Watch as Dog’s Maternal Instincts Kick in to Comfort Unwell Newborn

A dog who recently had her own litter of puppies showed her maternal instincts know no bounds as she went to comfort a newborn “colic” baby, which can be seen in a recent TikTok video.

Toy poodle Ivy lives in the United Kingdom with her owner Lois Walker, Walker’s partner, and their two children.

Walker, 33, owns company The Pets Agency and regularly showcases her life with her young kids and animals on social media.

Growing up with pets has many benefits for children, with pet food company Purina writing on its website the “constant companionship,” “a more active lifestyle” and “learning responsibility” as just some of these perks.

It added on its website: “Dogs can be a great source of comfort for kids—even when they’re coming to grips with difficult life lessons. Whenever kids feel sad, angry, or afraid, they can always turn to their pet.”

This is certainly the case for Walker’s newborn daughter, Daisy, who found herself comforted by the adorable poodle when she started crying.

Daisy is suffering from colic, a condition which sees a healthy baby cry for a long time with no obvious reason, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

It can be extremely stressful for both the baby and their parents, and in this case, Ivy was determined to step in to help.

Walker shared a video to TikTok (@mummybossadventure) earlier this week revealing she had walked up to her sleeping baby and found Ivy curled up on a blanket on Daisy’s feet, watching over her protectively as the baby slept soundly.

In the clip, which has been viewed an impressive 47,000 times since being uploaded, Walker explains: “My colic baby who doesn’t stop screaming, the mother of my puppies gets very worried about her. I walk in and she’s babysitting her.”

She added as a disclaimer to the video: “I did remove her immediately!”

Walker, who along with Ivy has two other dogs, Pedro and Bert, says the animals are “heavily intertwined with our kids’ lives”.

“When I was pregnant with my first baby, for the last week of pregnancy she would not move from my side, she refused walks and was always checking I was OK,” Walker told Newsweek. “When I brought baby home she was insanely excited and couldn’t stop looking at him. She really wanted to mother him, I caught her trying to sneak in to look after my little boy in his Moses basket.”

With Daisy, Walker believes Ivy’s own litter of pups helped her maternal instincts to kick in and comfort the colicky newborn.

“She has three beautiful puppies at the moment and I think she thinks because Daisy has colic and cries a lot she needs to help and mother her too,” Walker said. “I felt shocked when I saw her. I thought it was adorable, but removed her immediately after taking a quick video. She was laying on her legs and I could see she wasn’t squashing her, but wouldn’t ever leave a dog in with a child let alone a newborn.”

Walker, who is a licensed ethical breeder of toy poodles, said she knew from having undertaken an animal behavior course that Ivy “wasn’t being threatening in any way.”

“The best thing about having dogs in the house with kids is they learn love and to respect animals and nature, and as they grow up they will learn responsibility helping mum and dad, and lots of fun and exercise,” she said. “Kids and puppies are best friends.”

TikTok Users React

Walker’s sweet video has caused a stir online, with animal lovers and parents alike flocking to the clip to share their own stories.

One TikTok user wrote: “My pup does this when my daughter is struggling with her hypermobility in her legs.”

“World’s cutest baby sitter,” another wrote. “They look so comfy together, best friends in the making!”

And one praised Ivy, writing that Daisy “needed pressure. She knew what she needed. The exact same as my son.”

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.