One thing I’ve found interesting over the last two years is how attached my dog Sadie has become to Ryder. 🐕

When I brought him home from the hospital she snarled and growled at him. She would pace by his bed and whine. She was clearly unhappy. I really worried that she was not going to be ok with him. ❌

I gradually introduced Sadie to Ryder. I made sure to only pet her when I was holding him. I wanted her to understand that when I had him, I still loved her and would give her attention. When I wasn’t holding him I sort of ignored her. So she got rewarded for being good when he was close. After about a month she eased up and become interested in him. By the time he was 3 months old, she would actually go and lay by him. Now, he’s almost 2 and she is glued to him. She follows him all around the house. 💙

She’s really protective of him and careful of what he does. If he does something she knows he’s not supposed to she lets out this growl. It’s not a mad growl like when she growls at the mail man or lawn guys. It’s like a warning growl. As if she’s telling him not to do that. 😡

When Ryder gets too close to the pool or is in the pool and gets too close to the steps, she will actually growl and put her body in between him and the pool/steps. If he goes over by the deep end to put his hand in, she runs over and lightly nudges his arm and growls as if to tell him to tell him to stop. He’s even put things in the pool that didn’t belong there and she went to retrieve the item out of the pool, and move it far away from him. 🏊🏻

Every dog is different. I never expected Sadie to take to Ryder as well as she did, but I’m so grateful. It’s nice having a second set of “eyes” on him. She may not be able to do as much as me but I love that she tries to help keep him safe. 💙