see it in person but it was hilarious!

      Delete
  8. TW told Uncle Vicne that after spending the day with Violet, his 18 month daughter. She put everything in her month, tried to crawl through my tunnel, ate my food and had the same hand-eye coordination that a cat has. She didn't understand the word NO and even wanted to climb my ToP.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yea, I did forget to mention that she likes dog food too every now and then. Your Violet sounds kinda like mine ;) She definitely does NOT understand the word no! Well, she recently started saying it herself, but maybe she has selective hearing...

      Delete
  9. Your girls are so cute and that was such a great post!

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's amazing what children pick up. Violet seems so sweet. I think I would not be able to keep from laughing.

    Pet lovers please check out my homeless cat blog archives for some informative posts and stories about the cat abandoned/feral colony I manage.

    Debby in Arizona
    http://homelesscatcare.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  11. That is amazing and so cute. Lovely that Shiner is so caring about little Violet. Wonderful way to learn all about animals. Have a serene Sunday.
    Best wishes Molly

    ReplyDelete
  12. LOL Too cute! It's good to learn about pets at a young age, maybe not the bad parts, but about how to behave around dogs and how to appreciate the full enjoyment of pets.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is sooo cute. I don't have kids yet but when I do, they will grow up with my turtle.

    It reminds me of my coworks, they are so sure I wll neglect my turtles when I have babies. (Maybe I should write about that conversation)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have written about that before actually... Only with dogs. But I think it could be applied for any pet.

      Delete
  14. Oh how I LOVE this post. There really is nothing like having kids grow up with pets. I really wondered, when pregnant so many years ago, what I would do if my unborn child was allergic to pets. Fortunately that was not the case and she, too, was raised around numerous cats and dogs. I think that children who have this exposure to pets at a young age typically grow into adults that are compassionate towards animals, which can only be a good thing.

    Love, love, love the stories. It reminds me of one my husband tells of his Mom calling the family doctor after his brother was found on the floor with the dog helping the dog eat the dog food. She called the doctor in a bit of a panic...the doctor simply asked if he was barking yet...then reassured her he should be fine!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I am glad that they don't have allergies too... that would be so sad! I'm glad I'm not quite so worried about all the crazy things she does. I guess I went through it once with Lily. But Lily was definitely not as crazy as Violet is...

      Delete
  15. So cute! My daughter loved kitties from the very first too, but she didn't pick up acting like them. I once teased her, saying she was a kitten and I was the mom cat and mom cats cleaned their kittens, then I licked her face. Maybe I'm no better than a 1 year old!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MOL that's cute! Sounds like something I would do :)

      Delete
  16. I am laughing at a week old treat under the couch. Don't forget the tumble dryer LOL xxooxxx

    Mollie and Alfie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BOL... she has only been in there twice so far thankfully... and she can't shut the door from the inside thank goodness. She's just into everything!

      Delete
  17. LOL good stuff especially the one about eating something dropped on the floor!

    ReplyDelete
  18. That bowl of cheerios made me laugh!

    ReplyDelete
  19. So cute!!! Quick question did you ever found Honey? I hope she is okay!!

    ReplyDelete

Anonymous comments are disabled due to large amounts of spam. Thank you for understanding!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...