For no apparent reason, our dog, Joy, would begin barking whenever our nanny came near my daughter. I was curious, so I set up a camera to see what was happening. When I watched the videos, I was utterly astounded by what I found.
Joy had always been a calm, sweet, and lovable dog. She was already a complete member of the family when we adopted her soon after we were married. She paid particular attention to our daughter when she was born. Joy would go to her room as soon as she cried, usually before I could.
She soon established herself as our child’s real guardian. Joy would lie nearby as I put her in her crib, ready to keep an eye on her till she woke up.
However, something changed one day. Now that our daughter had a caregiver, Joy would begin barking angrily at her whenever the nanny came near the crib.
I initially believed that she was jealous or that she was simply growing a little too possessive. On the other hand, the nanny was a very nice individual who had great recommendations and got along well with the infant. Joy, however, detested her from the moment they met.
On occasion, she would even obstruct the nanny’s way when she attempted to get close to the cot.
Even finding Joy a new family was something my husband and I contemplated. But before making such a dramatic move, we decided to install a camera, assuming that there was probably something we weren’t seeing.
We were astounded by what we found when we viewed the recordings.
We soon realized what was bothering Joy as we listened to the tapes.
The babysitter appeared to ignore our daughter while we were away.
Whenever the baby wailed, she sat quietly in front of the TV, utterly unaffected by the sounds, rather than trying to comfort her or pick her up.
In contrast, Joy responded right away.
She would bark louder and louder, as though to warn that something was amiss.
She reacted to the injustice she saw, which went well beyond a normal protective instinct.
The nanny’s insensitivity to our daughter’s needs profoundly troubled her.
We initially mistook this behavior for jealousy or possessiveness, but it was actually our dog’s way of defending herself against something that she felt was inappropriate.
