Toddler Feeding Enormous Great Dane Kibble Piece By Piece Will Melt Anyone's Heart

One of the first “jobs” my children ever had was feeding the dog. As soon as they were old enough to toddle back and forth from the pantry to the dog dish with a measuring scoop in their hands, I let them be the ones to put the kibble in the dog’s bowl. It was a great lesson—for the kids in responsibility and kindness (not to mention balance!) and for the dog, how to be patient.

Of course, it went more smoothly with one kid than the other. My youngest child, who has always marched to the beat of her own drummer, did not simply pour the kibble out from the scoop into the bowl. Instead, she took a “one for me, one for you” approach, dropping a morsel into the dog dish, then putting one in her own mouth, much to the surprise and consternation of both our dog and her parents.

Let’s hope the toddler in this video isn’t tasting the dog food, too.

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In this clip, a kind and generous toddler is “helping” by slowly feeding tiny morsels of food to a Great Dane far larger than she is. And the dog is sitting there—tail wagging furiously—and gratefully accepting every tidbit that is offered in the spirit in which it’s given.

Now, if that’s not love, I don’t know what is.

Related: Great Dane and Toddler Brother's Matching Halloween Costume Should Win an Award

What’s even more amazing about this video is it purports to show the very first night that Teddy—the dog—came to live with the family. He just met this baby and he’s already such a sweetheart! Excuse me, where are my tissues? We truly don’t deserve dogs.

Apparently, Teddy was understandably nervous in his new home—far too nervous to eat. That was, until the toddler Penelope took it upon herself to hand feed him. Piece by piece.

Introducing Your New Dog To Children

When introducing a new dog to your home, it’s important to supervise the animal during the initial period, especially around young children. I have had foster dogs who came from bad situations and had food guarding and aggression issues, even from dogs who were otherwise total sweethearts. I’m not sure where Teddy was coming from, but there was obviously reason to believe that he could be trusted around this child. He’s certainly being very sweet and gentle with her, and it’s good that her parents are watching.

Nevertheless, it pays to be careful, especially if the dog is nervous in a new place, as Teddy apparently is. Dogs don’t always know their own strength, and a warning “snap” can actually be highly dangerous for a human child.

In general, we recommend making sure you know and trust the dog in question before you allow your toddler to feed them.

What Kids Learn From Having a Dog

“It’s never too early to teach the value of kindness,” the mom in the family writes in the caption. “Even kids have the opportunity to make an impact on those around them, humans or not.”

Caring for an animal can teach children all kinds of valuable lessons about patience, kindness, and personal responsibility. They learn empathy from picking up the non-verbal cues of the animals in their house, and the love of a furry friend can be fundamental to their childhoods.

We hope Penelope and Teddy have many happy years together.

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