Dexter's First.... Baby?

During the holidays my Brother, his wife and 10 month old daughter visited.  This was the first time a baby had been in our new house and around any of our animals.  The cat hid the entire weekend, if I hadn't dragged her out to prove it, no one would have known we even had a cat.  The dog was thoroughly confused by my niece.  She (Beamer) was curious but wary.  It was super cute.  Beamer would go up and sniff my niece, but the minute the baby started crawling towards her, she'd run away.  How a tiny baby can scare a giant Shepard mix, I don't know.  By the end of the weekend, Beamer would lay by the baby and let her pet her paws and nose, but she had enough when the baby started going for her tail.

I mentioned in the earlier post that they all came out to see Dexter.  I think this was the first time my niece had seen a horse and possibly Dexter's first time seeing a baby.  We didn't put her on Dex or anything but they did get to meet and Dexter was very well behaved when Tabitha petted his nose.  As soon as they walked over he immediately noticed this new little wonder and put his head down to eye level.  He only flinched once when she bopped him with her hand.  And he kept a tentative eye on her while everyone was standing around.  It really was interesting to see how the animals reacted to an infant. 

They all seemed to recognize this was no ordinary human.  Both the dog and the horse were somewhat fascinated, without being pushy (forget the cat, she's a cat).  You notice the same kind of care at Pony Club rallies and little hunter shows.  Doting ponies following their kids around, maybe they are just good bombproof horses, or maybe the lure of childhood innocence crosses specie boundaries.  I like to think the horses feel like they are taking care of their kids in stead of the other way around... who knows.   And maybe the next time Dexter meets my niece, he will get to give her a ride (I think she needs to learn how to walk first, otherwise she will expect a horse to take her everywhere).