Toy Story

Just to wrap up the kid-dog issue, there is one big aspect I hadn't delved into.  And that's how to handle toys.  Thursday was my grandson's first birthday, so it was a particularly challenging day in that respect, because there were lots of new items strewn about.  And, it doesn't help that some dogs toys are exactly the same as some baby toys.  The classic ball, for example.  But one teether that bit the dust early on that both the baby and Geddy were particularly fond of can be found at both the Target baby section and with the PetSmart dog toys.  No lie, the exact same toy.  Can anyone be surprised that the baby gets caught with a dog toy about to be raised up to his mouth because you have your back turned for a split second trying to grab poor plastic Elmo out of the dog's mouth?

And then there's the sharing thing.  Like most babies, ours is learning to share.  I sit to his left at the dinner table, and he'll hand me whatever it is he's eating - usually after it's been in his mouth or smashed around on his tray.  But of course, your job as the adult is to encourage him trying to be nice, so even though it's often not all that appetizing, you coo and awe and say thank you and take it, right?  Well, he's trying to do the same thing with the puppy.  So can I blame Sirius for snagging the beloved Elmo when half the time it got handed to him.

All in all, it hasn't been as bad as I actually thought it would be, but the more active and mobile the child becomes, the more he leaves a path of toys scattered in his wake, so I think we're headed into the eye of the storm.

We moved the dog's toy box into my room, which is gated off, and the nursery area is also gated off, so the bulk of the toys are segregated, but of course, the dogs bring their Kong this or that out into the living room, and we keep a supply of baby toys in the living room (and everywhere else for that matter - the house is beginning to look like a chaotic Toys R Us).

I did some reading about the consequences of swapping toys, which of course means there will be some swapping of spit.  What I've learned is that dog toys don't go through the same safety inspections that baby toys do, so any "stuffies" made for dogs with squeakers or rattles in the center could pose a choking hazard for the baby.  Not a problem:  Geddy is a terror on dog stuffies.  They never last long, so they aren't exactly a sound return on investment anyway.

Next is the concern about dog saliva.  I grew up believing dogs' mouths are cleaner than ours, and certainly cleaner than a cat's.  For my birthday, my sister-in-law got me a t-shirt that says "I Kissed a Dog and I Liked It".  It compliments nicely the sweatshirt my mother-in-law got me years ago that claims "I kiss my dog on the mouth" in French.  I am guilty as charged.   Unabashedly.

But that's fine for consenting adults.  It's a little different when it's my grandson.  And, while I learned that dog saliva  is antibacterial, isn't exactly like hand sanitizer, and bacteria can be passed between humans and dogs.   So, we already need to vigilant to keep the dog's teeth clean for their own health, but we need to step that up.  Fortunately, it's the Pittsburgh Pet Expo today, so we'll have lots of opportunity to talk to some experts about the best way to do that.

But at the end of the day, what it comes down to is the same remedy for all things:  supervision.  Our job is just to be vigilant and make sure we're watching what the dogs and baby do when they're together.   But I think we also realize that: spit happens.  And the dogs are healthy.  The baby's very healthy.  It's all good if Elmo gets shared back and forth a couple of times.  Everyone loves Elmo, after all.