How cute! We have a big beautiful dog who is so so placid and would always give way to other dogs and people. And if he was getting hassled he would just look at us with sad eyes to say 'please help me!'. But when we first had DS a dog came right up to the pram and Zeuss gave a really sharp warning bark at him, even though he was a good doggy friend of his. We were pretty surprised that he really showed a protective streak (considering he is the worlds worst guard dog). He is getting a little bit old now and starting to show some health problems but I love him like a son and am really afraid of him getting older.
I think it is so lovely for kids to grow up with a great dog.