Mama Liam

As some of you may know, William and I are proud owners of a 135-pound Great Dane. One of the attractions to a Dane (besides the immense size) was that they are very docile creatures, making them a perfect choice to spend time around elderly, developmentally disabled, and our growing family. Since we deal with all three in both work-life and home life, a gentle spirit was a non-negotiable in our pet quest.

At 11 months old, so far Liam has exceeded our expectations. He is kind, gentle, calm, and very intuitive. That was until the past few months. It seemed like suddenly, Liam had quickly developed a very protective, boarder-line aggressive streak that we are not fond of. It started with him growling at the chefs of our family's restaurant. This was strange- because he has known these guys since he was a baby! He didn't stop there, though. His over-protective streak continued at the beach, Petco, and even in our home with our little nephew.

Concerned, I talked to my sister Hannah (who has owned several Danes herself) about it. She had an interesting thought- Perhaps Liam has become more protective of his owner because he senses I am pregnant! Seeing as this was the only variable that has changed in the last months, I resorted to the all-knowing Google. Our assumption was definitely reinforced by information on the Internet; dogs can indeed sense a hormonal change when their owners are expecting. 

Come to think about it, he has been pretty clingy to me (and my ever-growing stomach) as of late. I hope his protective streak is limited to my 9-month gestation, and he returns to his gentle self come October.