Dogs and kids

This is why I love dogs. Because when I jump up and yell in excitement that the first bird seed wreath I intend to give those even mildly interested in birds for Christmas actually came out of its mold, the dogs jump up and down with me and seem genuinely excited. My four year old daughter says "mom this is boring, I want to watch a movie." Already with this shit?! And THEN she didn't want to get her HANDS dirty! Who is this kid?

Oh yes I did just compare my kids to my dogs.

As time goes on I care less and less about a) what people think and b) what it means that I often treat my children like puppies. Before I had kids, I really did worry whether I would love them as much as the dogs. I even worried if I'd think my babies were as cute as puppies! (Needless to say, I do and did)

I read somewhere that an adult dog has the understanding and behavior of a 2 year old child. I'm not sure I buy that- now that I'm on my second 2 year old, I think the kids are smarter than the dogs. I do know my kids are kids and my dogs are dogs- the kids don't wear leashes, the dogs don't eat at the table- I can't say the kids don't eat out of the dog bowls, but I can say that's not where their dinner is served.

That said, there is some overlapping

1) I whistle for my kids (and my husband) in a crowd the same way I do the dogs. It works.
2) "reward the behavior you want" the dogs don't get the treat until they sit, neither do the kids.
3) I have often wished I had one of those treat cubes for the kids. These are recommended for dogs with separation anxiety, a treat is put inside a maze cube, and the dog pushes it around and works to get it out, and is therefore distracted from whatever its upset about. I have thought about getting one for them, but it kind of crosses the imaginary 'whats ok in my mind' line. This goes back to the kids smarter than dogs thing, too.
4) When H was a baby, I managed to silence the room in our mothers group get together by suggesting one of the moms shop at a pet store to find more of the squeaky toy her daughter was happily gnawing on.
5) Yes, I've played fetch with the kids.