Not sure whether to encourage this behaviour or not

DS (2yrs 9 months old) is going through a stage where he pretneds to be a dog. He doesnt do it all the time, but at least a few times a day he will just suddenly transform into "Doggy Shane"...

He is very full on, stays right in character lol, he wants me to tell him to do tricks like sit, and roll over. Its all fun, but he does take it really far, he will come up and try and lick me and then he will start barking (again, very realistc lol)

It will usually last about ten minutes or so, and by then i usually tell him that dogs go outside and if he wants to stay inside he needs to be a boy. He will also put food on the floor and try and eat it off the floor (when i catch him i stop this) and he has also tipped his drink on the floor to lap it up too.:doh:

We have two dogs who he loves, so he has really observed them and he really has got it all down pat lol, which i think is good, but its just that he isnt a dog!!!! And i dont know how much i should encourage his imagination and his role playing, and how much is too far. (i already do try to stop the way gross stuff)

Does anyone elses almost three year old pretend to be a dog??? lol

Help!!!

My big kids both pretend to be dogs. They put pretend leashes on each other and all. DS1 is most interested in it, and will lick us like a dog, he will also eat food off a plate off the floor and bark, ect...I don't worry, it's just a 'thing'. Just pretend play, like pretending to be princesses or pirates. If it goes too far, just stopp it and tell him why he shouldn't do what ever it is. But to me it's all harmless fun.

Phew, thanks lilias, i am glad my son isnt the only one!! :-) I guess i will keep going the way we are.. when it gets too gross we will tell him enough!! :)

Thanks again :)

Mine does the same, though hes currently more often a super hero and NOT Ethan. We get in trouble calling him by his name.

I agree, I think its just a game, nothing to worry about :)

My DS often pretends to be a puppy, he will bark, and pant with his tongue out, i just see it as him enjoying using his imagination. Don't stress your DS sounds adorable and very imaginative and as OP have said just stop it when you think it is getting out of hand or inappropriate

I have a 2yo who becomes a pussycat called "Emily" - I think it's normal. It doesn't help that her sister encourages her!!

Yup. I have another puppy here. Got to the far end of a huge park on wet grass the other day and she decided that she was going to be 'puppy' and crawl all the way back. She was SOAKED and filthy but would not turn back into a girl in spite of all my attempts at persuasion! Part-cute, part-exhausting, all normal!

All of mine do this. Dogs and cats and other animal. I wouldn't worry about it. Personally I find it irritating, so I don't interact with it when they do - I just ignore the behaviour (not the kid) and do not pander to their 'requests' to be treated like the animal. But that really is just because they can get very annoying, if you give in once and play along they expect you to keep on playing - easier just not to get involved. So they play with each other instead. (but I'm just a grumpy pregnant 'unfair' un cool mum ;) ).

I have dinosaurs. One of the things I have learnt since I had children is that it is easier to live with herbivorous dinos than carnivorous dinos *sigh* and that sometimes one has to become an omnivore during dinner so as to eat meat as well as veges.

I think that just so long as he is being a good dog it's fine.

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I have dinosaurs. One of the things I have learnt since I had children is that it is easier to live with herbivorous dinos than carnivorous dinos *sigh* and that sometimes one has to become an omnivore during dinner so as to eat meat as well as veges.

I think that just so long as he is being a good dog it's fine.

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hahahaha!

My DD turns into one of the following: Barbie Fairt or Barbie Mermaid & I have to call her Barbie. She either flies around the house or sits on the floor with her 'mermaid' tail on....

I love kids immaginations - they are awesome & very entertaining.

Hahahahaha, feeling much better now! :-)

misty i am a bit of a grump too, it kind of irritates me, so i get frustrated!! Although sometimes we play along and i have even taught him some "tricks" like beg, roll over etc lol, its just gross when he licks me lol!! He does the cat thing too, i love his imagination, and he is great at playing characters and he does the super hero thing (and onyx, he can be adinasour too!!) its just the doggie thing has really stuck and he will do it many times a day, i was just thinking it might be getting a bit much!! But i feel better after reading that there are other "dogs" out there too!!

Gotta love Belly belly for some good ole reassurance!!! :-)

Maybe "doggy" can go fetch his toys and put them in his room? I'd say use it to your advantage!

oh, it's not just mine!
Sometimes he's a dog. Sometimes he's a cat, or truck, or zookeeper, or dinosaur, or tiger, frog, fish.... well, you pretty much name it.
I don't like it when he wants to eat like a dog (etc). I have to say though, that giving him instructions 'in character' is actually so much more effective than asking him to do things. Doggy (or monkey/cat/digger/whatever) is often much more helpful and obliging than DS... And naughty monkey likes to steal food of 'our' plates, so there are some meals where that's teh only way he'll eat. :rolleyes:
They grow out of this, right?

I'm not sure they do. DH is sometimes a monster, sometimes a tiger, occasionally a whale, sometimes I pretend I'm a housewife too and every now and then, after the children are in bed..........

:p

Does he refuse to use his hands to eat? That's my main issue with it. Or when I get roped into being the zoo animal that he's 'keeping'

my 6yo niece still plays the puppy dog.. all of her grandparents encourage it.. we dont play along..it's annoying most of the time but sometimes its funny to watch!

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I'm not sure they do. DH is sometimes a monster, sometimes a tiger, occasionally a whale, sometimes I pretend I'm a housewife too and every now and then, after the children are in bed..........

:p

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LOL

They do eventually grow out of it. It can take a while longer than expected though - DD used to pretend she was a kitten, grew out of it at around 6 or 7 I think, I remember pretending my cousin and I were horses which did drive my mother batty on occasions because I was forever jumping over random obstacles and would have constant bruises from where I didn't quite make it and fell.

But rest assured, it's all completely normal.

My DS does this too, he is a dog, a cat, a frog, a dinosaur, a super hero (where I have to tuck one of our old cloth nappies down the back of his shirt so he can have a super hero cape) and just recently we bought him some guinea pigs, and he has pretended to be them too :-) I think it is gorgeous. I always have to be the mummy animal and he is the baby animal and I have to tell him what to do etc.. all in a days work for us mummies :)

I was embarrassed when my 4yo DS insisted that my Dad (his grandfather) tie a skipping rope around him as his lead and then crawled along the main street of a small country town on a busy Saturday morning in “dog” character. I was worried we’d be arrested or something (but still I took photos ‘cos it was kind of funny too).

We have another doggie-child here too...

My brother took DS over to the local shops on a dog lead. I didn't know about it till afterwards and was a bit mortified (they know us over there!) but DS thought it was great.

Imaginative play at this age is 100% normal. Some kids become completely lost in fantasy world and may have issues distinguishing fantasy from reality but not to worry, it is a learning process and will ease with age :)

It is all completely normal but I hear you on the annoying part. DD 1 used to pretend to be a dog - drove us nuts sometimes. I'm happy to say she is almost 10 now and thankfully is too 'cool' to play like that anymore lol.
I'd just let your DS go and have fun - unless he starts sniffing bums or licking his .... :- / haha!

id say normal, my eldest is just starting to grow out of it, tho he still growls and pretends he is going to claw things.
my almost 4yo is still right in the middle of it all, his faves are dog, cat, frog, bubble(:o) and most recently granpa in my pocket (this one gets a bit much when were out and he hops on the pram wheel, refusing to hop off untill i give him a "shrinking hat") next month im sure there will be atleast 3 more added on the list:rolleyes:

personaly i think the longer its encouraged, the longer they do it, if i let on the slightest hint of amusement he will continue on for hours, wereas if i ignore him (some days its very hard to do!) he snaps out of it and returns to "trent" when he realises theres no attention.

Yep, DD pretends to be a dog. And Peppa Pig. The other day she said, "yes, mummy pig" which I found quite amusing. And snorted like a pig. Accidentally.

*snort*