On Friday, April 5, Ryan had a doctor's appointment. Dr. Haught brought in a United Disabilities Services dog into the appointment. The doctor asked first if we would mind a dog coming in, and knowing how much Ryan LOVES dogs, I thought he would be THRILLED! We read all sorts of puppy books and he loves his stuffed animal puppies that he was given for Christmas. I told my boy it was his lucky day!
But, Ryan wasn't thrilled. In fact, he SCREAMED! He was shaking with fear and he cried and cried and cried. He was so scared he was gripping my arms in terror to the point that they hurt. I couldn't believe it! The dog never barked, he laid down in the corner away from Ryan when the doctor asked him to, and literally didn't even go near my little man. He was the friendliest dog! But, the appointment felt like torture for us all. I have literally never seen Ryan so upset. ????
His weight from the doctor's appointment (which I forgot to put on his '22-month birthday' post) was 26 lbs 12 oz (or 43.15%). That's the closest to 50% we've been at. He's eating well these days!
The following Tuesday (which I will post about later), Joshua's friend Brooke (and Caleb's friend Julia) brought their dog to the playground with them. Ryan was intrigued, but still scared. He didn't scream or cry out this time, though. He would go about this close, wave hi to the puppy, say hi, and then promptly RUN the other direction. The mom would smile and offer to let Ryan pet the puppy while she held him still (the dog was extremely well-behaved and muzzled for the outing) and Ryan would say "NO!" when offered. He would run the other way immediately. But, he kept going back to it...
I guess it's a love/hate relationship. He desperately wants to interact, but he's nervous around animals that are his size or bigger. He loves our neighbor's tiny dog, but it's way smaller than him. So little puppies are fun (which many smaller dogs don't love children) and the big puppies intimidate him. While I keep trying to reassure him, I also try to look at it from his perspective. How would I feel if I were confronted with an animal that was bigger than me on all fours? Hmmm... maybe a little frightened. So, I just try to soothe him and tell him to wave hi to the puppy and how nice the puppy is. But, not all puppies are necessarily nice to little kids, so it's okay for him to be a little wary of them. He can appreciate them from a distance. :)
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