Our daughter, L, and our sweet little Shih Tzu Momo have always had a pretty distant relationship. By that, I mean, L loves to hug on him and play with him and squeeze him. He likes to keep his distance because he doesn't like being trapped by the princess. We have explained countless times that if she will just be patient and wait for him to come to her, then she can pet him and he won't run. However, every time he gets near her, she grabs him and holds on for dear life because she doesn't want him to run away. It's a never ending cycle, and we have tried desperately to teach her to respect his space. I think they both learned a lesson yesterday morning.
Just like any other morning, I got up, made the kids breakfast, and we all went upstairs to get ready for school/work. L picked out her clothes and was supposed to be changing into them while I showered, but when I checked on her after my shower, she was still in her pj's, and was trying to coax Momo to come in her room, to no avail. I attempted to redirect her to her clothes, and told her I was going to dry my hair, and when I was done, I really hoped that she was dressed and ready. (Maybe this is too much to expect of a five year old, but she seems to do pretty well 75% of the time...)
So, I dry my hair and turn off the hair dryer, and hear my baby girl crying hysterically. I walk into her room and she is standing next to the door in tears with a little nick near her left eyebrow. Momo is cowering in the corner because he knows that he's in trouble. L immediately jumped into my arms, I attempted to console her but she was crying uncontrollably. After a few minutes, I called for J to come and get Momo so that I could calm L down and find out what happened. It seems that Ms. L did manage to coax Momo into her room, and she attempted to shut the door, but he managed to almost escape. She told me that she held him down and he growled, and growled, and after a bit, turned up toward her and snapped at her. He managed to nick her little eyebrow, and it was bleeding just a little bit. I asked her if she understood what respecting Momo's space means now, and boy did she say YES! (We have explained to her many times that Momo can't talk, and when he growls, it's his way of saying...stop it now, I am losing my patience.)
Our Momo is NOT a biter. He barely even barks, just the occasional yip at the back door when he is ready to come in, or the one bark as he runs down the stairs in the evening to greet Eric when he gets home from work. He's so calm, you would think we give him valium on a daily basis. I only wish I could be as calm as this dog. So for him to snap at L that way, I have to imagine (and have actually seen with my own eyes) that Lili was being pretty agressive with him. I calmed L down, scolded Momo for snapping at her, we got back on track to start our day, and everyone seemed fine, except for L's little nick on by her little eyebrow. (by nick, i mean the size of a tiny piece of rice, maybe).
Jump ahead to Wednesday evening when L and I got home. We walk in, Momo walks up to her and sits in front of her feet. She leans down and calmly pats him on the head, and tenderly pets him. He nuzzles up to her ever so gently and then just looks up at her, as if he is trying to tell her "I'm sorry". This continued throughout the evening, and again this morning.
Some things work themselves out, and I am so glad that my sweet girl will not have a scar, and that Momo and L have learned what respect for personal space means.
Have a great day! It's almost Spring Break! Woo Hoo!!!
Just like any other morning, I got up, made the kids breakfast, and we all went upstairs to get ready for school/work. L picked out her clothes and was supposed to be changing into them while I showered, but when I checked on her after my shower, she was still in her pj's, and was trying to coax Momo to come in her room, to no avail. I attempted to redirect her to her clothes, and told her I was going to dry my hair, and when I was done, I really hoped that she was dressed and ready. (Maybe this is too much to expect of a five year old, but she seems to do pretty well 75% of the time...)
So, I dry my hair and turn off the hair dryer, and hear my baby girl crying hysterically. I walk into her room and she is standing next to the door in tears with a little nick near her left eyebrow. Momo is cowering in the corner because he knows that he's in trouble. L immediately jumped into my arms, I attempted to console her but she was crying uncontrollably. After a few minutes, I called for J to come and get Momo so that I could calm L down and find out what happened. It seems that Ms. L did manage to coax Momo into her room, and she attempted to shut the door, but he managed to almost escape. She told me that she held him down and he growled, and growled, and after a bit, turned up toward her and snapped at her. He managed to nick her little eyebrow, and it was bleeding just a little bit. I asked her if she understood what respecting Momo's space means now, and boy did she say YES! (We have explained to her many times that Momo can't talk, and when he growls, it's his way of saying...stop it now, I am losing my patience.)
Our Momo is NOT a biter. He barely even barks, just the occasional yip at the back door when he is ready to come in, or the one bark as he runs down the stairs in the evening to greet Eric when he gets home from work. He's so calm, you would think we give him valium on a daily basis. I only wish I could be as calm as this dog. So for him to snap at L that way, I have to imagine (and have actually seen with my own eyes) that Lili was being pretty agressive with him. I calmed L down, scolded Momo for snapping at her, we got back on track to start our day, and everyone seemed fine, except for L's little nick on by her little eyebrow. (by nick, i mean the size of a tiny piece of rice, maybe).
Jump ahead to Wednesday evening when L and I got home. We walk in, Momo walks up to her and sits in front of her feet. She leans down and calmly pats him on the head, and tenderly pets him. He nuzzles up to her ever so gently and then just looks up at her, as if he is trying to tell her "I'm sorry". This continued throughout the evening, and again this morning.
Some things work themselves out, and I am so glad that my sweet girl will not have a scar, and that Momo and L have learned what respect for personal space means.
Have a great day! It's almost Spring Break! Woo Hoo!!!
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