Dog vs. Boy

Zelda is a big dog.  106.2 lbs. last time she was weighed at the vet.
Isaac is a small boy.  45-ish lbs.

When Isaac gets excited his voice gets loud and high-pitched.
Zelda loves this and takes it to mean he wants to play . . . with her.

If he's giggly, she's comes running to get in on the action.

First, she barks.  Loudly.

Then she growls.  Again, loudly.

Finally, she does a little jump and goes in for the kill.

It looks and sounds very evil.  Like we should pull her off because she just might eat the kid!

But it's not.

And she won't.

She's very gentle with him. 

She nibbles in just the right spots . . . armpits, belly, back.

Armpits are her favorite!

We all giggle when they do this because the sound is so infectious.

Sam and the other cats don't know quite what to make of it.

Occasionally . . . OK, almost every time, it ends with her nipping a little too hard.  Never any blood, just a pinch and maybe a small bruise.  Really small, like the size of a pencil eraser.

She feels bad and looks at him with . . . what else, puppy dog eyes.

We've been working on teaching him to give the "All Done" command to let her know when to stop.

Most of the time he doesn't want to though. 

They just have too much fun together!