It’s already a well known fact that both dogs and cats can sort of feel pregnancies – and we’re definitely happy to see them get along so well with both newborns and children! There are indeed some dog breeds which seem to act more friendly around families than others. Still, dogs, in general, seem to instinctively know how to act around children – how to protect them, how to play with them and, of course, how to let the toddlers ride them all they long.

Here’s a fun fact: a long time ago, pit bulls were actually known as ‘the nanny breed’ because of how carefully they observed children. Dogs look at the human family they are raised in as a ‘pack.’ This is the place where they observe how people act in different situations – what and who they tend to protect more. As they notice the high level of attention children get from the entire family, they immeditately want to get involved in the same way! Aside from that, of course, there’s the parental instinct that every animal has; somehow, in a strangely beautiful way, it seems to also have an effect over human children.