Where's the Love?

Buster, our English Mastiff, is the first baby of the family. He'll be five next month, and enjoyed nearly two years of being spoiled before our kids entered the picture. He's a good dog with children, in that he's always gentle and has taken quite a bit in terms of tail pulling, rough patting on the head and even abrupt pats on the back that he wasn't really expecting (or wanting, for that matter). But as an older, mostly calm dog, he doesn't have a lot to do with our kids. They don't play with him, and he's content to be away from them when they are noisy and active (most of the morning and afternoon). He loves to come in at night, after the kids have had their baths and have gone to bed. And though our kids don't interact with him much, other than Connor who will copy Mommy when she's patting him or throwing ball with him outside, I never really took it to mean that they didn't like him. Just that he was a little big and scary to small kids (he is about 165 pounds and rather tall for a Mastiff), so they kept their distance. But recently, I've noticed that all three of our kids cannot go past Buster's room when the door is open without closing it. Perhaps it's simply their fascination with opening and closing doors (which they very much love right now). Or perhaps they're trying to tell me something - like competing with two brothers for attention is enough without a big dog who sheds and drools and usually gets Mommy's attention, at least for a moment, when he comes into the room. He is the first baby, after all. And besides, sometimes Mommy needs a little bit of that calm in the middle of three often loud and always active toddlers!